The common British, Canadian, South African, and ANZAC tradition includes either one or two minutes of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (11:00 a.m., 11 November), as that marks the time (in the United Kingdom) when the armistice became effective.Now I understand why I never heard of Veterans Day when I was young: it was called Armistice Day and then was changed to Veterans Day.
Veterans Day is observed in the United States on 11 November, and is both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states. However, 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 in 1954 at the end of the Korean War to honor all veterans. Veterans Day is observed with memorial ceremonies, salutes at military cemeteries, and parades.Although I live not far from Canada, I looked in several places to buy myself a poppy to wear, and I couldn't find one. So I went on line and am now sending all of you a virtual poppy to help us remember those who served. And in less than an hour, I'm going to sit in silence and remember my own veterans, at 11:00 on 11/11.
:-}
when i was a child, i remember my parents buying little paper poppies to wear on their lapels for veteran's day. but that tradition seems to have stopped here in the states. i wish we had more visual reminders of the sacrifices made...
ReplyDeletethank you for the virtual poppy and the reminder...went to a ceremony today in memory...part of which was the disposal of flags no longer deemed presentable which was pretty powerful...
ReplyDeleteNice tradition - the poppy, and the observance at 11:00 on 11/11. I will make a note to do so next year.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about the poppy. Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteIn Belgium and France it's called Fête de l'Armistice (so World War I Armistice Day) and it's still celebrated. Since Spain didn't participate in WWI here it isn't a holiday or even marked. Spain's homage to its armed forces is on October 12th.
ReplyDeleteI was in London a couple of years ago for Armistice Day and was surprised by the number of people wearing poppies all around me. I had no idea it was such a big deal!
Thanks for your post. It is a huge event here in England. Everywhere you look people are wearing red poppies. From villages to large cities there are rememberance services and the placing of wreathes made from poppies on war memorials.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten about the poppy - I saw a woman wearing one last night and even then I didn't remember. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love you for this, DJan.
ReplyDeleteIf you would like, I could send you a couple of poppies (we always tend to lose at least one each season), I would be happy to do so. The donations have already been made to our Royal Canadian Legion as it will be each year for each poppy desired.
Drop me a line.. I'll send them to your address for next year. :)
thesmittenimage@gmail.com
I've learned from several posts on Remembrance day. I would also think that for someone raised in a military family that your thinking on Armistice may be different.
ReplyDeleteMy Grandparents called it Armistice Day too..old traditions die hard. Yes Poppies are sold in our area too:)
ReplyDeleteI remember my folks and most of the adults buying those paper poppies to wear on their coats or sweaters on Veteran's Day. Don't see them much anymore.
ReplyDeleteIf I had gone shopping today I might have encountered a Veteran selling poppies. I do confess I never remember which traditions are for Veterans Day and which are for Memorial Day, which used to be called Decoration Day. I guess on Veterans Day we honor all who served, and on Memorial Day we honor those who served and died. I was really confused today because tomorrow is the day off from school, I guess because the 11th falls on a Sunday this year.
ReplyDeleteSo now that it's almost over, I guess I should acknowledge it. Maybe I can do it at 11PM.
My late husband server 25 years in the Air Force so Remberance Day is always special for me. It is a day for me to honour, thank and remember so many family members who served. Remembering all of our service men and women, veterans, serving and retired is so important. Like Hilary I could send you some poppies next year as well, then you would have more to pass out to your friends...big hugs
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing your poppy photo and could not help but think how odd it is that this is the third time I have seen poppies to honor Veteran's Day this year. Maggi, who writes Nuts in May at http://granniemay.blogspot.com, wrote of knitting her granddaughter a poppy to honor this day. I had not seen poppies for Veteran's Day since I was a child in grade school. We used to buy them at school.
ReplyDeleteThen, last evening, while my husband and I were shopping, we say that ladies from the local VFW were giving poppies in exchange for donations to benefit veterans. I made sure we donated and was proud to claim a poppy for me and one for my husband.
I hope we see this tradition reignited.
Wonderful post, DJan. In Australia, we call it Remembrance Day too and we also wear red poppy badges as a mark of respect.
