The poppy’s association with remembrance began during the First World War, when the brutal trench battles of Belgium and northern France tore through the land. In the aftermath, red poppies unexpectedly bloomed across the churned earth and soldiers’ graves — vivid bursts of life amid devastation. This haunting sight moved Canadian poet John McCrae to write “In Flanders Fields” in 1915, immortalizing the flower as a symbol of both loss and resilience. His poem spread across nations, and the poppy