The prunus tree turns bright red in the fall.Today is a national holiday in France. November eleventh marks the anniversary of the end of World War One in 1918. In the US, we celebrate it as Veteran's Day, but not to the extent that they do in France.
Yes I will be wearing my poppy today.
ReplyDeleteBritain now marks Remembrance Day on the Sunday nearest November 11, no holiday for us here...what a shame Britain is.
In Canada it is commemorated on Nov 11 but only the civil servants have a day off.
ReplyDeleteI was reading in "Le Monde" that some people are complaining that there are too many ceremonies in France on Nov 11.
I am in the tallest building (22 floors) in Waco along the main street (Austin Avenue). In a couple of hours I should be able to stand at my window and watch the parade pass below, listen to the bands, and duck as the WWII era airplanes buzz downtown.
ReplyDeleteDan m
ReplyDeletewaco- you have a Dr Peeper plant there isn't it?
Years ago when I was a little girl, Nov. 11 was celebrated as Armistice Day. I don't know when it was changed to Veterans' Day. Similarly, Memorial Day in the U.S. at the end of May used to be known as Decoration Day, the day when people would decorate the graves of deceased loved ones.
ReplyDeleteBeaver:
ReplyDeleteDr. Peper was first made here, in a pharmacy that was located about a block from where I work, and the Dr. Pepper Museum is also about a block away. Unfortunately I do not think any is currently bottled here.
anne, where does the poppy tradition come from?
ReplyDeletebeaver, it's often that way in the US as well. I heard on the French news that the government thinks there are too many commemorations throughout the year. They're suggesting limiting them to three: 8 May, 14 July, and 11 November. We'll see how that goes over.
dan, parades can be fun, but I get nervous when planes buzz populated areas. In SF they have the Blue Angels flying very low over the city during the October Fleet Week and it always made me very nervous when I lived there.
gabby, according to my research, Armistice Day was created in 1938, changed to Veterans Day in 1954, then moved to Monday in the Monday Holiday Law in the late 60s. It was subsequently moved back to the 11th in 1978.
Walt,
ReplyDeleteThe poppy refers to a poem the Canadian military surgeon John McCrae wrote in 1915, while he was working in a field hospital in Flandres/Northern France. He died of pneumonia in Jan 1918, before the end of WWI.
More information about 'Flandres Fields' and the mostly foreign soldiers who fought and died in Flandres in WWI on: www.inflandersfields.be. Martine
See my comment to chm on our 11 Nov poppy post re the symbolism too.
ReplyDeletemartine & susan, thanks for the info and links!
ReplyDelete