Why is rosemary an important symbol of ANZAC Day?

Answer 1

Legend says that the Virgin Mary, while resting, spread her cloak over a white flowering rosemary bush. The flowers turned the blue of her cloak, and from then on the bush was referred to as the "Rose of Mary".

This plant was, in ancient times, supposed to strengthen memory. Greek scholars wore rosemary in their hair to help remember their studies, and the association with remembrance has carried through to modern times. In literature and folklore it is an emblem of remembrance.

On ANZAC Day, the wearing of small sprigs of rosemary in the coat lapel, pinned to the breast or held in place by medals is thus synonymous with remembrance and commemoration.

Answer 2

Red poppies are significant because they symbolise remembrance.

The story goes that, following one of the bloodiest battles of World War I, in the fields of Flanders in Western Europe,when the ground was completely churned up and muddied, thousands of red poppies sprang up. The seeds had lain dormant in the soil and, after being aerated with the churning of the soil from the soldiers' boots and fertilised with their blood, the poppies grew abundantly, springing forth new life from death.

This is why poppies are worn on Remembrance Day (commemorating Armistice Day) as well as ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand, and other solemn occasions when we remember the soldiers who fought or even gave their lives for our freedom.

Another reason poppies came to such prominence in association with World War I is because of how they were immortalised in that most famous poem of WWI, In Flanders Fields, written by John McCrae, a Canadian surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. This poem is spoken at memorial services everywhere on both ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day, and remains one of the most famous Australian War poems ever written.

Answer 3

Rosemary is a herb or shrub that has been associated with remembrance for thousands of years, and it also is a symbol of loyalty and friendship. It was used in medieval medicines to cure various ailments.

The wearing of rosemary on ANZAC Day is done as a mark of respect for the men who never returned from Gallipoli, or indeed, later wars. The wearing of it honours the memory of those brave men.

There have been suggestions that the tradition also began because there were no flowers to decorate the graves after the battle of Gallipoli and they were decorated with rosemary, the only greenery found there. However, rosemary, along with laurel, ivy and some evergreens have been used since ancient times to signify immortality.

Answer 4

Rosemary is a universal symbol of remembrance. ANZAC Day is a time of remembrance, when we reflect on the many lives that were lost, not only at Gallipoli, but which have been lost in wars since then.

Answer 5

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