Remembrance Day

In England they call November 11 Remembrance Day.  This is fitting for two reasons:

1.  I married the love of my life on the eleventh of November.

It was one of the best decisions of my life.

So I like remembering it.

2. November 11 is Armistice Day.  Which for all you non-history buffs out there that means that it was the official end to WWI.  Because of this we celebrate Veterans Day on the 11th, and the Brits call it Remembrance Day.

The British observe Remembrance Day in many of the same ways that we do.  They host parades, honor veterans, give speeches.  My favorite tradition that they have are the red poppies.  In the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day people everywhere wear red poppies on their shirts.  Here’s an example:

  

So on Remembrance Day you see red poppies everywhere.  The Red Poppy began to signify war veterans (and most significantly fallen veterans) during WWI.  In December, 1915 a Canadian Colonel published the following poem in a British paper:

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.

It was really interesting to watch how another country honors their veterans.  I was raised in a military family and have seen firsthand the kind of sacrifices that are necessary to live in freedom.  England is our ally.  Her people have fought and died with ours.  It was a privilege to be able to remember their losses over the years as well as ours.

May we never forget.