Remembrance Day

One hundred years ago the first Remembrance Day, known then as Armistice Day, was celebrated at Buckingham Palace on November 11th 1919, one year after World War I ended. King George V started Armistice Day exactly one year after the end of the First World War in order to remember the millions of soldiers who died in that war. The name has now changed to Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth Countries, or Veterans Day in the United States and people on this day remember soldiers who have died in any war or military conflict.

There are two traditions that are associated with Remembrance Day. The first is poppies. Poppies became the symbol for Remembrance Day largely due to a poem written by John McCrae in 1915 called In Flanders Fields. The poem makes reference to the poppies that began to grow over the battlefields of World War I and became a symbol of hope and remembrance. In 1921 the Royal British Legion  began to sell silk poppies for Remembrance Day to raise funds to help veterans affected by war. Today the Royal British Legion continues to give support to veterans of war.

The second tradition is to spend one or two minutes in silence to remember and reflect upon the soldiers who died at war. This takes place at 11 am on November 11th. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month World War I was finally over.

In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
    That mark our place; and in the sky
    The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
    The torch; be yours to hold it high.
    If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
        In Flanders fields.

(Poem taken from www.poetryfoundation.org
Information from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day www.history.com/topics/world-war-i  www.harpersbazaar.com/celebrity/latest/a29727134/royal-family-poppies-remembrance-day/ )