Remembrance Day

From ArticleWorld

Remembrance Day or Armistice Day is observed on 11 November, every year. This is the day when we pause to remember the sacrifice of those men and women who have died or suffered in wars and conflicts and all those who have served during the past 100 years. It was created by the English King George V on the suggestion of Edward George Honey.

Origin and silence

A two minute silence is maintained at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month because this is the day when the armistice that ended the Great War, or World War 1, came into force, bringing to an end four years of hostilities that saw hundreds and thousands of soldiers die at sea, in the air, and on foreign soil. Few families in the countries involved in the war – 'the war to end all wars' - were left untouched by its events; most lost a father, son, daughter, brother, sister or friend.

But now, this anniversary is used to remember all the people who have died in wars since World War I. This includes World War II, the Falklands War, the Gulf War, and conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda and Kosovo.

Poppies

In 1915 a Canadian major, fighting in Belgium, wrote a poem about poppies growing in Flanders Field, where soldiers had fought and died. This was taken up an American who wrote a poem in return in which she promised to keep the faith by a wearing a poppy ‘in honor of our dead’ and so began the tradition of wearing a poppy in remembrance. Later silk poppies were sold to raise money for needy soldiers.

The ancient Greeks believed that rosemary made their memories stronger. This idea has been carried on today when people wear sprigs of rosemary as a symbol of remembrance for those who have died in wars.