The tulip and the poppy

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Published on Thursday, October 29, 2015

By Rev. Glenna Beauchamp

Rivers and Oak River United Churches

Bill Vander Zalm, a former premier of British Columbia, came to Canada from Holland. He became a successful businessman, selling flowers. A particular flower, the tulip, has a very special meaning for him. He was living in Holland under Nazi occupation during the Second World War, and remembers vividly seeing people die of starvation. He remembers a time when all he had to keep from starving to death were tulip bulbs, which he ate to stay alive. For Bill, tulip bulbs will always carry that terrible memory of brutal oppression.

In early October, our Legion auxiliary was one of 140 across Canada which received 700 tulip bulbs from the Dutch-Canadian friendship group. They were asked to plant them to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Holland, in which our Canadian soldiers played such a prominent role. The Dutch government has been sending tulips to Ottawa since 1945, to thank us for our part in their liberation, and for keeping the members of their royal family safe here.

For Canadians, these tulips symbolize a deep gratitude and a strong commitment that the people of Holland will never forget the sacrifice Canadians made for their freedom. For us, it is the poppy — the blood-red poppy — that calls us to remember so many who fought and so many who died to preserve our freedom, to bring peace to  a world savaged by war. May our poppies, like the tulip, always be for us a symbol of our gratitude and our commitment that we will remember them.