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The minute silence


Robbored

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28 minutes ago, One Team In Keynsham said:

If only there was some online portal of information that could be used to expedite discovering the reason behind a minute's silence. Wouldn't that be a great tool..

Indeed. 

As a boy at church on armistice Sunday and we all had to observe the minute silence for those who lost their lives in 20th Century wars.

I remember a though clearly back then  "why is this happening?, and thinking "I never knew any of them"

 

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IMHO, these expressions made surrounding the deaths of people are simply just that - expressions. Whether it is a silence, applause, writing poetic verse or maybe engaging in some charitable event in the name of the deceased, the response is marked from our normal behaviour. Often it is done in public, or at least with others around us, and perhaps could therefore be seen as having a political element. Certainly it has a comforting element too.

The thing that always struck me is that it doesn't appear to do the dead any good; I've never seen them rise up again. So in that respect, it is something that the living do, not those who have gone to the 'undiscovered country'.

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1 hour ago, Robbored said:

Indeed. 

As a boy at church on armistice Sunday and we all had to observe the minute silence for those who lost their lives in 20th Century wars.

I remember a though clearly back then  "why is this happening?, and thinking "I never knew any of them"

 

It`s a two minute silence on Armistice Day

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On 6/15/2017 at 17:46, Robbored said:

There seem to have been several in recent times and we all know that the silence is a mark of respect for the lost but my question is -why?

 

 

IN times of tragedy, people often stand together to observe a minute’s silence.

Britain recently fell silent to remember the victims of the London Bridge terror attacks,  but have you ever wondered where the tradition comes from? Here’s what you need to know…

Why do we hold a minute’s silence?

A minute’s silence is a period of time to stop, think and reflect in times of tragedy and prominent deaths.

Sports matches often begin with a minute’s silence, while the tradition is observed at memorials – as well as in schools and offices – after terror attacks.

As well as an act of remembrance, it is a show of solidarity in times of national and international atrocities.

Traders at Borough Market held a poignant minute’s silence before re-opening for business on June 4, some 11 days after eight people were killed in the market’s bars and restaurants.

When was the first minute’s silence held here in Britain?

The first recorded national silence, lasting two minutes, was held here in Britain on Armistice Day in 1919.

It was the first anniversary of the day that World War One ended, November 11.

King George V ordered that there should be “perfect stillness” during the two minute silence.

This means people should stop what they are doing and reflect, rather than simply not speaking for two minutes.

Since that year, a two-minute silence has been held at 11am on the second Sunday of November, which is also known as Remembrance Sunday, every year.

During this time, we remember all those who have been killed in conflicts around the world – as well as British soldiers from the two world wars and more recent conflicts.

However, some historians dispute that Armistice Day 1919 was Britain’s first national silence.

King Edward VII’s death in 1910 was reportedly marked with a minute’s silence, as were those of the Titanic victims in 1912.

While Quakers have practised minute silences for around 300 years.

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Well thanks for clearing that up, Phantom.

Isn't it something about a uniting moment of reflection?  A collective mourning of a shared loss or show of respect?

Obviously not for some who's central childhood memory of it was "Why are we doing this? I never even knew them personally".

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