# Question for Non-Americans: Veterans Day **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 11, 2014, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313 "2014-11-11T05:53:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/21 "2014-11-11T13:12:07Z")
> [@clairobscur](#): > > ETA, upon reading **Double Foolscap** post : in France, blue Cornflowers are sold. (blue because of the French WWII uniform, and apparently cornflowers, like poppies, kept growing on battlefields). In Israel we wear stickers with a picture of a [Red Everlasting](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helichrysum_sanguineum), a wildflower whose Hebrew name is\* Dam Hamaccabim\* (“Blood of the Maccabees”). ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/22 "2014-11-11T14:15:04Z")
Remembrance Day is a provincial holiday in most provinces in Canada. The two exceptions are Ontario and Quebec. Here in Regina, there will be two ceremonies: an indoor one at the Armoury of the local regiment, and an outdoor one at the Cenotaph at the main park downtown. Since it’s snowed overnight, the outdoor one will be cold, but it will be well-attended. Wreath-laying by different community groups, prayers, The Last Post, followed by a minute of silence at 11 am, then Reveille. Pipers will play, and representatives from the different branches of the Armed Forces will stand at the four corners of the Cenotaph, with their rifles reversed. “In Flanders Fields” is often read, as well as the prayer “They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old …at the going down of the Sun, we will remember them.” After the minute of silence, a twenty-one gun salute will begin in front of the Legislature, three miles away, and the guns will boom every 30 seconds, just a brief reminder of what it was like in the trenches. The Cenotaph Ceremony is usually short, since it’s outdoors. A new custom that had been evolving in the past ten years is that after the ceremony, people individually take off their poppies and pin them to the ribbons of the wreaths. Then the crowd disperses. It’s not a celebration, and certainly it has patriotic themes, but the overall theme is sadness coupled with gratitude. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/23 "2014-11-11T17:23:14Z")
News reports indicate that the attendance at the National War Memorial ceremony in Ottawa was the largest in living memory. That was the location where Nathan Corillo was standing guard when he was shot two weeks ago. RIP. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/24 "2014-11-11T18:20:50Z")
Hearing the artillery salute (is that the proper term for it?) right now in Edmonton. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/25 "2014-11-11T18:30:48Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > News reports indicate that the attendance at the National War Memorial ceremony in Ottawa was the largest in living memory. > > That was the location where Nathan Corillo was standing guard when he was shot two weeks ago. > > RIP. Just look at [Ottawa](http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/live-coverage-remembrance-day-ceremony-in-ottawa). Wow. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/26 "2014-11-11T18:31:35Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Israel is the only democratic country where war is immediate and touches the lives of every citizen. > So veterans day is taken very,very seriously, as a day of mourning.( And it is not called veterans day, because that sounds like you are only honoring ex-soldiers. It is called by the more inclusive name “Rememberance Day”.) > > It is a serious day of mourning. Remembrance Day always sounded to me like it was a day of mourning, or honoring, the dead–not inclusive of living veterans. (ETA: Posts in this thread seem largely consistent with this, for WWI Allied countries.) In the USA we have separate days for each; the day for our dead is supposed to be Memorial Day. But they do get somewhat muddled up, plus a couple other “patriotic” holidays often end up feting military too. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/27 "2014-11-11T19:56:00Z")
> [@kbear](#): > > In Canada we have Remembrance Day today as well. I don’t think it’s a statutory holiday any more but there is still a moment’s silence at 11:11 The moment of silence is at 11 AM, **not** 11:11. Remembrance Day is a statutory holiday in some places in Canada but not others, as determined by the provinces. There is something of a movement to make it a nationwide holiday, one I am absolutely opposed to as I feel it completely defeats the purpose of the day; it’ll turn a day of sombre reflection into just another day to take off work and drink. Anyway, as it is, it’s a big deal in Canada. My entire office gathered in the cafeteria and was completely silent at 11 sharp as the TV broadcast played Last Post, and veterans spoke of the meaning of the occasion. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/28 "2014-11-11T20:03:56Z")
After WW1 Nov. 11th was always Remembrance day here. All work and play came to a halt for two minutes and vehicle drivers pulled over and stopped. In the early years they stopped the trains and the buses as well but it put the timetables out for the rest of the day. After WW2 it was shifted to ‘the nearest convenient Sunday in November’ and Nov. 11th was gradually allowed to lapse. In recent years it has been taken up again. In the Netherlands a similar silence is held at 20:00hrs on May 4th, which is the day before Liberation Day. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/29 "2014-11-11T20:13:14Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Wasn’t it originally Armistice Day, at least in the U.S.? I guess WWII changed that? It was Armistice Day in the USA & UK. (And other countries, as well.) When we realized The Great War really wasn’t The War To End War, it became Veterans Day & Remembrance Day, respectively. The USA already had Memorial Day to remember the dead. It began just after the Civil War & was celebrated by both “sides.” In the USA, both days have become conflated a bit. