VE Day “celebrations”

My family (before I was born) were in the same situation as yours. My father was serving in the RAF in Burma, and my mother's brother was in the Navy in the far east. My father came home after VJ day, my uncle died. VE day was not a celebration for my mother.
Anyway, why are we still glorifying war?

No, you are not being unreasonable.

I’ve never felt comfortable with jingoistic flag waving and celebrating the waste of people’s lives - even less so seeing the damage right wing governments are doing and the blatant hypocrisy and nauseating sycophancy.

I remember the unpopular wars, the ones people were forced or conned into.

This treating a virus like a battle and Johnson’s sickening claim that his ‘terrible buoyancy’ saved him - is horrific. So the 30,000 dead aren’t a result of a decimated NGS and a policy of silence about the spread of CV19 back in yes, 2019, they just didn’t float properly, weren’t unrealistically optimistic enough?!

Gross. As bad as Trump with his obvious signs and symptoms of tertiary syphilis.

When we stop being lied to in order to involve us in fraudulent wars, I’ll celebrate.

Until then, forget tribalism and get global.

If you weren't there at the time, it will be hard to understand the sense of relief that the war in Europe was over, that Hitler was overthrown and that 'we' had done it. Remember that the two princesses, Elizabeth and Margaret, escaped from the Palace that day to join the celebrating crowds in London. He Majesty had been through many crises since then but I am sure that she will have nothing but celebratory memories of that day.
I was only four and a half but shared in the celebratory mood, as that was what the day was all about. My sister and I had white Viyella dresses embroidered by our mum with little union flags. Our dad had mounted a big flag in front of our house. We went to watch a parade on the prom near the war memorial and saw our dad heading his Home Guard detachment - our very own Captain Mainwaring! 'Daddy's Army' indeed. He had been in a reserved occupation making explosives. Another thing I do remember about that day was that I had my first ever ice cream cone!

if it wasn’t for people giving their lives for us we would all be all be speaking German. This statement is exactly why I will not be flag waving. I shall remember those in my family who lost their lives, but seriously uncomfortable with triumphalism such as this.

I'm not sure that VE Day was really glorifying war as such, but rather celebrating the end of the war in Europe. If we can't remember and be thankful to all the souls who lost their lives during that dreadful war then surely they died in vain?
I'm well aware that fighting was still continuing in the Far East, and many atrocities took place. These people, too, need to be remembered for the sacrifices they made and appalling suffering they endured, and agree that the war did not really end until VJ Day. However, people in Europe were tired and war torn and probably needed to voice their relief in whatever way they could, including going out into the streets to celebrate its end there. Many will have suffered loss and grief, but the celebrations will have been, I'm sure, a kind of brief release from the horrors endured every day for 6 years.

I have rainbow card arriving on Wednesday. I will make bunting with it and put in trees around my mooring. I will, of course, acknowledge the two minutes silence.

We will have a cup of tea and a cake in the street in the afternoon and I will remember my parents who served in the navy and RAF and members of the family I never met because they were killed in the war. Lots of people will have their own memories at this time. We will listen to the queen at 9 pm - I will look out, but am not expecting to sing "we'll meet again - Hope you all enjoy your celebrations.

To celebrate Anzac Day 25th April, here in Melbourne Australia, many streets' residents stood in their driveways, with or without a candle at 6.00am to remember our war dead. Some areas had someone who could play the Last Post, and Reveille, others played it on a radio etc. No party, but remembering together

Yes, you are being unreasonable. I think the current situation shouldn't stop us from remembering and thanking. In fact, I think it's made it even more important! We're only being asked to stay at home, keep six feet apart from each other. I'll be glad to sit in my front garden on Friday, more than six feet away from my neighbours doing the same, eating nice food and being mighty thankful it's not a concentration camp I'm sat in.

I'm going with my mam's thoughts. She was 11 in 1945. She doesn't believe we should celebrate VE day because it wasn't the end of the war. In fact she's not really happy about any war 'celebrations'. It brings back all her bad memories and causes nightmares.

My dad was serving on one of the ships that brought the European women home. He rarely spoke about it but said that Tenko wasn't accurate as the actresses weren't thin enough and wore proper clothes.

Saw a short programme about VE day last night. How grateful we should all be we don't have to live through what those people both in the forces and civilian life had to endure for years. Goodness, the moaning going on about not being able to go about our daily life due to Covid-19 puts us to shame and its been only 6 weeks. I will observe the 1 minute silence but that will be all.

