November marks that time of year when the poppy begins appearing on coats, shirts, bags, and hats across the country in remembrance of those who gave their lives for Canada.

It’s a symbol as old as any of us, but how much do you really know about the poppy?

Why do we wear the poppy on Remembrance Day?

The origins of the poppy as a symbol of death in wartime are as old as the Napoleonic campaign of the early 19th Century, with certain writings remarking on the huge numbers of poppies that would bloom following battles.

Later, during World War I, artillery strikes caused previously harsh soils to become rich with lime from the rubble of destroyed buildings, providing fertile ground for the common poppy to flourish. This, in turn, inspired Canadian war medic Lieutenant-Colonel John McRae

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