The Dan Hamaccabim flower is a prominent symbol of remembrance in Israel, and its name is derived from a Jewish legend in which every spot where the flower grows, a drop of blood has been spilled on the earth by Judean rebels, a reference to the Maccabean Revolt from 167 to 160 BCE.After the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the country adopted the Dan Hamaccbim flower as a symbol of remembrance, akin to Canada and Australia’s World War I remembrance flower, the poppy. The flower is also a protected plant in Israel and the West Bank, and has never been domesticated.
Every year prior to the onset of Remembrance Day, the Dan Hamaccabim Project distributes tens of thousands of these flowers, usually coming from their greenhouses, at points throughout Israel and to bereaved families of fallen IDF soldiers and victims of terror.On the day itself, the Dan Hamaccabim Project provides the flower to attendees at various military cemeteries in Israel. In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the press release noted that distribution of the Dan Hamaccabim flower has been halted.
In 2019, the Dan Hamaccabim Project distrusted 30,000 flower pins to Israelis throughout the country.