Remembrance Day/Poppy Day

November is the time of the year when Britain wears a red poppy in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for them during wars.

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One.

At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.

Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a special day set aside to remember all those men and women who were killed during the two World Wars and other conflicts. At one time the day was known as Armistice Day and was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War.

Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, which is usually the Sunday nearest to 11 November. Special services are held at war memorials and churches all over Britain.

A war memorial in Sevenoaks Kent


Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans.

A poem called 'For the Fallen' is often read aloud during the ceremony; the most famous stanza of which reads:

"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."

Fourth stanza of 'For the Fallen' by Laurence Binyon (1869 - 1943)

Why is the poppy a symbol of remembrance?

Source: http://projectbritain.com/Remembrance.html


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn8yU4tzW-w&feature=related