Tomorrow, 11 October 2025, is National Coming Out Day! The celebration of all of us living our lives without any embarrassment, fear, guilt or shame! Being what and who we really and truly are!
Confident, happy and proud to be ourselves!
Keep in mind: closets are for clothes!
A GLBTQ+ awareness day in support of all persons being honestly and openly themselves! This occasion was first observed on 11 October 1988 and annually every year thereafter. Years after SIR (Stonewall Inn Riots) when the “anonymous” same gender loving community began the movement for equality, a vast majority of “homosexuals” remained invisible and silent as to their sexuality out of fear of being labelled and/or ridiculed by colleagues, family and friends.
They decided to stay comfortable and safe “hiding inside the closet!” They were acknowledging their homosexuality to a very few trusted people. At this particular time, 1988, the focus was accepting one’s sexuality there was no pressure over a person’s nakedness.
The original concept of the very first National Coming Out Day is to make the personal identity a political identity! The emphasis on the basic form of activism as everyone “coming out” (acknowledging) their sexual orientation to all those around them and living life as a confident bisexual, gay or lesbian person.
The fact that homophobia (the fear and hatred of all same gender loving persons and their allies) thrives in an atmosphere of distrust, fear, ignorance and silence encourages separation between “us” and “them.” One people know and/or realize they have loved ones and friends who are bisexual, gay or lesbian, they are less likely and less willing to remain associated with homophobic and/or repressive inclinations. Instead, they usually become more tolerant, more patient and more understanding.
National Coming Out Day was conceived to change that practice. During that time period, the religious right (conservatives) were publicly proclaiming the just retribution of God against the sexual deviants and illicit sinners. Also, the HIV/AIDS epidemic was becoming widespread and persons in the USA were dying in the multiple thousands with no cure.
Unfortunately, the growing severity of the HIV/AIDS transmission and deaths resulting from infection soon overwhelmed the number of voluntary “coming out” persons. Many questioned the necessity of a “coming out” day while the disease rates were soaring.
Why the 11 October Date?
It was the anniversary of the 1987 March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights. The first-ever massive gathering of bisexual, gay, and lesbian persons on the nation’s capitol! More than 100,000 people attended that event!
The date also marked the first public display of the NAMES Project AIDS MemorialQuilt – in its entirety! The NAMES Project AIDS Quilt was spread on the National Mall between the US Capitol Building and the White House.
National Coming Out Day designed by Keith Haring!
Keith Haring creating a mural!
Openly gay artist Keith Haring (born in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, in 1958) designed the above image for the very first National Coming Out Day. According to Keith, “I’m already ‘out’ so there’s room now for someone else!” Haring was an American graffiti artist whose pop art emerged in New York City subculture in the 1980s. A frequent message in his early art was “safe sex.”
Haring was diagnosed as HIV+ in 1987 and with AIDS in the autumn of 1988. During the last years of his life, he used his art to generate activism and awareness about HIV/AIDS. He died of complications from AIDS on 16 February 1990.
Have a very happy National Coming Out Day!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, October 13, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Indigenous People’s Day!”
Since my last posting here, Bare/Dare Series, 2025! #3, the season of autumn has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere. No surprise that this happened. I’m certain the majority are probably now wondering: Doesn’t that fool know that autumn always follow summer?
Yes! This fool (myself) does indeed have that knowledge! However, it has only been recently (since I first met Aaron, my spouse) that I’ve received the ability to accept and embrace that change and positively proceed with life!
Prior to 2010 (the year that Aaron and I met, were attracted to each other, fell in love and then moved together under the same roof), I was unable to acknowledge the last of summertime and the start of autumn without offering a manual monologue (sign language) of profanities! I was so addicted and obsessed with summer and being comfortable that I reacted to the seasonal transition in an outrage followed by a major period of depression and frustration!
I publicly acknowledge and admit to my severe shortcoming regarding this issue. I also want to thank Aaron for patiently teaching me the prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi:
“Lord, grant me the ability to change what I can; the ability to accept what I cannot change; and the wisdom to know the difference!” ~ St. Francis of Assisi ~
Aaron, I’m grateful for your sharing of your Roman Catholic faith and encouraging my adherence to this prayer!