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2014, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/30 "2014-11-11T22:02:30Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > It was Armistice Day in the USA & UK. (And other countries, as well.) When we realized The Great War really wasn’t The War To End War, it became Veterans Day & Remembrance Day, respectively. > > The USA already had Memorial Day to remember the dead. It began just after the Civil War & was celebrated by both “sides.” In the USA, both days have become conflated a bit. Exactly. Remembrance Day in Europe == Memorial Day in the US. The US day came first, and was already in May. So we took the 11/11 day and made it Veterans Day. The question that the OP was asking wasn’t what do other countries do on Veterans Day (i.e. 11/11; they do the same stuff we do on Memorial Day, more or less), but rather, “is there a recognition day in some other part of the year that corresponds to our Veterans Day?” ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/31 "2014-11-12T00:23:20Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Yep… > In NZ it is ANZAC day that comes closest - and it’s a pretty big deal. > > Parades, public holiday, wreath laying etc etc. > > With quite a lot of lead-up. Yep we are the A in ANZAC and as said ANZAC day is a national holiday and is a bloody big deal for some people. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/32 "2014-11-12T00:26:46Z")
As others have said, we have a similar day in Canada, called Remembrance Day. It’s a holiday for some Canadians, but not all. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/33 "2014-11-12T00:36:51Z")
I’ve noticed that veteran remembrances outside the U.S. seem very WWI-centric. Which makes sense, I guess, being the first one, but I sometimes wonder whether all the other vets of all the other wars get anything at all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/34 "2014-11-12T01:59:52Z")
Bonus question: How many WWI vets are still alive in your country? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/35 "2014-11-12T03:06:22Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > It was Armistice Day in the USA & UK. (And other countries, as well.) When we realized The Great War really wasn’t The War To End War, it became Veterans Day & Remembrance Day, respectively. > > The USA already had Memorial Day to remember the dead. It began just after the Civil War & was celebrated by both “sides.” In the USA, both days have become conflated a bit. I’m pretty sure it’s usually called [Remembrance Day](http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/remembrance/how-the-nation-remembers/plant-a-poppy/remembrance-day) in the UK. We sell cardboard poppies in aid of the British Legion, a charity for those who fought and those who died. It is unusual not to wear one. You wouldn’t get a discount on your food for being in uniform because it would be really, really, weird to wear a military uniform like it was clothes. The military here do not wear full uniforms when they’re not working. ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/36 "2014-11-12T03:08:55Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Bonus question: How many WWI vets are still alive in your country? None known > **[List of last surviving World War I veterans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_last_surviving_World_War_I_veterans_by_country)** > > This is a list of the last known surviving veterans of the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918) who lived to 1999 or later, along with the last known veterans for countries that participated in the war. Veterans are defined as people who were members of the armed forces of the combatant nations during the conflict, although some states use other definitions. > Florence Green, a British citizen who served in the Allied armed forces as a Royal Air Force (WRAF) service member, is genera... ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/37 "2014-11-12T03:11:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Bonus question: How many WWI vets are still alive in your country? None, he died in 2010 at the ripe old age of 110. (Australia) ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/38 "2014-11-12T03:12:24Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > it would be really, really, weird to wear a military uniform like it was clothes. The military here do not wear full uniforms when they’re not working. 😃 It really would. Way too needy. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/39 "2014-11-12T03:22:51Z")
Here’s the [Canadian National War Memorial](https://www.flickr.com/photos/79295541@N08/10811740593/) at night on November 11, with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front. And here’s the [Tomb of the Unknown Soldier](https://www.flickr.com/photos/79295541@N08/10811452095/). At the end of the Remembrance Day ceremony, people come forward, take off their poppies, and leave them on the Tomb. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313/40 "2014-11-12T04:47:14Z")
Spain, no. There is a _Día de las Fuerzas Armadas_ (Armed Forces Day), mobile and celebrated in June, but it is not a holiday - it is a “let’s parade around” occasion for those who currently are _in_ our Armed Forces. Take into account that for our last 200 years our veterans have been either from civil wars or from wars we lost. And for the last 30 or so, military and police personnel can only wear their uniforms while on duty (previously they might have worn it on the way to and from work, but that’s it); the idea of a cop moonlighting as a security guard _in his uniform_ makes our heads hurt. Wearing military dress when you’re neither in the military nor part of some sort of ceremony (or acting) isn’t just Not Done, it’s inconceivable. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-non-americans-veterans-day/704313.md?page=3)