Remembrance Day

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Wreaths of artificial poppies used as a symbol of remembrance

Remembrance Day (United Kingdom, Australia, Canada), also known as Poppy Day (South Africa and Malta), and Armistice Day (United Kingdom, New Zealand and many other Commonwealth countries; and the original name of the holiday internationally) is a day to commemorate the sacrifice of veterans and civilians in World War I, World War II, and other wars. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. The observance is specifically dedicated to members of the armed forces who were killed during war, and was created by King George V of the United Kingdom on 7 November 1919 (possibly upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey though Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917).^[1]^[2]

1 Observance
- 1.1 The poppies
- 1.2 Remembrance Ceremonies
2 See also
3 External links
4 Notes
5 References

[edit] Observance

Canadian Government Poppy Image

Memorials outside London's Westminster Abbey for Remembrance Day, 2002

Common British, Canadian, South African and ANZAC traditions include two minutes of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month because that was the time (in Britain) when the armistice became effective. The two minutes recall World War I and World War II. Before 1945 the silence was for one minute, and today some ceremonies still only have one minute of silence despite this. Religious services for the dead are usually incorporated into the ceremony.

In the United Kingdom, although two minutes' silence is observed on 11 November itself, the main observance is on the second Sunday of November, Remembrance Sunday. Ceremonies are held at local communities' War Memorials, usually organised by local branches of the Royal British Legion – an association for ex-servicemen. Typically, poppy wreaths are laid by local organisations including the Royal British Legion, ex-servicemen organisations, cadet forces, the Scouts, Guides, Boys' Brigade, St John Ambulance and the Salvation Army. "The Last Post" is played by a trumpeter or bugler, two minutes' silence is observed and broken by a trumpeter playing "Reveille". A minute's or two minutes' silence is also frequently incorporated into church services on that day. The main commemoration is held in Whitehall in central London, where the Queen, Prime Minister, and other senior political and military figures join with veterans to lay wreaths at the Cenotaph.

In Canada Remembrance Day is always observed on 11 November and the day is a holiday for federal government employees. However, for private business, provincial governments, and schools, its status varies by province. In Western and Atlantic Canada it is a general holiday. In Ontario and Quebec, it is not a general holiday, although corporations that are federally registered may make the day a full holiday, or instead designate a provincially-recognized holiday on a different day. Schools usually hold assemblies for the first half of the day or on the school day prior with various presentations concerning the remembrance of the war dead. Thousands of people gather near the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Among the crowd, war veterans pay their respects to fallen sailors, soldiers, and airmen.

In South Africa, the day is not a public holiday. Commemoration ceremonies are usually held on the following Sunday, at which, as with Australia and Britain, the "Last Post" is played by a bugler followed by the observation of a two-minute silence. The two biggest commemoration ceremonies to mark the event in South Africa are held in Johannesburg, at the Cenotaph (where it has been held for 84 consecutive years), and at the War Memorial at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.

In Australia Remembrance Day is always observed on 11 November, although the day is not a public holiday. Services are held at 11am at war memorials in suburbs and towns across the country, at which the "Last Post" is played by a bugler and a one-minute silence is observed. In recent decades, however, Remembrance Day has been partly eclipsed by ANZAC Day (25 April) as the national day of war commemoration.

Veterans Day is commemorated in the United States on the same date, but the function of the observance elsewhere is more closely matched by Memorial Day in May. In the United States and some other allied nations 11 November was formerly known as Armistice Day; in the United States it was given its new name after the end of World War II.

For Anglican and Roman Catholic Christians, there is a coincidental but appropriate overlap of Remembrance Day with the feast of St. Martin of Tours, a saint famous for putting aside his life as a soldier and turning to the peace-filled life of a monk. Statues or images associated with St. Martin are for this reason sometimes used as symbols of Remembrance Day in religious contexts (e.g., the Anglican Cathedral of Montreal).

In Germany, Armistice or Remembrance Day is unknown. Public memory of World War I in Germany is generally scarce. Moreover, 11 November would be seen as an inappropriate date for such a holiday, as it traditionally marks the beginning of the German carnival. However, Volkstrauertag is commemorated. Originally this was on the fifth Sunday before Easter, but since 1952, has been celebrated two Sundays before the beginning of Advent. It has never been celebrated in the church since both the major German churches have their own festivals for commemorating the dead (All Souls Day in the case of the Roman Catholic church, Ewigkeitssonntag, or "Eternity Sunday" in the case of the Lutheran church. Both festivals also fall in November.)

In Poland, 11 November marks the celebration of Independence Day, since it was on 1918-11-11 that Poland regained its independence after being divided between Russia, Prussia and Austria for 123 years.

[edit] The poppies

Poppies are sold every year as an act of remembrance to fallen soldiers at war.

The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare. A Frenchwoman by the name of Madame E. Guérin introduced the widely used artificial poppies given out today. Some people choose to wear white poppies, which emphasises a desire for peaceful alternatives to military action. Until 1996, poppies were made by disabled veterans in Canada, but they have since been made by a private contractor.

In England, Wales,and Northern Ireland the poppies are the flat Earl Haig variety with a leaf. Wearers require a separate pin to attach the poppy to their clothing. Because the poppy honours British soldiers, in Northern Ireland it is worn primarily by members of the Unionist community.

In Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Scotland the poppies are curled at the petals with no leaf. The Canadian poppies consist of two pieces and a pin to attach them to clothing.

In Sri Lanka in the inter-war years, there were rival sales of yellow Suriya (portia tree) flowers by the Suriya-Mal Movement on Remembrance Day, since funds from poppy sales were not used for Sri Lankan ex-service personnel but were repatriated to Britain. However, nowadays poppy sales are used for indigenous ex-service personnel.

[edit] Remembrance Ceremonies

Remembrance Day Parade, Hamilton, Bermuda, 1991.

The Service of Remembrance in many Commonwealth of Nations countries generally includes the playing of the Last Post, followed by two minutes of silence, followed by the playing of Reveille (or, more commonly, The Rouse) and a recitation of the Ode of Remembrance. In Canada, the Scottish Bagpiper's Lament is often played prior to Reveille. Services also include wreaths laid to honour the fallen, a blessing, and National Anthems.^[3]

In Bermuda, which sent the first colonial volunteer unit to the Western Front in 1915, and which had more people per capita in uniform during the Second World War than any other part of the Empire, Remembrance Day is still an important holiday.

Remembrance Day, London 2006

The parade in Hamilton had historically been a large and colourful one, as contingents from the Royal Navy, British Regular Army, the local Territorial units, the Canadian forces, the US Army, Air Force, and Navy, and various cadet corps and other services were all contributed at one time or another to march with the veterans. Since the closing of British, Canadian, and American bases in 1995, the Parade has barely grown smaller. In addition to the ceremony held in the City of Hamilton on Remembrance Day itself, marching to the Cenotaph (a smaller replica of the one in London), where wreathes are lain and orations made, a smaller military parade is also held in St. George's on the nearest Sunday to Remembrance Day.

The Royal Canadian Legion recommends that Canadians observe 2 minutes of silence at 11:00am on November 11