Canada to celebrate 100th anniversary of Remembrance Day poppy
The Royal Canadian Legion says they are looking forward to seeing Remembrance Day commemorations as well as the celebration of the poppy's centennial anniversary.
"The ceremonies that are going to be at various cenotaphs are going to be much bigger and much more pointed so that they can explain how the poppy started," Vancouver Poppy Fund administrator Jim Howard said on CBC's On the Coast.
He said the use of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance was started by a French woman named Anna Guérin in 1921, when she was inspired by John McCrae's poem, In Flanders Fields to raise money for veterans and to remember those who had given their lives during the First World War.
"She had originally founded a charity to help the children of the people that were displaced or killed during the war," he said.
Approximately 20 million poppies will be distributed by legion branches throughout Canada this year, and all donations will go directly to support veterans and their families.
"The money is used for assisting the veterans themselves who have fallen through the cracks with Veterans Affairs Canada," Howard said.
For the 100th anniversary, Howard says the legion has come out with a special pin that can be purchased at its branches across the province.
