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CALENDAR CUSTOMS
CALENDAR CUSTOMS
REMEMBRANCE / ARMISTICE DAY
November 11th
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created November 2019
November 11th
by Gail Hussey-Weir
Created November 2019
The tradition of Remembrance Day evolved out of Armistice Day, which commemorated the armistice agreement that ended the First World War on Monday, November 11, 1918 at 11:00 a.m., the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. It is a federal statutory holiday in Canada.
The first official Armistice Day was held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace on this date in 1919. It has been observed throughout the Commonwealth ever since, at first on the Monday of the week in which November 11th fell. In 1931, the Canadian Parliament passed a bill to observe it on the day itself. This bill also changed the name from Armistice Day to Remembrance Day. [It is not clear if the name changed in the rest of the Commonwealth, including Newfoundland, at that time. In 1956, it was referred to in the November issue of the Submarine Miner as Armistice Day.] The tradition is that at 11:00 a.m. on November 11th, everyone pauses what they are doing for a moment of silence to honour and remember those who served and continue to serve. A poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day and replica poppies are sold by members of the Royal Canadian Legion to assist in the needs of veterans.
From the news items of the 1950s, it seems that there were no parades to the War Memorial by the various para-military organizations and no crowds of people in attendance as is the tradition today and as happened on Memorial Day (July 1st). News items in the 1950s only referred to a delegation from the Legion who attended the War Memorial to lay a wreath.
The first official Armistice Day was held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace on this date in 1919. It has been observed throughout the Commonwealth ever since, at first on the Monday of the week in which November 11th fell. In 1931, the Canadian Parliament passed a bill to observe it on the day itself. This bill also changed the name from Armistice Day to Remembrance Day. [It is not clear if the name changed in the rest of the Commonwealth, including Newfoundland, at that time. In 1956, it was referred to in the November issue of the Submarine Miner as Armistice Day.] The tradition is that at 11:00 a.m. on November 11th, everyone pauses what they are doing for a moment of silence to honour and remember those who served and continue to serve. A poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day and replica poppies are sold by members of the Royal Canadian Legion to assist in the needs of veterans.
From the news items of the 1950s, it seems that there were no parades to the War Memorial by the various para-military organizations and no crowds of people in attendance as is the tradition today and as happened on Memorial Day (July 1st). News items in the 1950s only referred to a delegation from the Legion who attended the War Memorial to lay a wreath.
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The news item above is from the Daily News, Nov. 12, 1955, p. 7. The item on the left is from the Submarine Miner, November 1955, p. 7. Neither article mentions anything about a parade to the War Memorial or a large gathering at the Monument, as would normally happen on July 1st for Memorial Day. In the photo at the left, only two men are seen laying one wreath. So it would seem that the observance of this day on Bell Island in 1955 was not as big an occasion as was the Memorial Day service, which involved a large parade and a gathering of hundreds of residents.
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There was no mention of Armistice Day in the Submarine Miner in 1956. The photo below is from the Submarine Miner, November 1957, p. 8. Again, there seems to be only 3 men in attendance from the Legion. (The United Church Manse is in the background.)
In the photo below from the December 1958 Submarine Miner, p. 8, there are 4 members of the Legion. The day before this photo was taken, there had been a special dinner for the opening of the "new" Legion building, which replaced the one that had burned down in March of that year. At the dinner, "a two-minute silence was observed in memory of those Bell Islanders who gave their lives in the cause of freedom, in two world wars and the Korea conflict." No mention was recorded of it being the day before Armistice Day or of any special event on Armistice Day.
