Friday, November 11, 2011

Veterans Day

First of all we have to thank all of our veteran's who have kept our country free and serve to help others to freedom as well. We know that freedom is not free.

THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!
THANK YOU!

A quick history, what we now call Veterans Day started out many, many years ago as Armistice Day. It marked the day when "The Great War" or World War I ended and the major hostilities were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. Mum says Grampie was just a little wafer when this happened.

Then many years later, when mum was just a little wafer, some beans got together and said the day should be to honor all military veterans. So they changed the name from Armistice Day to Veterans Day. Mum says she remembers being in school and at the 11 hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month. They would stand and face east in a moment of silence.

Other countries may observe the day as Remembrance Day, like in the UK and Canada.

The red poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red color an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.


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.

11 comments:

  1. We will be observing 2 minutes silence at 11am 11/11/11. We too have put that poem on our page. Great kitty minds think alike. I certainly appreciate my freedom and know you all do too :)xx

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  2. A beautiful remembrance post. We will never forget all the men and animals who gave their lives.

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  3. Thank you for a wonderful Veterans Day post.

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  4. A wonderful post for Remembrance/Veterans Day.

    We, too, are honouring All Beings who have served and who currently serve. Purrs to all.

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  5. We remember. We just heard that on the first Armistice Day in Seattle the City had been closed due to the Spanish flu so they allowed celebration for this and over 10,000 were out handing out in the streets and it was an amazing celebration of the like the city had never seen. And certainly it was a wonderful reason to celebrate

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  6. A beautiful tribute! Our Dad is a veteran, and we paid tribute by having a morning of silence where we let him sleep in without disturbing him at all!

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  7. We're honoring Veterans today too.

    The Florida Furkids and Angel Sniffie

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  8. Very nice post. My mom remembers too that the VFW sold little paper poppies and she always had one for Veterans' Day.

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  9. Great post! We never knew the history of the day so thank you for sharing.

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