I've found that, outside of Canada, most people don't even realize "In Flanders Fields" was written by a Canadian, let alone which battle it refers to.
I'm kind of a weird American--I collect Canadiana in a country where the average citizen probably couldn't pick Stephen Harper out in a photograph. Not to mention that WWI is a hella interesting war, for all that it was a lot of lives lost for no good reason. And I fell in love with the Memorial Chapel (and the rest of the building) during my first visit to Ottawa in summer, 2007. You can feel the affection and pride when you first walk in. Everyone immediately dropped their voices, like they were walking into a church. I took a bunch of pictures while I was there, including this one (the marble to make these plaques comes from France and Belgium).
And thanks for also knowing/acknowledging it's not just Veteran's Day....that some still refer to is as Armistice Day and it's Remembrance Day for others.
I like "Remembrance Day" for a name. It's more accurate than "Veterans Day", because the remembrance is FOR veterans, but it's BY the ones left behind at home (this is one reason I loved Passchendaele so much--its main theme is that war isn't just on the battlefield, it's here at home, too).
The U.S. celebrates Memorial Day every May, and I've always wondered why we have two official holidays where we acknowledge the same thing. I think "Memorial Day" is a more fitting name, for the reasons I gave above, athough the Nov. 11 date is more appropriate, IMO (and if anyone can tell me why the U.S. has both official holidays, I'd love to know).
France still calls it Armistice Day (only they call it Jour d'armistice, naturally *g*). I heard on NPR tonight that this is the first Armistice day without a living French veteran of the Great War. It's sad sometimes how time marches on.
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Date: 2008-11-12 04:40 am (UTC)I'm kind of a weird American--I collect Canadiana in a country where the average citizen probably couldn't pick Stephen Harper out in a photograph. Not to mention that WWI is a hella interesting war, for all that it was a lot of lives lost for no good reason. And I fell in love with the Memorial Chapel (and the rest of the building) during my first visit to Ottawa in summer, 2007. You can feel the affection and pride when you first walk in. Everyone immediately dropped their voices, like they were walking into a church. I took a bunch of pictures while I was there, including this one (the marble to make these plaques comes from France and Belgium).
And thanks for also knowing/acknowledging it's not just Veteran's Day....that some still refer to is as Armistice Day and it's Remembrance Day for others.
I like "Remembrance Day" for a name. It's more accurate than "Veterans Day", because the remembrance is FOR veterans, but it's BY the ones left behind at home (this is one reason I loved Passchendaele so much--its main theme is that war isn't just on the battlefield, it's here at home, too).
The U.S. celebrates Memorial Day every May, and I've always wondered why we have two official holidays where we acknowledge the same thing. I think "Memorial Day" is a more fitting name, for the reasons I gave above, athough the Nov. 11 date is more appropriate, IMO (and if anyone can tell me why the U.S. has both official holidays, I'd love to know).
France still calls it Armistice Day (only they call it Jour d'armistice, naturally *g*). I heard on NPR tonight that this is the first Armistice day without a living French veteran of the Great War. It's sad sometimes how time marches on.