Thank you, Aaron! Happy autumn to all!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride/Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, September 26, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Drive to Pride!”
An Examination and Exploration of Our Community and Our Culture of Same Gender Loving Nakedness! #3
Identical Twins: Double the Nakedness, Double the Fun!
Preliminary:
As promised at the beginning of this series, this final offering for this publication was guaranteed prior to the end of the summer season as my personal perspective. Just a reminder that this post entry also includes that of my own identical twin brother, Alex. Sometimes, the sharing of our ideas, inspirations, memories, reactions, recollections, thoughts, etc., become blurred and riddled with questions. However, the experiences are shared and together as they involve us both – guilty and innocence – together!
We, Alex (Twin) and I, are identical; our births barely two hours apart. Therefore, we share our personal experiences in nakedness – the comfort, joy, and preference for living, as much as possible, our lives without the burden, duty and/or obligation of clothing/concealment!
Footnote: For this series, I use pictures of identical twinsfrom online. Our brothers prefer I not use any from our childhood.
Identical and Serious: together!
Introduction:
Our family name is Poladopoulos and we are identical twin brothers born almost two hours apart. Alex – the “first-born” – is also Deaf, same gender loving (SGL) or gay and frequently confused with me, Roger, the author of this blog and the “second-born” of this twin team!
Our parents were born in the Kingdom of Greece during the time of the German invasion and occupation during World War II. They married and began their family there before immigrating to this country in the early 1950s. Neither of them became citizens here and they returned to Greece in the 1990s. We (Twin and I) have three (3) older brothers and three (3) younger brothers. That makes the both of us the exact “middle-child” in our family.
Our family household being predominantly male has caused many to assume our nakedness wasn’t a major issue.
A very false and unreal assumption!
Our infancy and early childhood progressed along the same pattern as that of our older siblings with the exception of our diagnosis of being Deaf. Otherwise, we were “normal” until our parents and older siblings decided to teach us to properly adorn (wear clothes) ourselves. Our “moment” to establish our true identity! Our joint (shared) “declaration of independence” was upon us!
Bottoms-up! to yardwork!
Reality:
Our initial opportunity to proclaim our self-determination (identity) happened when the decision was made to instruct us on the process of how to dress – put on clothes. At last, a chance to demonstrate (show) precisely who we really are! Twin and I are unable to exactly recall the experience, so this episode is best described by our surviving parent (mother) and older siblings.
The miraculous fascination that Twin (our familiar reference name for ourselves) and I had for learning how to decorate our bodies with clothes was that it also gave us the knowledge of how easy and simple it now became for us to remove (discard) our clothing!
The proverbial adage, “practice makes perfect” was the result of this lesson. Easy to put on, easy to take off! Our parents were amazed at the both of us getting dressed in garments and then removing them immediately! The essence and introduction into our world of “guys without boxers!” No underwear equals no clothes!
Needless to elaborate, but this basic logistic created an enormous amount of frustration within our family household. Our desire for freedom from clothes soon reached epic proportions that continued throughout our childhood. This conflict in nudity versus textile (clothes wearing) was compounded by a communication issue: our being Deaf against the fact that everyone else was verbal (hearing). At the time, the tensions in our family, along with the births of our younger brothers, made happiness and tranquility seem impossible!
Luckily, Twin and I shared a bedroom. Perhaps “identical” is synonymous with “shared!” Soon, our parents conceived of a compromise: we could be naked inside our bedroom if we agreed to wear clothes while elsewhere in our home. Our older siblings joined in this project, and while some awkward occurrences happened, tranquility returned to the Poladopoulos residence.
Footnote: Now, today, as a family, we all laugh when remembering this drama in our lives!
Calm and peaceful!
As we matured, our late Father eventually acknowledged to us all that the “bedroom nudity compromise” was initially considered only a temporary adjustment. Both parents believed we would grow away from this behaviour and the nude insistence was a developmental “phase” of our lives that would eventually disappear.
