November 11th is Remembrance Day here in Canada. It is a day to commemorate the sacrifices our country’s servicemen and civilians made during the Great War, but also any other conflict in which our veterans and soldiers were involved.

I’ve been wearing a poppy the last few days, which I haven’t done in a few years. I wasn’t protesting anything, I just simply never actively tried to find a poppy to wear. I’m a little embarrassed to say, but the only reason I’m wearing one this year is because the little cafe in our building had a donation bin for them, which I donated to one morning while grabbing a bite to eat. At my previous workplaces, there were never any opportunities like that to get one, so I’ve gone poppy-less for several years. And before that, my schools gave them away to every student.

For as long as I could remember, the centre of our familiar poppies were green. This was the first time I noticed the centres are now black. The green was apparently meant to symbolize “the green fields of France.” However, I prefer the black. They were originally black, too, I’ve since discovered. I’m glad they changed and plan to stick with it from now on. The Royal Canadian Legion has an interesting FAQ on Remembrance Day and the poppy.

The Legion also suggests a customary 2 minutes of silence for those in Canada wishing to observe.