The History of Remembrance Day

By Abigail Lashmar

Remembrance day is a federal holiday which occurs every year on November 11th. The first-ever Remembrance day was held in 1919. This day was originally called “Armistice Day”. It was recognized to remember the armistice agreement which ended the first world war. The first world war concluded on Monday, November 11th, 1918. This was at 11 am. The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. It has become a great tradition for Canadians across the country to all take a moment to pause in a minute of silence, ever November 11th. This is a time to remember as well as to honour those who have served in the past - or continue to serve our country today. It is a time to honour their sacrifices throughout all of Canadian history. Poppies were often in the fields that soldiers in the first world war would fight on. It has thus become a common symbol for us to remember these incredibly brave individuals. It is common now to have the opportunity to provide some kind of donation when you receive a poppy to wear. These donations go to many charities, a lot of which go toward assisting and supporting Veterans. The United States also used to commemorate Armistice day on November eleventh However in the mid-nineteen hundreds, roughly the year 1954, they altered the name to Veterans day. You will likely recognize the playing of “The Last Post”. This was a call which signified the end of activities for a given day. One interesting piece of information is that it is also very common to hear this played at military funerals. It is generally used to say that a soldier has reached their final rest. It has become a tradition to play this at the time of remembrance day both to honour those who have fallen as well as to honour those still fighting for us. A very famous poem by the title of “In Flanders Field” written by John McCrae became commonly known and highlighted during the time of Remembrance Day. Although this is pretty well known I feel it is still a significant part of the Remembrance Day tradition. This poem came to be symbolic of the many sacrifices soldiers of the first World War made. To this day we still revisit and reflect on this poem for all its history and core symbols. This is a very significant day and I hope everyone is able to take some time this coming November 11th to remember these heroes of our world. Think about their contributions to the life we are able to lead because of it.