Our oldest sibling, Nick, (who “came out” as gay while at university), readily admitted to our family that at his young age, he briefly thought Twin and I were “double trouble!” At the time of this incident, he viewed our being Deaf as synonymous with our penchant for nakedness!
Sometimes, a “temporary” compromise affords a very rewarding and significant solution!
A doorway of twins!
As to the communication concern: our family all learned to manually share (sign language) – both in English and Greek! A process that remains underway still today with the addition of in-laws (sibling marriages), nieces and nephews!
Summary:
Life experiences provided Twin and I with an opportunity to explore, firsthand, the world of nakedness. It afforded us a chance to examine and explore our perspectives, reactions and involvement! These same life experiences reinforced, both internally and in reality, our identical appreciation and commitment to nakedness that we both share!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, September 22, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Autumn Adaptability!”
The announced and planned post entry for this past Monday, 18 August, 2025, never occurred and my spouse, Aaron, and I both share the blame for that mishap! We’re just too much in love and we’ll only have one 10th anniversary. A very “last minute” (spontaneous) decision on our part for an extended anniversary celebration: a bromantic (he and me) extended weekend away from our routine to a Florida clothing optional resort that we’ve never visited before.
Our weekend ended yesterday: Thursday, 21August. I did mention an “extended” weekend, correct? We added four days and a renewal of ourselves!
Together!
This impulsive adventure was totally unplanned. We had discussed an excursion of this nature in the past but never actually realized that it didn’t really require that much attention to detail. After all, we’re usually “clothing optional” around our condominium/home anyway. So we had minimal need for any “official” wardrobe. Just the two of us being our natural selves.
Passion!
We do apologize to anyone if our spontaneity created any inconvenience for you. It was unintentional although irresponsible from the both of us. Please know that we both regret the error and can assure all of you that we’ll do our best to avoid any similarity in the future.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry for this site is planned for Monday, August 25, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “August Antics!”
The purpose of this post entry here on ReNudePride: Guys Without Boxers! is to provide the history leading into the celebration of National Nude Recreation Week.
This week-long festival of body and clothes freedom recreational (leisure) activities is jointly co-sponsored annually by the American Association of Nude Recreation (AANR) and The Naturist Society (TNS). As summer is the “season-in-the-sun,” it is only logical (natural) that two major naturist/nudist advisory organizations proclaim and promote an event in honour of clean, healthy bare (nude) living. The recent tendency over the last several years is to observe this occasion the week following the 4 July holiday.
Celebrate the occasion naked!
National Nude Recreation Week involves an emphasis on the numerous activities, leisure services, and pastimes, both active and passive, that people may engage in or undertake while clothes free. In essence, almost identical to what can be enjoyed when wearing garments. This isn’t to imply this special week is the only time we bare our bodies for fun and games. We do that quite frequently!
The race to the beach!
The history of National Nude Recreation Week is recent with the earliest documented date of 7 August, 1976, as being Nude Beach Day. It was first observed at Truro Beach in southern California and at the Head of the Meadow Beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
The Nude Beach Day was continued at the same locations and by the end of the 1970s decade, it soon expanded into the National Nude Weekend in order to expand the time of the clothes free event. As many traditional naturist/nudist camps, resorts and other facilities weren’t located with access to a clothing optional beach it soon became apparent that another name change and another expansion of the theme was necessary.
A memorable Nude Recreation Week!
Many existing clothes free businesses, facilities and properties were first-hand witnesses to the rapidly growing numbers of people now taking advantage of the weekend event. They sought to grow their own markets by affiliating with the already established destinations. This new interest helped the popularity of the event to grow even more and added additional incentives for development and growth.
In the early 1980s, the weekend then evolved into the current event known as National Nude Recreation Week. This extended time period encouraged even more people to explore social nudity and to try new opportunities.
Expand horizons!
Author’s Advisory:
Rest assured that even without an “officially” declared National Nude Recreation Week, the ever-resourceful bare practitioner community and culture would need no excuse to strip out of clothes and stroll about in proud nakedness. After all, our nudity is firmly implanted in our DNA! Besides, none of us would ever want to change!
