At 11 AM we the sirens sound and we stand for a moment of silence. An hour later people start slipping out of work, making their way to memorial ceremonies in their home towns, or meet up with old buddies at monuments put up by various units of the armed forces.

The radio starts out playing sad songs and interviewing bereaved parents…. and then…. somewhere in the course of the afternoon they gradually shift the mood of the songs.

People come back from the memorial ceremonies, out of the heat. They change their clothes. The religious have festive evening prayers… and then most towns have fireworks or public concerts. The youth groups have bonfires and cookouts.

It is one of the most subtle and amazing things… how one day feed the other…