Lets Remember, always.

(Picture: inel.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/poppy-day/
During November, and after Bonfire Night, it is sometimes easy to forget that there is another special day coming up; Rememberance Sunday (or Poppy Day).

I sometimes feel that younger generations do not appreciate what this day is for and simply dismiss it. I find this sad. As one of these 'youngsters' I still feel previledged to know that someone in my family faught for us all to be here. That so many people laid their lives down so that we could live the way we do. Maybe it has something to do with teaching or maybe it is just 'one of those things' but it really should not be.

I found this article on my local papers website: http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/commentandanalysis/3825304.Poppy_Day_is_a_vital_lesson_for_our_young/ And i just made me consider how different even my school year is to that of those four years below and how we should consider the same things important but the cultural differences can be seen alot in society. Like the artcle says, it takes teachings and older generations to pass on the stories of the war for these youngsters to consider how important the eleventh day of the eleventh month is. It is not a day in which war is glorified, nor is it a day when people mourn. It is the one day a year when a nation is reunited in celebrating the fact that our country is free.

I always remember loving history at school, I found the stories of Kings and Queens fascinating and could listen to stories of my Nan's childhood all day long, but when it came to facts about war I was a little less interested to say the least. One day I asked my Dad 'Why do I have to learn about the war? Its so boring!' to which my very wise Dad replied 'It is say we do not repeat history and allow another war like these to come about.' From then on I paid more attention, even if I was still bored I considered what my Dad had said and it kept me learning. The truth in this is that children, even those born nearly a century after 'The war to end all wars' should know about why it happened, why it ended, and what the end of it meant for everyone.

I have bought a poppy, and the man I bought it from didnt look shocked as such, just pleased that someone of the younger generation had approached him. I am not saying that all people will dismiss this day, just that it does not seem to be as important as it used to be. I know that things can change throughout history, and that now we have other things to celebrate but it seems that this was a major time for us all, something that should be remembered and even if it is only for a minute, something that should reunite us as a nation and make us proud to be who we are.

If you do one thing this week, buy a poppy and on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, remember those that sacrificed themselves, in those poppy fields, for you and me.

Lest we forget.