what does remembrance day commemorate

Remembrance Day is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honor armed forces members who have died in the line of duty. It was first observed in 1919 throughout the British Commonwealth and was originally called "Armistice Day" to commemorate the armistice agreement that ended the First World War on November 11, 1918, at 11 am. The day is also marked by war remembrances in several other non-Commonwealth countries. In Canada, Remembrance Day is a federal statutory holiday, and it is also a statutory holiday in three territories and six provinces. In the United Kingdom, Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday of November, and it commemorates British service members who have died in wars. The red poppy is the symbol of Remembrance Day, and it became associated with World War I memorials after scores of the flowers bloomed in the former battlefields of Belgium and northern France.