Remembrance Day

Today is Remembrance Day, a very solemn holiday in Canada.  This is the day that Canadians remember their war dead, especially from World War I, but also World War II and Korea.  The culture around Remembrance Day is somewhat different than our Veterans' Day.  For Americans, Veterans' Day remembers the sacrifices of all veterans, living and dead.  We mark the day with parades, flags and patriotism.  The Canadians, on the other hand, have quiet ceremonies at cenotaphs where they lay wreaths.  A cenotaph is a war memorial. It is usually a statute or a small monument dedicated to the war dead.  I had never heard this word before I moved here. At Remembrance Day ceremonies, people leave the poppies they had been wearing all week at the cenotaph following the ceremony.