Remembrance Sunday is not a public holiday. It falls on Sunday, November 10th, 2024 and most businesses follow regular Sunday opening hours in the United Kingdom. It marks the day World War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, in 1918. A two-minute silence is held at 11am to remember the people who have died in wars.
During the Second World War, many countries changed the name of the holiday. Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations adopted Remembrance Day, while the US chose Veterans Day.
The red poppy – a symbol of wartime remembrance. The reason poppies are used to remember those who have given their lives in battle is because they are the flowers which grew on the battlefields after World War One ended. This is described in the famous World War One poem In Flanders Fields. … It is also used to help those who have lost loved ones because of wars.
The poppy colours and their meaning
Red- The common red poppy is from the Royal British Legion, and signifies memorial to the people who died during World War One and later conflicts Wearing a poppy was inspired by the fields of poppies that grew where many of the battles were fought.
Purple – The purple poppy is a symbol of remembrance in the United Kingdom for animals that served during wartime. The symbol was created in 2006 based on the principle of the traditional red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day. … Historically the greatest number of animal casualties in conflict have been horses and ponies.
White – The white poppy is a flower used as a symbol of peace, worn either in place of or in addition to the red remembrance poppy for Remembrance Day or Anzac Day. The white poppy is handed out by a charity called Peace Pledge Union, which promotes peace.
They say that the white poppy commemorates people who died in conflict,but focuses on achieving peace and challenging the way we look at war.
Black poppy – The black poppy has two different meanings attached to it. It is most commonly associated with the commemoration of black, African and Caribbean communities’ contribution to the war effort – as servicemen and servicewomen, and as civilians.
The British Legion has also published this article – 11 things you might not know about the poppy well worth a read