Remembrance Day - 11th November

Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom (UK) honors the heroic efforts, achievements and sacrifices that were made in past wars. The main observance is on the second Sunday in November, but 2 minutes of silence is also made on November 11.

The red poppy - a symbol of wartime remembrance.

©iStockphoto.com/remem

Observe Remembrance Day

People stop work to observe a moment of silence at 11am on November 11, which is the time and date when hostilities formally ended after more than four years of battle during World War I. Poppies are worn as a symbol of respect and tribute on Remembrance Sunday and/or November 11.

The day is also marked by events such as memorial services, church services and parades. A national commemoration takes place at Whitehall, a road in the City of Westminster in central London.

Public life

Remembrance Day is an observance and not a public holiday in the UK. Many businesses may temporarily pause activity at 11am for 2 minutes of silence on November 11.

About Remembrance Day

Also referred to as Poppy Day or Armistice Day, Remembrance Day is observed in Commonwealth countries, including Australia and Canada. Other countries such as the U.S. have similar observances like Veterans Day. November 11 is the anniversary of the signing of the armistice, which ended World War I hostilities between Allied nations and Germany in 1918.

Guy Fawkes Day - 5th November

Guy Fawkes Day: 4 Things To Know

Want to know what November 5 was made famous for? Read on.

1. Guy Fawkes joined a group of English Catholics and attempted to plant gunpowder in the cellar of the Palace of Westminister in 1605, planning to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of England’s Parliament. He was discovered by Thomas Knyvett, the keeper of the Whitehall Palace on November 5. He found Guy (who was posing as John Johnson), along with about 900 kg of gunpowder. The group he was involved with was planning to assassinate the Protestant King James.

2. The holiday was celebrated by fireworks because those in London were encouraged to celebrate the safety of the king by lighting fires. The celebrations were actually repealed in 1859. The celebration has become less and less each year, but many have fireworks to remember the Gunpowder plot.

3. Those who searched the palace actually found out about the assassination plan from an anonymous letter!

4. “Remember, Remember, the fifth of November” is the line from a poem that took on the nature of a nursery rhyme. Here is the full verse:

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder, treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Listen to it: