Then the ring began to uncoil and the participates went into the
adjacent church for a religious ceremony.REMEMBRANCE DAY In the UK
by Georgie McIrvin
Ceremony is an essential part of any culture. It is a thread that binds a people together and one generation to another. Where there is a strong sense of ceremony, there seems to be a united group, whether in a family or a nation. The British Isles have survived on ceremony.
On November 11 at exactly eleven minutes past eleven o’clock, there is a nation wide moment of silence to commemorate the ending of WWI. But the premier ceremony is held on Remembrance Day, the Sunday nearest to November 11. This ceremony is conducted in exactly the same way in every village in the country. Only six villages in all of England do not have a War Memorial statue around which the ceremony is held.
A large ring is formed around the War Memorial by groups representing each of the military units, ie. Army, Navy, Air Force, etc. Also there are the youth groups in uniform , similar to Boy Scouts, and the government officials. A resplendent military band stands in formation in front of the War Memorial. Very large crowds have gathered in the streets to witness the ceremony.
The band plays a mournful tune and the crowd grows silent. Following the music there is a two minute period of silence for reflection on the tremendous sacrifices that were made to gain peace. This ceremony originally began as a tribute to the fallen from World War I, but now encompasses all war dead from then to the present. There is not a sound. I was standing about a block and a half away, and I saw no one move. Everywhere there was absolute respect for the period of silence.
For days prior to this event, paper poppies had been sold to wear on the lapel. The money generated goes to the relief of veterans’ families. It seemed that every person at the ceremony was wearing a poppy. My friends supplied one for me. The same type of paper poppies were used to construct the wreaths that were later placed at the foot of the War Memorial.
At the appointed time, one by one, a representative of each group, went
forward and placed a wreath in memory of the fallen from that unit. After laying
the wreath, the person would pause with bowed head before returning to his
place. This was repeated until the ground around the statue was red with
poppies. Then the ring began to uncoil and the participates went into the
adjacent church for a religious ceremony.
On closer inspection of the wreaths, I found that the center of each had the name of the unit which gave it, and many had poignant words from those who really remembered. One said, “to my chums who went down in the sub and didn’t come up.”
As I witnessed the pageantry, I was struck by the degree of respect that was shown by the people on the streets. We have Veterans Day and Memorial Day, but I have never seen that attitude, nor that large an attendance at any commemorative ceremony. I mused as to why. Then it struck home. In America we were fortunate that the bombs did not fall on our homes, the blood did not run in our streets, we did not witness the deaths first hand. Though many loved ones were killed or injured, it would have had to make a difference if this had occurred at home. I think that from now on, I will be more attentive to our ceremonies and be more grateful that some things that I have never seen.