...I find myself biting my tongue rather than sound like a snippy old schoolmarm or something, pointing out to people that Memorial Day, FKA Decoration Day, is the day we remember those who did not make it back from the wars, NOT when we thank those who happen to have worn a uniform, whether they went anywhere and did anything particularly onerous.
That one is Veteran's Day, FKA Armistice Day.
This year, it is apparently also necessary to point out that Memorial/Decoration Day is an AMERICAN holiday.
US of A.
Veteran's/Armistice Day is also known in Commonwealth nations as Poppy or Remembrance Day; the custom of using poppies to commemorate the dead is a reference to the poem Flanders Fields, by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae.
And now I am seeing people post photos of Lancaster bombers and Spitfire fighters buzzing a field of poppies, urging Americans to observe Memorial Day.
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