90% of the victims of war are civilians.
Make a white “Peace” Poppy from the site peacepoppies.ca and wear it this year along with the traditional red poppy.
Don’t have a colour printer? No problem. Some Peace Poppies will be available at church this Sunday.
In Britain, the idea of decoupling Armistice Day, the red poppy and later Remembrance Day from their military culture dates back to 1926, just a few years after the British Legion was persuaded to try using the red poppy as a fundraising tool in Britain. A member of the No More War Movement suggested that the British Legion should be asked to imprint ‘No More War’ in the centre of the red poppies instead of ‘Haig Fund’ and failing this, pacifists should make their own flowers.
A few years later the idea was again discussed by the Co-operative Women’s Guild who in 1933 produced the first white poppies to be worn on Armistice Day (later called Remembrance Day). The Guild stressed that the white poppy was not intended as an insult to those who died in the First World War – a war in which many of the women lost husbands, brothers, sons and lovers.
– to commemorate all victims of war
– to mourn the environmental devastation it causes
– to reject war as a tool for social change
– to call for dialog and peaceful conflict resolution
– to show your commitment to building a better future