My father too was in the Royal Navy and fighting against the Japanese until VJ Day. The experiences he had there stayed with him all his life, and I am quite sure that he would not be 'celebrating' the anniversary of either VE Day or VJ Day. I would not be attending any sort of party or putting up decorations if things were as they were 3 months ago, but I doubt if there would have been much 'celebrating' around here anyway.

Am I alone in feeling, cynically, that this is a diversion from the current mess we're in by stirring up a bit of jingoism? I agree with you, GillT57 about the unpleasantness of triumphalism.

We need to work much more closely with other countries around the world, whatever the history between us, to find solutions to the problems we have, not only coronavirus but also climate change and the loss of biodiversity. We cannot afford to indulge in exceptionalism - we may be fortunate in relation to many places, but we are not exceptional.

I shall raise a flag but no big celebration. Prefer to donate to a veteran's charity. I think Colonel Tom would approve!

I prefer to think of it as celebrating the defeat of an evil, murderous regime, rather than glorifying war.

I won’t celebrate VE Day because war is nothing to celebrate but I will commemorate it during the silence with thoughts of all those , of all nations , who died. On VJ Day I hope we remember the horror of atomic warfare but again nothing to celebrate.

One of our neighbours sent a message on WhatsApp asking if we were having a socially distanced party but got no response. I would not have joined in to be honest as I don't really feel that it is appropriate at this time.

In Denmark we celebrate on the 4th and 5th of May because those two dates saw the end of the German occupation.

This year all public celebrations where wreaths are laid at memorials have been reduced to only a very few people present.

This I personally find more suitable at the moment than planning a street party or the like, but others probably feel that every cloud has a silver lining and that right now we need to feel that.

Having said that I remember the relief and celebratory feeling of May 8th 1945, I should also say that 75 years later, I see no point in reprising the celebrations at a time when we have so little cause to celebrate and there is still so much war, repression and injustice in this world.

I was born in the 1960s, both my parents were born during the war and one grandfather was in the RAF. I was speaking about this with my mother and we both agreed that for several decades after the end of the war, particularly the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties, there was a much more subdued feeling of wanting to forget about it and carry on with life. The only commemoration was Remembrance Sunday. My grandfather used to speak of six wasted years if it was mentioned - he had a young wife and two small daughters - and, naturally, missed them dreadfully. My grandmother tore up the ration books as soon as rationing ended. Like man of that generation they rarely spoke about the war. In the last twenty years or so, as it has become more distant, the opposite has occurred and we have to mark every anniversary in a more ostentatious manner. I am grateful for the wartime generation, of course l am, but it sometimes feels as if lest we forget has turned into an enforced we must never be allowed to forget.

Many .... typo, sorry.

I am chair of the events subcommittee on our Town Council. Back in January we discussed VE Day 75th anniversary arrangements at some length. There were many concerns, particularly as for many the war didn't come to an abrupt end on VE Day and some councillors thought it would be more appropriate and sensitive to commemorate VJ Day.

We decided to go along with whatever was planned nationally, to work with local churches in whatever they felt appropriate (possibly to include an evening concert in the Parish church) - and to make the market place available to any group (e.g. British Legion) if they wanted to do more.

In the absence of any steer from government, we also asked councillors how they would wish to commemorate VJ Day.

Of course - none of this will happen now. However - I would just like to say that for me the important word is Commemoration - and NOT Celebration. The public may have felt celebratory at the time, but now is the time to remember those who lost their lives and to mark the end of conflict.

Too many people dying right now to celebrate anything which is why I don't do any clapping on a Thursday as it seems so disrespectful. Poor things, none of this is their faults they didn't deserve to die.

I was still in the WAAF on VE Day and still had to go on duty and had to wait until the evening for my husband to come off guard duty. Many of my friends fiancés and husbands were still fighting in the Far East.

My neighbour has put a note through the door saying what the order of events will be on the day. As far as know no one has asked her to do this and everyone in our cul-de-sac is expected to join in.

She has decided an 'event' every couple of hours ending with us all singing 'We'll meet again' on our door steps at 9pm. I can't think of anything worse.

This is definitely not my thing and I really don't wont to join in but feel I'm being forced to

For anyone who has a different view than the "celebration of VE Day" look for Ruth Wisharts article in the National last weekend .It sums up the views of almost everyone I know including veterans of WW11 and more recent conflicts .There are some very valid statements on Veterans for Independence sites too .
No "celebration of VE day " here ,my father and all my uncles came back with serious health and mental health issues...BUT they were deeply saddened at being sent to bomb civilians in Germany ,people just like their own families who didn't ask for war or want it .Not because these poor people were a threat just to show them "Great" Britain was a superior force.War is never good and rarely right .