Strolling together!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, July 11, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Nude Recreation Week #2!”
A day originally conceived as a time to remember and offer tribute to all persons who sacrificed their lives while fighting to defend this country.
A worthy salute to those who were inspired by patriotism. Unfortunately, the season of the year is more conducive to “fun-in-the-sun” rather than the spirit it initially encouraged.
Patriotic!
Originally known in the USA as Decoration Day, the holiday was created and first observed in the USA on May 30, 1868. It was to honour all the soldiers who had died in the USA Civil War which ended in 1865. By 1890, all the states in the US were commemoration the occasion which was annual.
The world wars during the twentieth century turned it into a day of remembrance for all who had died defending the country. In 1968, an act of congress changed the date of the occasion to the last Monday in May, annually. In 1971, the name was altered by legislation to Memorial Day.
The tradition, now largely ignored, was for flags to fly at half-mast to honour all the deceased. Later, the tradition was altered to fly flags at half-mast until noon then raise them to full-mast. That custom is no longer expected or featured.
Unofficially, Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer holiday season.
Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for tomorrow, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “M vs. A!” Also, be advised that the “Bottoms-Up! May, 2025!” posting this month will publish on Friday, May 30, 2025.
In both Canada and the USA, Sunday, 11 May is the observance of the day to pay tribute to our mothers and/or the women who provided us care, guidance and love!
This gracious salute is commemorated on the second Sunday in May, annually!
With child!
Thank you for all that you do (or have done)!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, May 12, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Bare Play!”
24 April, annually, is the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
This date is recognized as the first modern genocide of the 20th Century.
Genocide is the crime of intentionally destroying part or all of a national, ethnic, racial or religious group by killing people. It is understood by most people to be the gravest crime against humanity.
Prologue:
The presence of the Armenian peoples in Anatolia, the region in modern Turkey that borders Iran and the Caucus) has been documented since the sixth century BCE – about 1,500years prior to the arrival of the Turkmens (first Turkish immigrants) under the Seljuk dynasty. The independent Kingdom of Armenia adopted Christianity as its national religion early in the fourth century CE.
The Genocide:
Photograph by U.S. Ambassador Morganthau of Armenian corpses left roadside.
Before the Great War (World War I; 1914 – 1918), there were limited exterminations of Armenian inhabitants of Turkey during the 1890s and in 1909. During World War I, The Ottoman Empire (Turkey) allied itself with Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Germany. This led to the power transfer to the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) by the civilian authorities.
On 24 April, 1915, the CUP ordered the deportation and expulsion of Armenian residents in the Ottoman capital, Constantinople. Soon, this order was extended throughout all the Ottoman Empire and massive crowds were forced to march into the Syrian Desert, without food and water. They were raped, robbed and brutally beaten.
Soon, the extermination of the Armenian residents throughout the Ottoman Empire was endorsed and enforced. The massive deportations and deaths became real and prevalent. The involvement in the Great War and the political instability which followed prevented the Western powers from monitoring the conditions within the former Ottoman state.
The overthrow of the monarchy and the division of the lands formerly occupied by the CUP allowed atrocities against the Armenians and other religious minorities until almost midway through the 1920s. By that time, an estimated 1.6 million Armenians had been exterminated. The emerging Turkish country had reduced the population of Armenians from almost 2.5 million to less than 400,000.
The Genocide Memorial, Yerevan, capital city of Armenia
Tsitsernakaberd: Armenian Genocide Memorial
The Genocide Memorial was built in 1967 on the hill of Tsitsernakaberd, just outside the capital city of Yerevan, Armenia. The Genocide Memorial Museum-Institute was added later and officially opened in 1995.
Every year, on 24 April, the complex hosts the national Remembrance Day Ceremony, where hundreds of thousands line for hours to place floral and prayer tributes to the victims.
Remembering those murdered.
A profile of prayer
Personal Connection:
My maternal grandfather was half-Armenian. His mother was a resident of the Ottoman Empire. He remembered the Turkish soldiers congregating the Armenian population – including all of his family – inside their village church prior to setting the entire structure on fire. He and several friends were being absent from school that day and they climbed trees when they witnessed the soldiers assaulting the village.
