Talk:Rhodanthe Rose/@comment-24588058-20160401040338/@comment-1674153-20190411020310

And to be fair, poppies are symbolic of WWI in a general global sense, not just Australia, due to "In Flanders Fields" by Lt. Colonel John McCrae, who was inspired by the veritable sea of poppies that were cropping up in Belgium at the Flanders Fields mass cemetery.

Poppies have a wonderful little habit of cropping up in war-ravaged fields because they need sunlight to start their biological processes. Poppy seeds have rested dormant underground for nearly a century, and bloomed with no problems once they were drudged up to the surface. And it's a rather stunning image to see former warground blooming with red flowers, and naturally it got tied up in the blood of the fallen soldiers and the symbolism of growing and perservering.

This is, incidentally, why Americans wear poppies on Memorial Day. Or why the Brits wear them on Veterans Day. Or why Australians wear them on Rememberance Day, which is November 11th. It's all for the same reason and Austrailia doesn't have a particular different symbolism to poppies compared to elsewhere in relation to WII.