An Orange & Black Striped Ribbon

May 8 is an important day in world history. For those who are unaware, this date is also known as Victory in Europe Day, or VE Day. May 8, 1945 is when Germany surrendered.

Cue the next round of Remembrance Education. No matter how much I know, I'm always learning more. What more could I possibly learn about VE Day? Well, if you're unfamiliar with Russian history, quite a bit, actually.

My wonderful boyfriend is Russian, and though he and his parents will wear a poppy for November 11, May 9 they wear a ribbon of orange and black stripes. Depending on the amount of time required for news of Germany's surrender to travel in 1945, VE Day falls on May 8, while Russia acknowledges this German defeat on May 9. In honour of this, they wear what is known as the St. George ribbon.

If I remember my history classes correctly, along with what Artem has told me, nearly 10 million Russian soldiers were killed in WW2. Need context? That's roughly a third of Canada's current population.

This past May, I celebrated Victory Day. With Artem's family, I made celebratory dumplings, toasted the Soviet's fallen, and they told me about the impact that WW2 directly had on every Russian family.

November 11 will always be important to me.. Now I know how much May 9 matters too.

For more: https://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/russia/victory-day