Freedom is not free
MALA ASHOK
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On November 11, 1918 major hostilities of World War I came to an end. Ever since, most countries celebrate Remembrance Day or Martyr’s Day.
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Lest we forget : In remembrance.
November 11 is observed as Remembrance Day in Canada. It is a public holiday in many parts of the country, and is somewhat similar to January 30, which is observed as Martyr’s Day in India.
On November 11 each year, Canadians wear symbolic red artificial Poppies, and gather at War Memorials across the country to pay homage to those who died at war. At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, the time the Armistice of World War I
was signed in 1918, Canadians observe two minutes of silence to remember the war dead.
The traditional War Memorial flower among the former Allies is the Red Poppy. It was Canadian physician John McCrae’s poem “In Flanders fields the poppies blow” (published December 8, 1915) that inspired poppy-wearing for Armistice Day. He noticed that these bright red flowers spread and bloomed across the battlefields providing inspiration for his poignant poem, which Canadian children know as well as we know Vande Maataram.
Scientists have experimented and found that the soil in that area was not rich enough in lime to allow the poppies to grow and flourish, but the rubble generated by the War fed lime into the soil, and the flowers thrived.
In Flanders Fields
By Lt. Col. John Macrae
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 amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved,
and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
In the Commonwealth
Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. The day was specifically dedicated by King George V of England,
on November 7, 1919. In many Commonwealth countries the Service of Remembrance generally includes the sounding of “Last Post”, followed by two minutes of silence, and the sounding of “Reveille” (or, more commonly, “The Rouse”).
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