A Turkish family helped them escape to safety.
My mother doesn’t remember his discussing the incident when she and her siblings were growing up. It was only when his grandchildren were born that he felt the need to share his past.
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers!
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, April 28, 2025, and the proposed topic is: “Charge!”
Before I create any confusion and/or misunderstanding, this post entry for ReNude Pride is most definitely not a cocktail (mixed drink) recipe. The “twist” in the title above is involved in a popular social game – actual title “Twister” – so there is no twist of a citrus fruit necessary to be added to alcohol!
The Game:
Twister is not a convenient board game that is undertaken while seated at a table. It is an active challenge requiring minimal equipment: a chart that is unfolded on the floor or ground and a spin device that denotes particular colours (either red, blue, green or yellow). A spin of the device indicates the colour that the players must physically connect with using either their hands and/or feet.
Originally geared primarily for children, the activity soon became popular with young adults. As the number of clothes free enthusiasts grew, so did the “fun-to-play-naked” fans. The close proximity of the audience and the curious and sometimes compromising positions the players endured added to the excitement of involvement in the game of Twister! Among the bare and same gender loving population, the Twister engagement was astronomical!
As the game progresses, bodies – while nude – often become entangled which provides interesting and unusual encounters with the bodies of others, either a close friend, a casual acquaintance or a complete stranger! A very roundabout way to “break-the-ice” (introduce) oneself to others in a fun and non-threatening (uncomfortable) manner! The results can create lasting friendships or episodes of awkward familiarity!
The fun entailed with Twister is best experienced rather than explained! There are indeed some things that words just are unable to describe! Fortunately, the activity is suitable for play both inside a dwelling or outside in nature as a bare practitioner or clothed.
A pair of identical twins!
If and when a pair of identical twins are entered into the Twister situation, the contortions as well as the game itself can occasionally create unexpected consequences! For two devious minds, in particular, my spouse, Aaron, and my identical sibling, Alex, the opportunity is simply too rich to ignore!
The Devious Duo: Aaron and Alex
The situation that I am referencing took place back in 2010, the year that Aaron and I initiated our relationship. We had met one another that Spring and by that Autumn we were introducing ourselves to acquaintances, family and friends – a somewhat lengthy and involved process that is, at times, very time consuming!
Aaron’s oldest brother, Paul, was undergoing the “coming out” stage of his life and uncertain as to his status, whether he was a bisexual man or a gay man. Aaron and Alex had the idea that the four of us spend a weekend together, especially as I had never before met Paul. The details were arranged by the “devious duo” (Aaron and Alex), the date arrived – early October – and the weekend was underway!
Paul, aware of his attraction to men, remained in limbo (confused) as to whether he is a gay man (male attraction only) or if he is a bisexual man (attracted to both men and women). Aaron and Alex adopted the idea of a weekend “exploratory” gathering in order to provide Paul the chance to determine his status in the SGL world. I thought this a nice gesture and was honestly surprised that they conceived of this idea! Neither one of them were quite that perceptive!
Confused!
Aaron had invited me to his family over the winter holidays – our first together – so I was eager to meet Paul. We had exchanged emails, and I believed that as this was a crucial time in his life, I could offer advice and help in any way possible. I imagined it would allow us to build a bonding together.
I also knew that Aaron and Alex were conspiring some sort of “initiation” for Paul into the “world of twins!” They were both insisting on my collaboration, but I was adamantly refusing to be a co-conspirator in this episode. Aaron had already let Twin and I know that Paul’s American Sign Language (ASL) skills were not as advanced as his plus his confusion over his sexual identity and if that wasn’t enough, he was spending a weekend with identical twins! Give the man some breathing room! No type of “initiation” required!
The “devious duo” despicable plan was to create confusion for Paul involving Alex and I and our identical buttocks! They thought it would be funny, innocent and engage Paul through humour! I appreciated the humourous aspect but remained firmly opposed to any complicity in their conspiracy! My intention was to meet and assist Paul, not to embarrass him! I knew for a fact that Twin (Alex) could manage that reality solo!
