Why Do Poppies Grow in Flanders Field?
On May 3, 1915, Canadian surgeon, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, wrote a poem entitled “In Flanders Fields” to honor and remember the Allied soldiers who died during World War I. His poem is often read at Canadian Remembrance Day events, and many people, particularly in Canada, Australia and the U.K., wear poppies around Remembrance Day, which is like Veterans Day in the U.S., in honor of those who fought for their freedom a century ago.
In the spring of 1915, Dr. John McCrae was serving as a surgeon at the Battle of Ypres, where he witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer. He wrote the poem the following day as he looked out on the field of poppies that grew wild where so many soldiers were buried. Poppies, which had symbolized sleep, death, and the hope of new life for millennia, now grew wild from the disturbed earth of war. They clothed the fields where hundreds of soldiers now rested for eternity. And they gave hope and inspiration to John McCrae as he surveyed the landscape of tombstones and flowers.
He sat down and composed “In Flanders Fields:”
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Why do poppies grow in Flanders Fields? They grow there because that’s what weeds do. And in that part of the world, the conditions for poppies are perfect. But they also grow to remind us of what happened there a century ago, to exhort us to take up the torch of freedom, and to give us the hope that one day, even after death, we will all live again.
What Is a Poppy?
A poppy is a type of flower. There are several different varieties of poppy, some of which are used in professional landscaping, some of which are used in the production of opiates, some of which are used in the baking of delicious poppy seed muffins, and some of which are just considered weeds. They can grow in almost any color and are found all over the world.
Poppies even grow in the Land of Oz. Remember when Dorothy and her pals were nearing the Emerald City, and the Wicked Witch of the West wanted to stop them? What did she do? She grew a field of poppies between them and the city, and as they crossed it, they all fell asleep.
In fact, this is not an entirely inaccurate depiction of poppies. Poppies are often cultivated to extract opium from them. Opiates cause the pulse and respiration to slow, the blood pressure to fall, and the person ingesting them to feel warm and relaxed. For this reason, people have been growing poppies and using them to make anesthetics, pain killers, and recreational drugs for over 6000 years.
Poppies have long been used as symbols for sleep, death, and resurrection. They represent sleep for obvious reasons, they represent death because of its association with sleep, and because they are often blood red. And they represent the promise of resurrection because of their vibrant color.
Where Is Flanders Field?
“Flanders Fields” is the name that was given to the areas of modern-day France and Belgium where many of the battles of World War I were fought. In the Middle Ages (specifically from 862 to 1795), the area was known as the County of Flanders. It is now spread across Belgium and northern France and, if it still existed today, would include the cities of Dunkerque, Bruges and Ghent.