November 11, marks Remembrance Day in Canada and Veterans Day in the US.
In Canada, many people wear a red poppy pinned to their coats to symbolize the people who died in wars. The symbol of the red poppy comes from a famous poem written during WWI called In Flanders Fields. It was written by a Canadian doctor and poet during the war and makes reference to the red poppies that grew on top of the graves of fallen soldiers.
Here is an excellent reading of the poem:
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.
by John McCrae, May 1915