Remembering Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (Australia, Canada, Colombia, UK and Ireland), also known as Poppy Day (South Africa and Malta), and Armistice Day (UK, 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 and other wars. It is observed on November 11 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 November 7, 1919, possibly upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey though Wellesley Tudor Pole established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.
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 and France) 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.
In Canada 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. The Act of Remembrance includes the playing of the Last Post, recitation of the Ode of Remembrance, which is a verse of the poem "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon, followed by Reveille.
The Royal Canadian Legion recommends that Canadians observe 2 minutes of silence.
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. The sale of red poppies raises funds to help ex-servicemen - the sale of white poppies does not, but does support peace work and education. Until 1996, poppies were made by disabled veterans in Canada, but they have since been made by a private contractor.
While different some places such as England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (flat Earl Haig variety with a leaf), in Canada (Australia, New Zealand and Scotland) the poppies are curled at the petals with no leaf.
From Wikepdia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day
For additional info, see: http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/remember/flandersfields_e.html
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 and France) 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.
In Canada 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. The Act of Remembrance includes the playing of the Last Post, recitation of the Ode of Remembrance, which is a verse of the poem "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon, followed by Reveille.
The Royal Canadian Legion recommends that Canadians observe 2 minutes of silence.
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. The sale of red poppies raises funds to help ex-servicemen - the sale of white poppies does not, but does support peace work and education. Until 1996, poppies were made by disabled veterans in Canada, but they have since been made by a private contractor.
While different some places such as England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (flat Earl Haig variety with a leaf), in Canada (Australia, New Zealand and Scotland) the poppies are curled at the petals with no leaf.
From Wikepdia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day
For additional info, see: http://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/remember/flandersfields_e.html
posted by eric model | 2:52 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home