Armistice Day

I find it a little frustrating that when I ask my students what is important about November 11 they all, without fail, reply either “Singles Day” or “光棍节”. I mean, it was not particularly difficult for me to show them the direct importance of what happened at 11am on November 11 1918 to China. Chinese soldiers were active on the Western Front, for starters, and it’s not much of a stretch from there to May 4…

But this article raises two points I had forgotten:

  1. Today is the 90th anniversary of the armistice.
  2. New Zealand’s contribution went way beyond the call of Imperial duty: “New Zealand sent around 100,000 men and women abroad from a population of 1.1 million at the time.Around 18,000 died and over 40,000 were wounded – a higher per capita casualty rate than any other country involved.”

peace

2 Comments on Armistice Daytilting at windmills

About the Author

wangbo

wangbo

A Kiwi teaching English to oil workers in Beijing, studying Chinese in my spare time, married to a beautiful Beijing lass, consuming vast quantities of green tea (usually Xihu Longjing/西湖龙井, if that means anything to you), eating good food (except for when I cook), missing good Kiwi ale, breathing smog, generally living as best I can outside Godzone and having a good time of it.

2 thoughts on “Armistice Day”

  2. It’s known as Veterans Day in America, I believe. But yes, I think it is largely overshadowed by ANZAC Day in New Zealand, too, which in one way is a little unfortunate, but then again I think Gallipolli does have far greater significance to our two countries. Still, although it is not a public holiday, Armistice Day is officially observed in New Zealand.

Comments are closed.

You may also like these