Remembrance Sunday
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Remembrance Sunday | |
---|---|
Official name | Remembrance Sunday |
Observed by | United Kingdom |
Liturgical color | (Red or green, or purple for a Requiem Eucharist) |
Observances | Parades, silences |
Date | Second Sunday in November |
2023 date | November 12 |
2024 date | November 10 |
2025 date | November 9 |
2026 date | November 8 |
Frequency | Annual |
Related to | Remembrance Day and Armistice Day |
Remembrance Sunday is held in the
It is marked by ceremonies at local
History
The focus of remembrance for the dead of the
The first UK commemoration of the end of the First World War took place at
The following year, Armistice Day in 1920, the funeral of the Unknown Soldier took place at the London Cenotaph and a two-minute silence was observed throughout the nation.[7] Buses halted, electricity was cut to tram lines, and even trading on the London Stock Exchange halted.
Starting in 1921, the Royal British Legion began selling Remembrance Poppies to raise funds for ex-servicemen. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the character of the remembrance events became politicized. While for some, Armistice Day was a day for recognizing the horrors of war, never to be repeated; for others the day symbolized the honor of military service.
A Christian Pacifist MP was elected to parliament in 1923. In the mid-1930s the
During the
In May 1945, just before
National ceremony in the United Kingdom
The national ceremony is held in London at the Cenotaph on Whitehall, starting with two minutes' silence at 11am and concluding with the end of The Nation's Thank You procession at 1:30 p.m.[10] The main part of the ceremony consists of the laying of wreaths by members of the royal family and other dignitaries, a service of remembrance with prayers and a hymn. It is immediately followed by a march-past by thousands of ex-service personnel and contingents from other organisations. Marchers salute the Cenotaph as they pass and wreaths are handed over to be laid around it.
Regional and local ceremonies
Significant ceremonies also take place in the capitals of the nations and across the regions of the United Kingdom.
Typically,
A common criticism of Remembrance Sunday ceremonies and the Royal British Legion is that by focusing only on veterans and military persons who have died, the vast majority of the casualties of war (civilians) are forgotten.[18][19][20]
British Overseas Territories
In the past, the
Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, Remembrance Sunday has tended to be associated with unionists. Most Irish nationalists and republicans do not take part in the public commemoration of British soldiers organised by the Royal British Legion. This is partly due to the actions of the British Army during The Troubles and its role in fighting against Irish independence. However, some moderate nationalists have attended Remembrance Day events as a way to connect with the unionist community. In 1987 a bomb was detonated by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) just before a Remembrance Sunday ceremony in Enniskillen, killing eleven people. The IRA said it had made a mistake and had been targeting soldiers parading to the war memorial. The Republic of Ireland has its own National Day of Commemoration in July for all Irish people who died in war.
Other ceremonies
From 1919 until 1945,
In 2006, then
Submariners hold an additional remembrance walk and ceremony on the Sunday before Remembrance Sunday, which has
Outside the United Kingdom
Outside the United Kingdom
In New Zealand an attempt was made to change Armistice Day to Remembrance Sunday after World War II but it was a failure, partly owing to competition from Anzac Day.[24]
Every year, the British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata, India, organises a Remembrance Sunday Commemoration at the Glorious Dead Cenotaph in the Maidan.[25]
Poppies
It is a common theme in British tabloid journalism in October and November to "expose" politicians and celebrities who have chosen not to wear a red Royal British Legion poppy. Critics have labelled this "poppy fascism",[27] as persons who refuse to wear poppies on TV or at sporting events have received death threats.[28][29]
See also
- Festival of Remembrance(Performance in the Royal Albert Hall on the Saturday before Remembrance Sunday)
- National Service of Remembrance
- Remembrance Day
- Remembrance poppy
- Two-minute silence
References
- ^ "[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Department for Culture Media and Sport – remembrance sunday". Retrieved 10 November 2010.
- ^ These two statements are in effect the same: the second Sunday is always between 8 and 14 November inclusive, so the second Sunday is no more than three days away from 11 November, and therefore always the Sunday nearest to 11 November.
- ^ "All Saints' Tide". Services and Prayers for the Season from All Saints to Candlemas. General Synod of the Church of England.
For many twentieth-century Christians the All Saints-tide period is extended to include Remembrance Sunday. In the Calendar and Lectionary we have sought to make it easier to observe this without cutting across a developing lectionary pattern, and we have reprinted the form of service approved ecumenically for use on that day.
- ISBN 978-0850526448.
- ^ Osborne, Samuel (11 November 2015). "Armistice Day, Remembrance Day and Veterans Day – what's the difference?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ^ Street, Peter (7 November 2014). "The great silence begins". Archived from the original on 17 November 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-415-61860-1.
- .
- ^ Cecil 1998, pp. 357-358
- ^ "Remembrance Sunday 2018: Find out how you can join the commemorations on Sunday 11 November". Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ Nation unites to remember fallen.
- ^ Services held to honour war dead.
- ^ Army band heads remembrance event.
- ^ War dead are remembered across NI.
- ^ "Hundreds turn out for Remembrance Day parade in Rugby". The Rugby Advertiser. 12 November 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ "Remembrance Sunday: Services honour war dead". BBC News. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ "Armistice Day, poppies and why the act of remembrance matters". The Daily Telegraph. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
- ^ "The poppy has lost its original meaning – time to ditch it". The Independent. 1 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Some young people don't feel comfortable wearing a poppy – but we should all remember the history that came before us". The Independent. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Five reasons people don't wear poppies". 9 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ Brady, Brian (2 November 2008). "British territories demand right to lay Cenotaph wreaths". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ Rosindell, Andrew. "British Overseas Territories And Remembrance Sunday". Early Day Motion. Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- JSTOR 30001490.
- ^ Helen Robinson, 'Lest we Forget? The Fading of New Zealand War Commemorations, 1946–1966', New Zealand Journal of History, 44, 1 (2010).
- ^ "British Deputy High Commission in Kolkata commemorates Remembrance Day". The Times of India. 11 November 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Remembrance Sunday". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "'McClean has received death threats'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Cambridge University condemns death threats sent to students after Remembrance Day debate". The Independent. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 11 November 2019.