Wearing of remembrance ribbons/badges

[Sock Puppet]

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[Sharnita]

I think people tend to wear or dsiplay ribbons all the time in the US.  Of curse, there are things for those who died in battle but also ribbons for various diseases and causes that don't have "days".

[kareng57]

In Canada it's indeed normal to start wearing them around November 1.  As a matter of fact I saw quite a few people starting to wear them about 10 days ago, and IME that's fairly unusual.

However, many people are insistent that Remembrance Day ends at noon, and you take off your poppy then.  (It's quite usual to place them on the town cenotaph).

[MacadamiaNut]

As someone who has lived in both the U.S. and Canada, I always get confused myself! (I am Canadian, btw and currently living at home.)

In Canada, I wear my poppy well beforehand and not just on the day.  This is very common in all the places I've lived in Canada.  If you attend a ceremony on the day, you can then offer your poppy there.  There are also various spots around the city I'm in, where you can lay your poppy down in remembrance.

P.S.  Just a quick tip on the poppies, if you are tired of always losing it, put an eraser at the end of the pin. 

[kareng57]

As someone who has lived in both the U.S. and Canada, I always get confused myself! (I am Canadian, btw and currently living at home.)

In Canada, I wear my poppy well beforehand and not just on the day.  This is very common in all the places I've lived in Canada.  If you attend a ceremony on the day, you can then offer your poppy there.  There are also various spots around the city I'm in, where you can lay your poppy down in remembrance.

P.S.  Just a quick tip on the poppies, if you are tired of always losing it, put an eraser at the end of the pin. 

That's a good tip, I was always a chronic poppy-loser - they just about slide out of knit jackets or cardigans.  Another tip - learned from a female Cadet when DS #2 was in Air Cadets - stick the pin through your jacket, and then again out of the lower-edge of the poppy.

[Bethczar]

I'm in the US, and I haven't seen poppies for years. I'm glad other countries still have the tradition.

[MacadamiaNut]

As someone who has lived in both the U.S. and Canada, I always get confused myself! (I am Canadian, btw and currently living at home.)

In Canada, I wear my poppy well beforehand and not just on the day.  This is very common in all the places I've lived in Canada.  If you attend a ceremony on the day, you can then offer your poppy there.  There are also various spots around the city I'm in, where you can lay your poppy down in remembrance.

P.S.  Just a quick tip on the poppies, if you are tired of always losing it, put an eraser at the end of the pin. 

That's a good tip, I was always a chronic poppy-loser - they just about slide out of knit jackets or cardigans.  Another tip - learned from a female Cadet when DS #2 was in Air Cadets - stick the pin through your jacket, and then again out of the lower-edge of the poppy.

Yes, that works too sometimes but I found myself pricking myself with the end of the pin accidentally... a lot! And the eraser not only keeps it in place but also helps in the whole not pricking yourself thing.  When a friend of mine mentioned this, I was like, why didn't I ever think of that?!  LOL.

[baglady]

We had a thread on this last year. Not sure if it'll answer your question, but it's a fascinating read:

http://www.etiquettehell.com/smf/index.php?topic=86129.0

[Rohanna]

I bought a small Canada flag lapel pin, and I pin that through the center of the poppy- I've seen a lot of other people do that too.

[Sharnita]

I'm in the US, and I haven't seen poppies for years. I'm glad other countries still have the tradition.

We have them around here - don't know if it is a small town/Midwest thing.

[kherbert05]

I'm in the US, and I haven't seen poppies for years. I'm glad other countries still have the tradition.

We used to have the VFW selling poppies outside of stores. The are one group I don't mind. Now I never see them. I'll have to ask Coach if his group sells them.

[demarco]

I'm in the US, and I haven't seen poppies for years. I'm glad other countries still have the tradition.

We have them around here - don't know if it is a small town/Midwest thing.

I didn't see them for years until we moved back to the Midwest about ten years ago.  They sell them in the vestibule at the local market.  Maybe there was a resurgence after 9/11.  That coincided with our move here.

[iridaceae]

I grew up in Wisconsin and I don't ever remember seeing them.  Of course, it was Madison, which maybe explains it. Since I grew up in the 1970s.

[Outdoor Girl]

In Canada, we do start wearing poppies about November 1st and wear them through November 11.  It used to be that you would wear them all day on the 11th but it has become tradition for those attending cenotaph services to leave them there as they left so others who do not attend services remove their poppies around noon.

The biggest culprit in stripping you of your poppy is the danged seatbelt.  I've started putting a little bit of clear tape around the end of the pin, after I've woven it through, which seems to work.  I'd read that using a flag pin to hold the poppy on was not to be done but after seeing a number of older veterens doing this, I think it is OK.  Afterall, they are some of the ones we are honouring so if it is OK with them...

It is also appropriate to wear a poppy on other occasions that are honoring war dead, such as D-day anniversary memorials.

[Judah]

I'm in the US, and I haven't seen poppies for years. I'm glad other countries still have the tradition.

We have them around here - don't know if it is a small town/Midwest thing.

We have them in California too.  There's usually someone from the local VFW selling them outside grocery stores for the couple of weeks leading up to Veteran's Day.