Remembrance Day in Canada

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In Canada, Remembrance Day is a holiday for federal government employees; for private business, provincial governments, and schools, its status varies by province: in Western Canada and Atlantic Canada, it is a general holiday; in Ontario and Quebec, it is not, although corporations that are federally registered may make the day a full holiday, or instead, designate a provincially-recognized holiday on a different day. Poppies are laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Remembrance Day in Ottawa.

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The official national ceremonies are held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, presided over by the Governor General of Canada, any members of the Canadian Royal Family, the Prime Minister, and other dignitaries, to the observance of the public.

Typically, these events begin with the tolling of the Carillon in the Peace Tower, during which serving members of the Canadian Forces arrive at Confederation Square, followed by the Ottawa diplomatic corps, Ministers of the Crown, special guests, the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL), the vice-regal party, and, if present, the royal party.

Before the start of the ceremony, four armed sentries and three sentinels – two flag sentinels and one nursing sister – are posted at the foot of the cenotaph.

Similar ceremonies take place in provincial capitals across the country, officiated by the relevant Lieutenant Governor, as well as in other cities, towns, and even hotels or corporate headquarters.

Schools will usually hold special assemblies for the first half of the day, or on the school day prior, with various presentations concerning the remembrance of the war dead. The largest indoor ceremonies are believed to be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with over 7,000 gathering in Credit Union Centre.

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Vetrans Day is commemorated in the United States on 11 November, and is both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states. However, the function of the observance elsewhere is more closely matched by Memorial Day in May.

In the United States, and some other allied nations, 11 November was formerly known as Armistice Day; in the United States it was given its new name after the end of World War II.

Most schools, particularly more middle and high schools than some elementary schools, throughout the U.S. usually hold assemblies on a school day prior, with various presentations recognizing teachers and staff members who served in one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, as well as remembering the U.S. troops who died in past and present wars, and some patriotic music by a school choir, band and/or orchestra, including songs from a musical used as a tribute to the troops.

The poppy’s significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae’s poem In Flanders Fields.

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The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare.

A Frenchwoman, Anna E. Guérin, introduced the widely used artificial poppies given out today. Some people choose to wear white poppies, which emphasises a desire for peaceful alternatives to military action.

Canada
In Canadian tradition, the poppy is worn by many members of society during the two weeks prior to November 11. Until 1996, poppies were made by disabled veterans in Canada, but they have since been made by a private contractor.

United Kingdom
In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland the poppies are the flat Earl Haig variety with a leaf. Wearers require a separate pin to attach the poppy to their clothing. In Scotland the poppies are curled at the petals with no leaf. In Northern Ireland, because the poppy honours soldiers of the British Armed Forces and due to The Troubles, it is worn primarily by members of the Unionist and the Irish Protestant community.

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Poppy variations
In Australia, Canada, and New Zealand the poppies are curled at the petals with no leaf. The Canadian poppies consist of two pieces and a pin to attach them to clothing. The head portion of the pin is bent at an angle in a simple unusual design that requires a unique machine at manufacturing. For many years the centre of the Canadian poppy was both black and green (from two small concentric circles made of felt – the outer was green and the inner was black); current designs are black only.

In Sri Lanka in the inter-war years, there were rival sales of yellow Suriya (portia tree) flowers by the Suriya-Mal Movement on Remembrance Day, since funds from poppy sales were not used for Sri Lankan ex-service personnel but were repatriated to Britain. However, nowadays poppy sales are used for indigenous ex-service personnel who have been disabled in the ongoing civil war.

Remembrance Day Poems

In Gratitude of Silence
By: Debbie Holick

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Silent now the soldiers sleep, their tales long laid to rest.
I knew them not yet still I weep and place a poppy o’er my breast.

They were husbands, brothers, fathers, sons; so valiantly they fought.
On shores stained red,on hands and knees; it was our freedom that they sought.

Couageously they stood their ground but freedom carries a cost.
Thousands of men were wounded and countless lives were lost.

So in gratitude of silence and all those who have served,
sleep now, you have earned it. Your peace is well deserved.

SOURCE: remembrancedaycanada.com