Is Veterans Day Celebrated in Other Countries?

Yes, a number of countries honor their veterans each year on Nov. 11, although the name and types of commemorations differ somewhat from Veterans Day celebrations in the United States. For example, Canada and Australia observe “Remembrance Day” on Nov. 11, and Great Britain observes “Remembrance Day” on the Sunday nearest to Nov. 11. There are similarities and differences between these countries’ Remembrance Days and America’s Veterans Day. Canada’s observance is actually quite similar to the US celebration, in that the day is intended to honor all who served in Canada’s Armed Forces. Many Canadians honor their war dead by wearing red poppy flowers on Nov. 11–symbolic of the bright red flowers blooming among the rows of white crosses on military burial grounds in Europe. The tradition of wearing poppies in America, however, is traditionally reserved for Memorial Day. In Australia, Remembrance Day is much like America’s Memorial Day, a day to honor that nation’s war dead.

In Great Britain, the day is also commemorated by church services and parades of ex-service members in Whitehall, a wide ceremonial avenue leading from London’s Parliament Square to Trafalgar Square. Wreaths of poppies are left at the Cenotaph, a war memorial in Whitehall, which was built after WWI. At the Cenotaph and elsewhere in the country, a two-minute silence is observed at 11 AM, to honor those who lost their lives in wars.

—Source: US Dept. of Veterans Affairs