2bergs47
Please note this is not an American site, its International. If everyone posted holidays it would be inundated with pictures.
3Tess_W
>2 bergs47: I welcome International postings! I always like to learn of other cultures and their way of life and celebrations!
4John5918
In much of the world the equivalent of the US Memorial Day is held on 11th November, remembering the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month when the Armistice which ended the "Great War" was signed in 1918. In UK (and probably elsewhere) there is a two minute silence at exactly 11 am, the beginning and ending of which is marked by the firing of a ceremonial cannon. In Britain it is customary for people to wear a poppy at that time of year, in memory of the poppies that sprang up in the churned up battlefields of World War I, either a red one produced by the Royal British Legion (a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, and others in need) or a white one from the Peace Pledge Union (the oldest secular pacifist organisation in Britain, which since 1934 has been campaigning for a warless world, and against the militarisation of Armistice Day in the 1930s to the militarisation of society today).
One of my most memorable experiences of it was in Khartoum nearly forty years ago, at the British war cemetery, with the British Ambassador reading the traditional verse from the poem "For the Fallen" ("They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them"), a British Catholic missionary priest leading the prayers (as they couldn't find any British Anglican clergy), and a Sudanese army bugler in a red tunic sounding the Last Post.
One of my most memorable experiences of it was in Khartoum nearly forty years ago, at the British war cemetery, with the British Ambassador reading the traditional verse from the poem "For the Fallen" ("They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them"), a British Catholic missionary priest leading the prayers (as they couldn't find any British Anglican clergy), and a Sudanese army bugler in a red tunic sounding the Last Post.
5John5918
>1 Tess_W:
Tess, why do you put "Decoration" in brackets in the thread title? What does that signify?
Tess, why do you put "Decoration" in brackets in the thread title? What does that signify?
6WholeHouseLibrary
It was originally called Decoration Day, to honor those why died in the American Civil War. Families, organizations, etc. would decorate the tombstones and monuments with flags or red, white, and blue bunting.
As time went on, it encompassed an honoring of all who had died in any war, so the name was changed to Memorial Day.
As time went on, it encompassed an honoring of all who had died in any war, so the name was changed to Memorial Day.
7Tess_W
>4 John5918: John, I was in London on 11-11-2005 and was awed at the moment of silence. I also saw the Queen place a wreath on the centotaph. We also wear poppies sold by veteran's organization on this day!