Identical twin buttocks!
Just prior to our weekend gathering, Paul sent to me a confidential email and asking my help. Before this planned gathering, we’d exchanged emails but never met. He had overheard two of his sisters gossiping about our approaching weekend. They had shared that Aaron (their brother), and my Twin were planning a surprise episode and that I had declined to be involved. This prompted his request for my assistance.
My response to his message was a negative. I had refused to cooperate with our brothers in their plot to embarrass him (Paul), therefore, I couldn’t, in clear conscious, collaborate in his scheme. I did assure him that I had not violated Aaron and Twin’s trust in me and that I would respect his need for confidentiality.
Realizing that I now had two conspiring forces vying for my attention, I knew that I needed to proceed with care and caution. The planned weekend arrived. Aaron and I had readied our apartment for our guests, my brother Alex and his brother, Paul.
Twister game competition!
Being aware of the probability of some sort of competitive contest between Paul and Aaron and Alex, I reached a decision to try to avoid any resentment and/or conflict. I knew that we planned our meals out in local restaurants which limited our time together to basically Saturday afternoon/early evening and then again early Sunday afternoon. Not too much “free” time but enough for a possible problem to occur.
If there’s one lesson that I remember from my undergraduate education, it is to plan ahead to keep the students busy and involved. No matter what age or level of education, this lesson is applicable to almost everyone. To ease my self-appointed role as “peace-maker,” I had a Twister game available so that we would have an introductory game and then had a secondary activity, body painting, in place so that we could engage either separately or combine them both together. If we needed a third, I figured we could use charades. A last resort was our selection of dvds.
If we needed the dvd option, then I concluded that the entire weekend was a failure and let everyone fend for themselves! We were all supposed to be adults!
The weekend was fun and successful! Twister was a dynamic twist for all! Body painting was postponed until Halloween!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Monday, November 18, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “Through the Eyes of Another!”
On 11 November, 1918, an Armistice (cease-fire) went into effect at 11:00 a.m. that ended the fighting in The Great War (World War I). The fighting raged throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The 11th day, 11th month, 11:00 a.m.
The Occasion:
Armistice Day is commemorated throughout the world saluting the cessation (ending) of hostilities (fighting) between the armed forces, thus bringing an end to the suffering of The Great War. The war officially was finalized by the Treaty of Versailles a year later. This date is Armistice Day in most of the world. In the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, it is observed as Remembrance Day, an occasion to pay tribute to all the casualties of The Great War and subsequent conflicts and wars. In the USA. it is known as Veteran’s Day, in gratitude for military service.
The Great War: Eruption
On 28 June, 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Empire of Austria-Hungary (The Dual Monarchy) was assassinated, along with his wife, the Countess Sophie, while touring the city of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, a province of the empire. The assassins were Serbians who wanted the province united with the Kingdom of Serbia.
Tensions between the two countries escalated rapidly and exactly one month later, Emperor Franz Josef II of Austria-Hungary declared war against Serbia. Germany, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) sided with Austria against Serbia, France, Russia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal, Italy, the British Empire and eventually the USA. Because of extensive colonial possessions, the fighting became global with battles raging in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the South Pacific.
The war grew in epic strides as the aggression spread out of control. Up until this point in history, the effects became catastrophic unlike any previous war. Civilian populations suffered enormous fatalities and the very first genocide, of the Armenian peoples was raged by the Ottomans. The military casualties were exceptional and often fought over the same battlefield, time and time again. At times, entire armies and regiments were annihilated within one day’s time.
The Great War, a name earned due to the massive fatalities inflicted, was global in the horrors it produced. The devastation was without precedent.
The Armistice:
The proclamation of the Armistice of 1918 was celebrated globally by all belligerents. It included the announcement of the of the peace conference to be held the following year and the official signing of the surrender of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire. The bloodbath was over, and the living reverted to living their lives.
On the first anniversary of the Armistice, in 1919, a solemnity Remembrance Day service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury in London, UK, in the presence of King George V and Queen Mary. The prime ministers of the self-governing dominions of the British Empire were also in attendance. On this occasion, the red poppy was worn as a royal salute to the multitudes killed. At this observance, the entombment of an unidentified British casualty was by Royal Decree made for the Main Aisle in Westminster Abbey along with a state internment with full military honours.
