I originally wrote this in 2009, but while
scouring the internet in search of stories about Joe Thornton's Hall of Fame
induction, I stumbled on a question that a citizen of the internet was asking
about why so many people were "wearing those red things on their jackets?" I
decided to revive this piece, because it's as relavant today as it was in 2009,
or 1918 for that matter.
A worthy tradition - first
published, November 11th, 2009You may have noticed Sharks head
coach Todd McLellan and his staff adorning a certain accessory behind the bench
on Saturday night, and again last night when the Sharks squared off against the
Nashville Predators. It was a simple red flower, hung neatly on each
coach’s left lapel. The red poppy, or replica of the flower, probably
means little to most American hockey fans, but for a Canadian, it represents
something more than just a way to dress up a suit.
The red poppy is
worn by many Canadians during the two weeks prior to Remembrance Day. The
Canadian holiday, also known as Armistice Day or Veteran's Day as we know it in
the United States, always falls on November 11th. It was in 1918, on the 11th
day of November (the 11th month of the year), at the 11th hour of the day, when
World War I officially ended.
Canadians celebrate their veterans with a
public holiday, but more symbolically, with the red poppy. In the United
States, war veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice are traditionally honored
on Memorial Day, whereas American honor all veterans, living or otherwise on
Veteran's Day.
While not all the provinces celebrate with a statutory
holiday, Canada’s federal government partakes in several traditions on
Remembrance Day, including the reading or singing of “In Flanders
Fields”, a poem written by Canadian officer and physician John McCrae
during World War I after McCrea witnessed the death of his friend, Lieutenant
Alexis Helmer.
The leading passage:
In Flanders fields
the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row
refers to the flowers that grew prominently around the
battlefields and military burial grounds around Flanders, or what is present
day Belgium. “Red” represents the color of blood that flowed so
prominently in the war that was supposed to end all wars.
The Montreal
Canadiens have the lines:
To you from failing hands we
throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.
inscribed in both English and French in their locker room above photographs of
famous Canadian players, reminding current players of the teams history, and
the importance of honor in the team’s culture.
This particular
passage is also inscribed upon the base of the flagpole at the American
Cemetery, in Cambridge, England.
The poppies worn by Canadians is a reminder of what
honor should truly represent. It is a tradition that we are lucky to partake
in, albeit vicariously through members of a hockey team that calls San Jose
home. Veterans Day, Remembrance Day or whatever you call it, is worth
recognizing regardless of which of the two countries you hail from.
Remember those, American and Canadian, that paved the way for your freedom by
remembering them on this day of honor. It's certainly something to see a
coaching staff represent their country and it's history in such worthwhile
fashion.
=======
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.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae (1872 - 1918) 
