Can one colour of flower be less Christian than another?

Question

I saw on the news that a Christian Group had nother better to do with it's time than decide that a white poppy is more christian than a red one. The red poopy has been used to remember those who have died in war for their countries, freedom and peoples right to follow their own beliefs, and has done so since the end of WW!.

For them to say that Red signifies that peace can come through war, may be true but I think they are missing the point.

Do you think after nearly a century we should change from red to white? I for one am proud to wear red, it signifies the blood spent by millions to retain our freedom..

Answer 1

There was a reason that the red poppy was chosen to commemorate those lost in wwi etc. On Flanders field during wwi it was noticed that red poppies blossomed in profusion in the bomb craters and where the ground had been churned up. Also these poppies grew over the battlefield graves of soldiers.

That is why people started wearing red poppies, its utterly ridiculous to say that one colour is more "Christian" than another.

Answer 2

My initial response was "that's rubbish", then I checked out the Peace Pledge Union, who distribute them. White poppies have been around for 70 odd years and the point seems to be that the British legion (red poppies) is all about reaffirming the validity of the military, and not about committing to avoid future wars. This is what they say:

"The white poppy was conceived by the Women’s Co-operative Guild in 1933. Members of the Guild were themselves the wives, mothers, sisters and lovers of men who had died and been injured in World War One. They were only too well aware of the likelihood of another war, and chose this symbol for peace ‘as a pledge to Peace that war must not happen again’.

Challenging some long established traditions often sets sections of the press into a bit of frenzy. A few weeks before remembrance time in the mid-1980s, an MP heard about the white poppy through a chance mention of it by the Bishop of Salisbury. Irritated by this ‘insulting symbol’ he asked Margaret Thatcher, at Prime Minister’s Question Time what she would do about it. Margaret Thatcher, knowing nothing about the white poppies, condemned them. A new handbook on ‘war, peace and remembrance’ for schools published by the PPU at the same time was roundly condemned in the media along with the white poppy. The media delighted in setting the PPU up in confrontation with the British Legion. The sales of white poppies increased, the requests from schools for the handbook exceeded original expectations, and the British Legion refused that year to appear on any Radio and Television programme with the PPU.

By the end of the bloodiest century in which over 200 million people lost their lives through war and political violence the white poppy has become widely accepted – even featuring in TV soaps such a Brookside and Emmerdale. Its ‘popularity’ rises and falls and tracks British and US military adventures around the world.

Remembrance Day is now an opportunity for senior politicians to show that they care for those they and their predecessors sent to be killed. This is a ceremony that reaffirms the important, noble and heroic purpose of the military – that is war as a means of social change. This is not an event about regret for the cruel waste of lives – even less a commitment to put an end to war. The announcement of a £5 billion programme for the development of Britain’s next generation of nuclear weapons is not an indication that conflict prevention and non-violent conflict resolution are anywhere on the government’s foreign policy agenda!

Above all it is the centrepiece of a vast fund raising operation for the British Legion, which goes from strength to strength the further removed it is from its original purpose - caring for the hundreds of thousands of disabled and disadvantaged soldiers returning from the battlefield in 1918 - a task the government of the day shied away from".

Still not totally convinced that this should be "competing" with rememberance day, I think they should have a day of their own, but I think they may have a point. Balancing "supporting the troops" with "not supporting the war" is very difficult and the media will not make this any easier.

Answer 3

I saw the same article. It sounded like the white poppy people were trying to use the white as a symbol of peace but the message was anti-war. I agree that we should keep the red poppy because of what it's always stood for. I think it shows a lack of respect to the veterans to wear an anti-war poppy. If the protesters want to come up with a different flower, that's fine. They don't need to insult this one.

Answer 4

If these people want to use a symbol indicating peace why can they not use the one actually used during WW1? Pacifists then used a white feather to show their dedication to peace. They were doing this at a time when to do so meant they could face prison for their views.

Answer 5

Yes , colors have meanings.......
Try this vedio...
http://www.harunyahya.com/m_video_artistry_color.php


Colours, patterns, spots even lines if each living being existing in nature have a meaning. For some species, colours serve as a communication tool; for others, they are a warning against enemies. An attentive eye would immediately recognise that the colours of living beings are created just as they should be.

Furthermore, he would realise that everything is given to the service of man: the blue sky, the colourful flowers, the bright green trees and meadows, together with innumerable beauties surrounding man.

http://www.harunyahya.com/color01.php

Answer 6

We should leave well alone the RED is for the blood shed by thousands of men and women trying to Keep this country safe - Lets have some Repect.

Answer 7

I think that the Christian group is indicative of a western epidemic.

Too many white people with too much time on their hands.

Answer 8

my friend once told me that the white poppy was to celebrate the freedom they died for, rather than just their death.

in my opinion, as long as we all remember it and what they sacrificed, it dosn't matter what colour poppy you wear

Answer 9

Don't let them ruin it for you. It's not compulsory to always let them ruin it, but it is for them to try.

Answer 10

Probably.