Remembrance Day or Armistice Day in France

Remembrance Day is as a traditional memorial day which evolved out of Armistice Day and is also known as Veterans Day in the US or Poppy Day. It is an annual observance day on the 11^th day of November.

Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, Veterans Day or Poppy Day?

It can be a bit confusing with the four different names but the explanation of the four names is simple enough. It is a day of honouring the war dead following the Armistice at the end of World War I. The day was initially called Armistice because the armistice was signed by the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne to end the hostilities "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month".  The naming of the day was changed from Armistice Day by many countries during the Second World War to Remembrance Day (in commonwealth countries) and to Veterans Day in the US.

Armistice Day, as it’s still called in France, is a national public holiday. (For all French Public Holidays and National Celebration Days see our full calendar.)

100^th Anniversary of World War One Armistice

The 100^th anniversary of the armistice of World War I was on 11 November 2018 and this special centenary triggered large commemorative events globally.  In France more than 60 heads of government and heads of state gathered at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.  This is very different to the initial Armistice Day which was held at Buckingham Palace and was a banquet said to be a “banquet in honour of the President of the French Republic” held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace during the evening hours of 10 November 1919.

Red Poppies on Remembrance Day

The British Legion, in England, adopted the red poppy as the emblem for Remembrance Day in 1919 and since then, it has been worn, used in wreaths and placed on honour walls. Remembrance Day is also called Poppy Day.

The red poppy was chosen because it was one of the first flowers to bloom in the devastated battlefields of northern France and Belgium in the First World War. In soldiers’ folklore, the vivid red of the poppy came from the blood of their comrades soaking the ground.

When I am in Australia in the lead up to Remembrance Day, the little red poppy is on sale at various shops by the RSL (Returned Services League) to raise funds for welfare work. The cloth poppies are an exact replica in size and colour of the poppies that bloom in Flanders’ Fields and are worn by many Australians in the days preceding and on 11 November.

"Australians wear a Red Poppy on Remembrance Day for three reasons. Firstly, in memory of the sacred dead who rest in Flanders’ Fields. Secondly, to keep alive the memories of the sacred cause for which they laid down their lives; and thirdly, as a bond of esteem and affection between the soldiers of all Allied nations and in respect for France, our common battleground." - Australian Army 

Remembrance Red Poppy Knitting Pattern 

It has become popular to knit handmade red poppies to place on gravestones and Spotlight have an easy pattern to follow if you wish to make some for yourselves. On my last tour to France, one of my guests particularly wanted to visit the grave of her husband's Great-Uncle, Corporal John Albert Hookham (1769) 4^th Bn, A.I.F. and she made poppies for us to lay at his grave.

Visiting Corporal John Albert Hookham's grave at the Warlencourt British Cemetery at The Somme, Normandy and laying these poppies in remembrance of his life given in sacrifice was a highlight of our Normandy tour and something that we will always treasure. If you would like to knit your own red poppies, then get your copy of Spotlight's Remembrance Poppy Knitting Pattern below and if you would like to join us in stunning Normandy on one of our escorted 7 day tours, read our Discover Normandy & Brittany Tour Brochure here.