7 Surprising Facts About November 11 and Veterans Day

Veterans Day is a holiday that honors the conclusion of World War I. This day is celebrated every year on November 11, especially in Western Europe, the USA, and Commonwealth nations, which refer to it as Remembrance Day, Armistice Day, or Veterans Day. The Czech Republic began observing this holiday in 2004. However, the meaning of Veterans Day extends beyond just remembering those who fought in the two world wars; it also pays tribute to active military members and individuals involved in contemporary missions.

1. Why is the poppy the symbol of Veterans Day?

The wolf poppy is a flower that comes from Ancient Asia and made its way to Europe alongside wheat and barley. These vibrant red flowers bloom all summer and can sometimes linger into mid-October, but by November 11 and Veterans Day, it’s typically too late for them to blossom. So, why has this specific flower become a symbol for this autumn holiday? Poppies decorated the graves of soldiers who died on the Western Front during World War I, and today these flowers are often planted at war memorials. For instance, at Westminster Abbey, there is an emotional installation called the Field of Memories, featuring small wooden crosses adorned with poppy flowers that “blooms” each year.

2. Poppies in the streets and on clothes

In November, real poppies are hard to find, so celebrations include symbolic artificial flowers instead. These are sold in cafés, libraries, shops, museums, information centres, and offices, and from November 7 to 11, volunteers also sell them on the streets with collection boxes. By buying a small flower and pinning it to our clothes, we help raise money for charity organizations that support veterans and those who risked their lives for our safety.

3. What happened on November 11, 1918?

At 11 a.m. on that date, a train carriage near the northern French town of Compiègne was where the Armistice was signed between the Allied nations and Germany. The agreement was signed by Marshal Ferdinand Foch on behalf of the Allies and Matthias Erzberger for Germany. This marked the end of the First World War on the Western Front.

For the Czech lands, which were then part of Austria-Hungary, the war had already come to an end slightly earlier when the peace treaty was signed in Brest-Lithuania. However, the popularity of Marshal Foch (1851-1929) influenced the naming of today’s Vinohrady Avenue in Prague, which was known as Vinohrady Street during the years 1920-1940 and 1945-1946. Foch’s city Brest, also referred to as Brest-Litovsk, is located in western Belarus near Poland’s border and served as a crucial border crossing between Belarus and the European Union.

4. How is Veterans Day celebrated?

Veterans Day is known and celebrated in various ways. In the USA, for instance, symbolic poppy flowers are worn on clothing on the last Monday of May, during Memorial Day. In France, the observances include decorative cornflowers, while in the UK, people observe a two-minute silence every November 11 at exactly eleven o’clock. This practice has been continued since 1919 to honor the fallen soldiers on the anniversary of the Armistice signing ending World War I. The tradition of wearing poppies was added to the two-minute silence in 1921, when the Royal British Legion adopted the red poppy as part of its logo, as it supports all veterans and those involved in military conflicts.

5. Poppies from the fields of Flanders and the poems of a Canadian doctor

The connection of poppies with these commemorations likely wouldn’t have happened without a Canadian physician named John McCrae (1872-1918). He served on the Western Front in Flanders, which is currently part of Belgium.

To escape the daily struggles and sadness of treating injured soldiers, he found solace in writing poetry. When he composed his famous poem in 1915 entitled In Flanders fields, he initially discarded the piece of paper. However, an officer passing by picked it up, sending it to England where it was published in Punch magazine on December 8, 1915.

This poem became one of the defining symbols of the war, highlighting the beauty of the poppy flowers that bloomed amidst the devastation. Unfortunately, the author did not survive the war, passing away from pneumonia on January 28, 1918, in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France.

Wild poppies grow in the fields of Flanders,

there among the crosses, row upon row.

Here we lie. Up among the reds,

you can hear the larks singing,

down here the cannons are just screaming their song.

But we will not get up again, and it may be an illusion,

that yesterday we were still alive and loved.

Now we just lie quietly

in the fields of Flanders.

But others will take up our fight.

Into your hands we now place our

a flaming torch, and you don’t let it go.

If it should go out, remember our grief,

that we fell here for nothing. Only poppies will grow

in the fields of Flanders.

6. War veterans from Kuks

Each year, War Veterans Day also recognizes a special event at the Hospital Kuks. This gem of Czech Baroque architecture was founded by Count František Antonín Špork as a home for retired soldiers and elderly veterans from the surrounding areas. During the 18th century, as many as six thousand of them resided here.

The Count did not live to see the hospital open in 1743, yet the Hospital remained in service until 1938, when, due to the Munich Agreement, the Brothers of Mercy and their residents had to leave Kuks. For a time, in the 1960s, the baroque complex returned to its original purpose and functioned as a hospital for long-term patients.

7. Invalidovna in Prague and its transformation

King Louis XIV. was born in 1638 during a time of turmoil in Europe due to the Thirty Years’ War. To support the war veterans and injured heroes who fought for France, he constructed the Paris Invalides, a place providing everything retired soldiers needed. Visitors to Paris come to see Napoleon Bonaparte’s grave, interred here in 1861. Meanwhile, visitors from Bohemia can compare this grand complex to another building: the Invalidovna in Prague-Karlín, which could have been that extensive if it had been finished.

Back in the 1730s, architect Kilian Ignác Dientzenhofer envisioned a facility that could accommodate four thousand war veterans and their families. Although only one-ninth of this grand plan was realized, the Invalid House remains one of the largest Baroque structures in Bohemia. It served its original purpose up until the 1930s; today, it belongs to the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), which plans to restore it and make it accessible to the public by the end of 2027.

The Invalidovna will house not only the Territorial Heritage Administration of the National Heritage Institute in Prague, but will also serve as the base for the Prague Philharmonic Choir, which has sought a permanent location for over 80 years. Designed by architect Petr Hájek, the existing wings will be complemented by two modern sections. When the Invalidovna reopens, visitors will learn about the lives of soldiers, veterans, and notable individuals who lived there. The interiors have also been featured in Miloš Forman’s Oscar-winning film Amadeus, in the fairy tale Angel of the Lord 2, where the Invalidovna represented the home of a seamstress named Magdalena, and in the series about Marie Terezie, Genius or Freud.