Remembrance Day

[ShadowHM]

On the subject of memorial services:

What exactly are they comprised of?

The reason I ask is this:

Here every school has a Remembrance day assembly, with music and/or poetry and a laying of a wreath, followed by two minutes of silence. Each city has a gathering, usually presided over by the mayor, with much the same. It is not an official holiday, in the sense that few get the day off work, but the services are widespread and pervasive.

Just now, I was doing a little internet news surfing, and up popped the ICQ icon of the son of an American friend. He had the day off school and was about to dive into a D2 marathon. There were no services that he knew about. It was just a welcome day off school. :o

I do know that Memorial Day is supposed to fulfill the same notion the Remembrance Day includes here. But, frankly, I have seen it observed mainly as a welcome extra long weekend to begin the summer. :rolleyes:

So.....

How exactly do folks use these days of remembrance? I am not only enquiring about your personal observances, but about what you see others doing.