Remembrance day, or Poppy day as we all know it is celebrated on the 11th of November every year. Those who gave up their lives for the honor and freedom of their people and country live forever in their hearts. This sacrifice is so huge in magnitude that nothing can ever match its nobility. 

Brief History 

Remembrance day was originally known as Armistice Day. It was first inaugurated in 1919 by King George V and was celebrated on the second Monday of November. However, the Canadian Parliament officially passed a bill marking the first Monday that came in the week of 11th November to observe ceremonies for those who had fallen. This clashed with the Thanksgiving celebrations so most Canadians observed Armistice Day quietly. 

Until 1928, when some of the recognized veterans and people pushed for more recognition. They pushed for the day to be separated from the celebrations of Thanksgiving so that they can properly remember their fallen brothers and sisters. Their efforts proved fruitful in 1931 when the Federal Government moved Thanksgiving day to another date and marked the 11th of November as the official Remembrance Day. Today, the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month marks as a day to remember the end of a war between the Germans and the Common Wealth. This war ended at 11 A.M. on November 11, 1918, after more than 4 years of fighting at the Western Front. 118,000 Canadian lost their lives in this war.

Poppy Day

The poppy is the most famous symbol for Remembrance day. One of the reasons is that the flower flourished on the soil of war. It grew where the soldiers had laid their lives protecting their honor. Poppies were also very common on the Western Front.

Today poppies are worn throughout Remembrance day and some even wear them after the day to show respect. People hold ceremonies at war memorials, schools, or other public places. They also observe a two minutes silence for the fallen brothers and sisters while the song Last Post plays in the background.

Remembrance Day Quotes 

On this Remembrance Day I’m feeling grateful. The sacrifice and service of those in the Canadian Armed Forces has made our way of life possible

Naheed Nenshi, former mayor of Calgary

We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude

Cynthia Ozick

It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

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 among the guns below

John McCrae

Remembrance reminds us that our nation has been through even more challenging times. Whether at war or during peace support operations, Canada’s veterans and fallen heroes alike can take comfort in our remembrance

Larry Murray, grand president of the Royal Canadian Legion

Praising what is lost makes the remembrance dear

William Shakespeare

One lives in the hope of becoming a memory

Antonio Porchia

Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave

Elijah Muhammad

Let us never forget the solemn truth that the nation is not constituted of the living alone

Sir Robert Borden, 8th Prime Minister of Canada

The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example

Benjamin Disraeli

I think it is all a matter of love; the more you love a memory the stronger and stranger it becomes

Vladimir Nabokov

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields

John McCrae

I encourage all Canadians to observe two minutes of silence, and solemnly remember all those who have fought for our country. We owe them an immeasurable debt of gratitude for helping to make Canada [a] prosperous [and] free country

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

All we have of freedom All we use or know This our fathers bought for us Long and long ago

Rudyard Kipling

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die

Thomas Campbell

Lord, bid war’s trumpet cease; Fold the whole earth in peace

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Patriotism is not dying for one’s country, it is living for one’s country. Perhaps that is not as romantic but it’s better

Agnes Macphail, first woman elected to the House of Commons

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

Laurence Binyon

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie

In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot

Mark Twain

Remembrance Day is when the country stops for two minutes of silence, to pay respects to those who gave their lives and our veterans who fought for our freedom

Douglas Phillips, Canadian writer

But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for, Is their monument to-day, and for aye

Thomas Dunn English

When we think of the past it’s the beautiful things we pick out. We want to believe it was all like that

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

The sights around the field are terrible looking. I hope I don’t witness anything like it again

Harry Chalmers, Canadian soldier who fought in WWI

Do you not know that a man is not dead while his name is still spoken?

Terry Pratchett

It was like living in a graveyard. But I felt this was a duty that someone must do, and I thought I would try to do it

Mary Riter Hamilton, Canadian battlefield painter, one of the only women to occupy that role during WWI

because a song can take you back instantly to a moment, or a place, or even a person. no matter what else has changed in you or the world, that one song stays the same, just like that moment

Sarah Dessen

Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die

Pierre Trudeau

It takes a huge effort to free yourself from memory

Paulo Coelho, Aleph

On Remembrance Day, we mark the sacrifice made by veterans in serving their country in war

Jagmeet Singh

There is no death, daughter. People die only when we forget them

Isabel Allende, Eva Luna

Our country honours those who have served, both past and present, in times of war, military conflict and peace

Lawrence MacAulay

The evil that men do lives after them;
The good is oft interred with their bones

William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

When I wear my poppy I’m remembering everyone affected by war, across races, genders, ideologies and borders. I’m remembering the tragedy of war, all wars. I wear it in the hope that wars will be a thing of the past

Dave Stewart

The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them

Czesław Miłosz, The Issa Valley

They shall not grow 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

Laurence Binyon

You are remembered for the rules you break

Douglas MacArthur

A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself

Joseph Campbell

Beauty exists not in what is seen and remembered, but in what is felt and never forgotten

Johnathan Jena

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them

John F. Kennedy

How To Participate In The Remembrance Act

By participating in the act of Remembrance, we pay our homage and tribute to the members of the Canadian families who served in the RCMP and the Canadian Armed Forces to defend our freedom and honor. This act also honors those who are still serving actively to preserve the integrity of our homeland. 

There are different ways to participate in a remembrance act, you can:

• Watch The National Ceremony 
• Observe Two Minutes Of Silence
• Wear The Poppy
• Find A Local Ceremony To Take Part In.

Recap

There is no winning or losing in a war, there is only death. Death of innocents and those who had nothing to gain from it. Let us make a vow today to avoid any conflicts which may result in a war, and to do our part in maintaining a peaceful atmosphere around the globe because we all are connected. Humans are one, through their emotions, feelings, and above all humanity. 

Germany also has another day to commemorate the memory of those who died in the war but they do not commemorate the signing of the armistice.

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