ReplyDeleteNot only do we wear red poppy badges, but rosemary (for rembrance) is sold in small bunches and laid at every war memorial on November 11.
ReplyDeleteI haven't worn a poppy in a long time. But I remember purchasing them from childhood. And wearing them. A good reminder.
ReplyDeleteIt is raining here. I can't imagine walking around a mountain top in this kind of weather.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful post and great reminder.....
ReplyDeleteIt is still a very big holiday in France and it’s called “Armistice Day” or “Remembrance Day” or simply “Le 11 Novembre” and it is to commemorate the armistice signed between Germany and the Allies in Compiègne for the end of hostilities during the First World War which took effect on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 in the morning. In each town and village in France there is a monument to the fallen in WW1 and ceremonies there that day. The French president usually goes up the Champs-Élysées with the Republican Guards and revives the flame on the tomb the Unknown Soldier under the Arc de Triomphe. The last WW1 French veteran died in 2008 and I don’t think there are any left from any country this year. I remember my grandfather telling me that close to 6 million French people died and were injured in that war (there were 117,465 US casualties and 66,944 Canadian casualties.)
ReplyDeleteHere in the US, it used to be the same holiday but in 1975 President Gerald Ford signed a Law which made it “Veterans Day” to honor and thank all military personnel who served in the US wars – all of them, not only WW1, and also to honor living veterans. The poppy is the flower that the UK and Canadian wear I think and in France it is the blue cornflower. My grandfather worked for the WW1 war effort as I had mentioned in an earlier post and my father was made handicapped by injuries received in WW2. My husband was in the US Army for 6 years, serving on the border with Mexico in Arizona. I just found out on another blog that some restaurants were giving free dinners to veterans – too bad I did not know that. I had so much to do yesterday that I went and bought Jim a hamburger (we eat one each season… this was the autumn hamburger.)
Buddy makes sure we have on every year and when his sister served as a cadet he would go with us as she performed her duty around the memorial alone with her squadron and vet families.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know we celebrated this day of remembrance on the same day either. It's nice to recognize it with many others in the world.
ReplyDeleteGiving respect and wearing a poppy in remembrance has been a tradition here in the East Coast of Canada. The Day, Remembrance Day, the Famed Poppy, is well practiced in Canada and as I read through your comments, I was quite surprised to see many who didn't know about the Poppy or its relation to Nov 11 of the 11th hour. Perhaps as well, many do not know of Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, who wrote "In Flanders Fields", a poem that as a child we all recited in school every November during a special school service dedicated to the memory of Service Men and Women. The comment by "Vagabonde" is very informative. I lived in Europe for quite a few years and partook in many celebrations of remembrance on Nov 11 in many different European Countries. We had Canadian Flags sewn on the arm of our jackets and we were treated like Royalty in many countries. My own most heartfelt moment, was when in Southern France, I stood in a large field of Poppies, growing wildly alongside the road and recited "In Flanders Fields". I picked two poppies to place in my journal and knew I would never FORGET. Wonderful Post DJan - we have all kinds of poppies to share with you, as the Veterans are out in full force, giving them away each year. If you like, send me your address in an email and I would send you a bunch. lol Lilly
ReplyDelete...thanks for the poppy sweet DJan....I will grab it and add it to my blog's sidebar.
ReplyDeleteI'm from a military family, ALL branches...even Civil War of my great grandfather NY Infantry. From Army Air Corps in WWII to the Gulf War [my son]
Wonderful post. Hope you're doing well.
thanks for the poppy
ReplyDeletethere is a large group of veterans here cleaning up after the storm
free of charge for anyone who needs help
incredible people
Dear DJan, when I was little--back in the 1940s, before the Korean War--we did have poppies to wear in our button holes. I wasn't sure what they meant. It was World War II and I couldn't imagine an earlier war.
ReplyDeleteKansas City metropolitan area, of which Independence is a part, is home to the National World War I museum. You walk into that museum over thick, clear plastic floors. When you look down you see a field of poppies. Each of the 9,000 poppies represents a thousand combatant deaths, a total of nine million.That sight is sobering. Peace.