Singles day shopping festival? - The forgotten day of memorial

It seems that the Chinese Singles' Day on November 11 has been transformed into a day of crazy consumerism overnight with a rapid rise in e-commerce sales. However, in this atmosphere of frenzied consumerism that has seen shoppers flock to the checkout, how many of them know that it is also Remembrance Day?

Remembrance Day commemorates the end of World War I on November 11, 1918, and all the military personnel who died in the line of duty during the 2 world wars; therefore, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia and other places hold a grand memorial each year.     

On this day, the people of Europe and the United States are accustomed to wearing a red poppy on their breast as a sign of respect for the soldiers that died in battle as well as the for the many innocent civilian casualties. So, next year, in contrast to the crazy consumerism of Chinese Singles' Day, hopefully, people will also pay some attention to this historic and meaningful day of remembrance.

以下為中文對照

雙11購物商機？被遺忘的節日

11月11日被稱為光棍節，更搖身轉變成全民瘋狂消費的日子，電商成交金額連年攀升。但是，在濃濃的購物氣氛，民眾蜂擁而至去搶購商品，還有多少人記得同一天其實是「國殤紀念日」。

「國殤紀念日」，又名「和平紀念日」，為悼念兩次世界大戰的死難者與殉職軍人，以及紀念1918年11月11日第一次世界大戰結束、正式停火的時刻，因此在英國、美國、加拿大、澳洲等地，每年這一天都會有盛大的紀念活動。

歐美國家民眾習慣在這一天，胸前別上紅色的虞美人花，以誌陣亡的將士以及戰爭的死難者。對比瘋狂消費為主的「節日」，也希望民眾多關心這歷史悠久且意義重大的紀念日子。      

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