Canada Post has issued a stamp to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in Canada.
The image on the stamp closely resembles the poppy distributed by The Royal Canadian Legion during the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day. The red ink was specially created to match the crimson of the flower worn by millions of Canadians every year, and a spot of metallic ink represents the pin used to attach it to lapels.
The stamp was issued to immortalize the flower and to give Canadians another way to honour the more than 117,000 Canadians who have died in service to their country, said a Canada Post press release.
The delicate but doughty flower that grew over the graves of fallen soldiers and on churned-up battlefields of the First World War was immortalized by Canadian military physician John McCrae, who wrote the poem “In Flanders Fields” in 1915 after the death of a friend. It was subsequently published in Punch magazine in London and became one of the most quoted poems of the war.
The Great War Veterans’ Association (predecessor of the Legion) adopted the poppy as a symbol of remembrance in 1921. It is at the centre of the annual fundraising campaign that supports programs and benefits for veterans. The stamp was issued in conjunction with the Legion’s 2021 Poppy Campaign.
Canada Post has produced 2.5 million stamps, sold in booklets of 10. The collectible official first day cover features the stamp against a crimson red background, with a stylized 100 as the cancellation mark.
The Royal Canadian Mint has issued a commemorative coin annually since 2004. The reverse of the 2021 one-ounce silver coin features a wreath arrangement of red poppies surrounded by engraved forget-me-nots, the remembrance symbol in Newfoundland.
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