Remembrance Day 2020 — 2025
Remembrance Day is the second Sunday in November; on the evening before, there is the Royal British Legion’s Festival of Remembrance held in the Royal Albert Hall, ending with the symbolic falling of poppy petals and a two minute silence in memory of those who lost their lives in times of war. Armistice Day always falls on 11 November; it marks the anniversary of the end of the First World War, at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
This year, 2025, Armistice Day is a Tuesday. Remembrance Sunday 9 November. If you would like to make a donation to the work of the Royal British Legion (supporting serving personnel, veterans, families and the bereaved), you can do so through this link. Of course, the Royal British Legion sells various fundraising poppy-related items, such as paper poppies, brooches and badges, etc; if you would like to make a poppy to wear as a mark of respect, Crafty Cavy offers free crochet designs here:
poppy pattern and leaf pattern
There is also a free Crafty Cavy poppy knitting pattern.
I first wrote a blog post about Remembrance Day in November 2020, while there were restrictions in place because of the pandemic. I’m revisiting the topic this year as while so many things have gone “back to normal” there will be others that will be forever etched in collective memories, recognised by the Covid Memorial Wall. While this was not a war between nations, the pandemic did result in untimely deaths and the memorial wall has more than 240,000 hand-painted hearts to commemorate the loss of loved ones within the UK.
During the time of lockdown, the Royal British Legion invited people to mark the two minute silence on Remembrance Day by standing on the doorstep, in order to observe the social distancing restrictions. This year, the commemorations will take place as usual in the traditional manner.
1. Why are poppies used as a symbol of remembrance?
Poppies will grow on recently disturbed ground, and after hostilities ceased at the end of The Great War (as WWI is also known), it was found that the battlefields were flooded with the red of poppies in bloom. The end of WWI was formally ratified by the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.
2. Armistice Day & Remembrance Sunday
While Armistice Day is 11 November, Remembrance Day is the second Sunday in November. This year, as usual, there will be a parade with service personnel presenting poppy wreaths to be laid at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, but with the second phase of lockdown in 2020 the traditional ceremony did not take place; instead there was a smaller televised service. The two minute silence was still held at 11am, with a smaller ceremony as explained on the BBC website.
Although Remembrance Day initially marked the end of the First World War, it now recognises those who paid the ultimate price in every conflict since then.
3. Wreath Laying
Poppy wreaths are laid at the Cenotaph in memory of the fallen in military conflicts. Usually there is a march-past of veterans, and wreaths are laid by members of the royal family, senior politicians, various dignitaries, military representatives and members of the Royal British Legion.
4. The Cenotaph as a Monument
The Cenotaph in Whitehall was designed by Edwin Landseer Lutyens, and was officially unveiled on 11 November 1920. The centenary of the unveiling of the permanent monument was marked in 2020: a temporary version had been built in July 1919 as the focus for a peace parade. The word “cenotaph” means “empty tomb”.
5. Tower of London Poppies
In 2014, to mark the centenary of the start of World War I, an installation of ceramic poppies was created at the Tower of London. [image: hrp.org.uk]
6. Ceramic Poppies: Display and Fundraising
The 888,246 ceramic poppies were made by hand using techniques that would have been in use 100 years ago; each poppy represented a WWI British military fatality. At the end of the display, each poppy was sold to raise funds which were shared equally between six service charities. In 2018, a display of lights was hosted by the Tower of London to mark the centenary of the end of WWI. [image: hrp.org.uk]
7. What do the Different Poppies Represent?
The original poppy as a symbol of remembrance is red, but other colours have been introduced over the years for particular focus. The Remembrance Poppy, a red poppy, is a trademark of the Royal British Legion, which sells poppies to raise funds for British Armed Forces and their dependents.
Read more about different colour poppies and what they represent here.
8. White Poppies
The Co-operative Women’s Guild introduced the white poppy in 1933 to focus on peace, and remember all casualties in war, civilian as well as military.
The white poppy is now circulated by the Peace Pledge Union, and the emphasis is on striving to achieve peace for the benefit of all.
9. Black Poppies
Several meanings are associated with black poppies: WWI conscientious objectors, protests against war in Iraq, and the contribution from black, African and Caribbean communities (read more at Black Poppy Rose). [image: blackpoppyrose.org]
10. Purple Poppies and Purple Paw Prints
The purple poppy was introduced by the charity Animal Aid to recognise animals as victims of war. Many horses were shipped overseas to be used in WWI, but they were not brought back home at the end of the conflict. Other animals have also been employed, including mules, dogs and pigeons. The purple paw print was introduced to remember animals throughout the year.
11. Will you wear a poppy for Remembrance Day?
The different poppies can be worn alone or in combination with each other. Which would you choose to wear – if at all, and why? Please share your views in the comments. [image source BBC]
12. Make your own poppy
To start your crochet journey, have a look at some easy patterns first, which include the crochet Remembrance Day poppy design and the knitted Remembrance poppy pattern.
There’s also a simple leaf pattern, that can be worn with the Remembrance Day poppy. Don’t forget to make a donation to the poppy appeal!
You might also be interested in joining the Crafty Cavy community, or pop along to my Crafty Cavy page, both on Facebook!
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What a fab blog!
I particularly love the images. So poignant and I remember going to see the sea of poppies. So stunning and so emotional.
Thank you, Anne. I saw the poppy display at dusk, it was dramatic and moving to think each poppy meant a life that was lost.
Howdy! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to
give a quick shout out and say I truly enjoy reading through your posts.
Thank you Flossie!
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Thank you Elvin!
I love it whenever people get together and share views.
Great website, stick with it!
Thank you, Elvia!
Hey, thanks for the blog post. Really thank you! Will read on…