Since I didn't see a topic on it, to all of my Brit, Aussie, Kiwi, and whoever else would observe it friends, my best wishes on Armistice day.
I've alwavs wondered, did they just happen to sign the cease-fire agrreement at 11 o'clock, or did they specificly put it off till then so that school children could remember it more easilly.
Yeah. I observed it. I hope it never loses its meaning, because people [i:09f6188e18]need[/i:09f6188e18] to remember.
I know a lot of private -and literary- sources from the time which document it was a relief for civilians on all sides involved, no matter which side. So, best wishes on Armistice Day. by the way, Wikipedia says...
Our school always used to make a big thing of November 11th. We would have an assembly starting at about half ten, with various readings from the Bible and/or War Poems. It ended with the reading of the school members who had died during the two world wars and then a rendition of the Last Post and a silence. It was very poignant. Today, there was a minutes silence before the football match I attended. I'm generally amazed how thousands of people in such a small area can remain silent (bar the occasional cough) for the duration, and this happens in every match around the country. I think with these sorts of memorials, in addition to church services and the general media coverage, November 11th will never be forgotten. Nor should it be.
It's funny to think that football matches still have the silence, especially considering modern culture is partly blamed for the decrease of people remembering these things. It's a nice feeling.
we'll probably have a moment of silence at church tomorrow too, in honor of the day. it's good to take time to remember.
There was abrief think on tv about it and I observed my minute silence while scrubbing the bathroom with the last post playing the background. The big one is ANZAC Day. Armistace day sort of gets lost in the shadow I guess.
Here in Belgium, Armistice Day as a public holiday is always the 11th, rather than the British trick of throwing it into the nearest Sunday. Even when it is a Saturday as this year most shops close (except around where I live but this is the Turkisk quarter - I'm not Turkish but the area is so convenient for me - and cheap!). One interesting point - whatever day the 11th falls on, it is not a holiday for NATO or the European Union organizations, so as to avoid offending the German members!
That seems strange. Surely the day WWI ended was a relief for everyone involved, even those on the losing side. The Germans lost many people in the two World Wars too, and there seems nothing inappropriate about mourning their loss.
I agree with Buzz, They were still human afterall. My Girlfriend and sister played in a concert this morning, they always moan about getting up so early, but say its worth it for the look on everyones faces
Edit to add: crossposted with Dane! And to add last bit. That assumption is also seeming even more strange when you see that the commemoration days around the end of WW2 are being celebrated not only throughout the countries and institutions involved, but often even with German guests of some sorts -see France- or some sort of official note from the German government. Do you see anyone being worried that their German neighbours might react offended? Well, the EU at least consists of the same neighbours, very roughly said, so were would be the point of sparing them to be confronted with the 11th November? Maybe it's becuase those organization's histories were all founded when, historically seen, the memory of WW2 was still fresh? Assuming that it is being avoided would also mean assuming the Germans would take offense by being reminded of the fact that they lost both world wars, and that's hardly the case. Another thought: Are there any holidays at all that are NATO-wide or EU-wide? I'd really like to know that, because as far as I am aware all the member states of both organizations have their individual, though sometimes shared, holidays. Even Christmas or New Year would just be holidays shared by most (but not all) members.
