Posted in Edinburgh, Scotland, Travel, United Kingdom, tagged Bag Pipes, edinburgh castle, Flanders Field, poppys, remembrance day, Scotland, UK on Sunday, 11 November, 2012|
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In Flanders Field the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
by John McCrae, May 1915
Today is “Remembrance Day” in the UK and it commemorates the sacrifices of members of the armed forces. In the states, we call it Veterans Day. In November 1918, Moina Michael, an American, was inspired by the “In Flanders Field” poem to wear and distribute poppies in honor of fallen soldiers. During the month of November, poppies are worn by men and women throughout the UK. In Scotland, this weekend, we noticed the poppy was a little different (had four petals rather than two) but the sentiment was the same. I even saw a dog with a poppy on his collar. Internationally the poppy is becoming more popular but not so much in the US. I would love to see it make a comeback. The poppies are sold and the money raised is used for soldier projects.
We were at the Edinburgh Castle and participated in the two minutes of silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, which is the anniversary of the ending of the First World War in 1918 between the Allies and Germany. It was very moving even if a few of the other tourists there didn’t realize the significance of the ceremony.
It started with a lone bag piper walking through the castle courtyard
Then there was a gun salute at the beginning and the end of the two minutes of silence. During my 2 minutes of reflections, I thought of all the brave men and women who willingly put their lives in danger to protect our freedoms. I’m so thankful to all the veterans, past and present. Especially my husband, my dad, my uncle, my brother, my cousin, my friends…
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