I knew that today is called Armistice Day in Europe. I did not know that it was called Armistice Day here in the U.S. until 1954. Apparently, a World War II veteran felt excluded by “Armistice Day” and pushed for a holiday to honor all military veterans.

Honestly? I think renaming the day was a bad idea. Not because all veterans don’t deserve the thanks of a grateful nation. Obviously they do. But the name didn’t need to be changed in order to remember the sacrifices of veterans of other conflicts. And in the renaming of Armistice Day, something very precious was lost.

Armistice Day commemorated the cessation of hostilities in Europe. At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day, in the eleventh month, peace was declared. The Great War, the “war to end all wars,” was over. The purpose of the commemoration wasn’t to thank veterans, but to honor the sacrifices that were necessary to bring about peace.

Peace was the point of Armistice Day (the word armistice means “truce”). With the American renaming, we no longer have a federal holiday honoring hard-won peace.

Honoring veterans could have been part of a larger commemoration of peace. As history has shown though, cutting out the commemoration of peace has contributed to a collective loss of understanding of the importance of achieving and promoting peace.

It’s no coincidence that, in the decades since, all we’ve seen is endless war.

(Image: Poppies, Pixabay.)

Home

A Commemoration of Peace