For those few who were wondering what the poppy and the phrase "lest we forget" were all about, they are used to commorate the deaths of Canadian soldiers in the 20 century wars in which the Canadian army participated: WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and various peacekeeping missions. The poppy symbolizes the losses at Flanders Field, which was the scene of battle very much ingrained in the Canadian psyche.
Not that it's a trivial matter for others, but it's a pretty big deal for Canadians. We're told about Flanders Field early on in life, usually in elementary school, and we wear poppies on our lapel of their jacket or somewhere close to their heart—I am not one of these who think it's cool to put it on backpacks or on the waste of their pants—for the first week and a half in November. Today, I saw on the news that a couple years ago, people had started going to the tomb of the unknown soldier in Ottawa and placing the poppies they'd been wearing all week on the tomb. A small, dignified show of respect for those that fought and died for what we have now. A rather democratic show of respect it turns out: normally only prominent citizens or organizations get to lay wreaths at monuments (that Chevron got to lay one at the monument near my apartment didn't sit well with me), but this time the people get in on the act.
I was proud to be a Canadian today.
