Remembrance Day

Today I come to you with a post on November 11th - a national holiday for Poland called the Independence Day. I will briefly describe what it looks like from the French side. What is this day for them, do they celebrate this day in any special way?


Remembrance Day is a day important both for countries in Europe and for the Commonwealth countries. This day commemorates the sacrifices of World War I as well as other wars.
For France, because we will focus on it, it is the anniversary of the armistice of 1918, the day of November 11th was instituted by the law of 1922 "national day for the commemoration of the Victory and of the peace". The law of 2012 broadens the scope to all deaths for France. It is therefore the recognition of the whole country with regard to all the Dead for France who fell during and since the Great War that is expressed this day, particularly towards the last of them. 

Every November 11th, France pays tribute to the fighters and victims of the First World War. On this day, the commemorations follow one another. The President of the Republic lays a wreath of tricolor flowers at the foot of the statue of Georges Clemenceau. The head of state then goes to the most beautiful avenue in the world and goes up the Champs-Élysées, escorted by several riders of the Republican Guard. He ends this tribute by meditating on the famous tomb of the Unknown Soldier, beneath the Arc de Triomphe.

Throughout these commemorations, the President and other officials wear a cornflower in the buttonhole, which has become a national symbol to veterans and victims of war. Why a cornflower? In World War I, this is how the Poilus nicknamed the new soldiers, after their blue uniforms.

It is a day off from work and school activities, shops are closed so that people can celebrate the day. There are many parades organized on this day.
Of course, for obvious reasons, this will not happen this year and people will not be able to go to such parades because of the coronavirus - sad, right?

This is how we briefly took a peek into French culture to follow the celebration of November 11th. See you soon!

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