Thereafter, the United States announced plans for the same once a burial site was determined. France soon followed in salutation to the fallen.
In tribute to all the military and naval deceased, a royal proclamation was enacted. Businesses and factories, parliament and courts, everyone in London was out on the streets, in parks and in public. At 11:00 a.m., on 11 November, 1919, a two-minute period of silence was implemented. Traffic halted, whether by motorcoach or driven by horses. The King and Queen bowed their heads. Complete silence prevailed. The city and the Empire remembered the dead.
At 11:03 a.m., the bands of the regiments guarding Buckingham Palace started playing God Save the King. The official tribute had been awarded to those no longer living.
Poppies and what they represent!
The Poppy
The red poppy flower represents consolation, condolences, death and remembrance. The poppy is a common symbol that has been utilized to also represent death and even, on occasion, to symbolize sleep. Since ancient times, the flower has been adorning coffins, graves and tombstones as symbolic of eternal sleep (rest).
During The Great War (World War I: 1914 – 1918), much of the actual conflict (fighting) on the Western Front happened along the trenches of northwestern Europe, especially in the Flanders region of the Kingdom of Belgium. The rural countryside was blasted, bombed and fought over repeatedly. The scenic landscape was riddled and shredded by trenches to accommodate the invading armies. The once productive and prosperous fields blackened barren where little or nothing could grow. A notable exception to this bleak horizon was the Flanders poppy, which survived and thrived in profusion. The resilient flowering flourished amid all the chaos and destruction.
Soon the red poppy naturally proliferated and adorned the hundreds of thousands of graves rapidly appearing all over the battlefields. The poppy became symbolic of divine sanctity upon the wartime casualties. Simultaneously, the flower was worn over the heart by those troops burying their fallen friends.
In 1919, the United Kingdom and the British Empire (now the Commonwealth) adopted the red poppy as the remembrance tribute to all the war dead. The British Legion (now the Royal British Legion) adopted the symbol and in 1922 created a factory to produce poppies that still operates today. In 2022, the original poppy factory was made a museum and a new poppy factory opened. King Charles III renewed the Royal warrant for the new factory to continue to create official poppies for the Royal Family.
Poppy Guidelines:
Wear on the left shoulder of the body, just above the heart.
Acceptable colours are red for remembrance and white for peace.
Not to be worn after 11 November, annually.
A field of red poppies in Flanders!
In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
the larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
to you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high;
If ye break faith with us whodie
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
John McCrae, the Poet:
John McCrae was the son of Scottish immigrants and born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, in and 1872. In May, 1915, he was serving as a physician in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps and posted in Flanders, Belgium. While there, his lifelong friend, Alexis Helmer, a lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Field Artillery was killed in the Second Battle of Ypres. Shortly afterwards, McCrae composed the poem, In Flanders Fields in memory of his friend and in honour of all the war dead of the British Empire.
The poem was first published on 8 December, 1915, in London, UK, for Punch magazine. It was immediately adopted by the Imperial War Council in honour of the deceased and incorporated into memorial services by the Church of England, the Church of Scotland and the United Church of Canada.
Veteran’s Day Poppies:
In 1918, U.S. humanitarian Moina Michael wrote: “And now the torch and poppy red, we wear in honour of our dead.” She composed this sentiment after she read the poem, “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae.
Following the British paradigm, the American Legion was organized and adopted the red poppy and its sale on Veteran’s Day. In the USA, the symbolism of the poppy declined after World War II. With the centennial observance of the Great War in 2018, the poppy use experienced a revival. In 2017, the American Legion officially took the poppy as the image of honouring all war dead.
A very happy whatever occasion you are observing!
Naked hugs!
Roger Poladopoulos/ReNude Pride
Author’s Note: The next post entry here is planned for Friday, November 15, 2024, and the proposed topic is: “Autumn Twist!”
ReNude Pride: Guys Without Boxers! 