På den 11. time på den 11. dag i den 11. måned vil canadiere og andre i hele verden stoppe op og mindes i to højtidelige minutter. Nogle vil samles i grupper til gudstjenester, andre vil samles i skolernes gymnastiksale, og andre igen vil blot holde en pause i det, de laver, men sammen vil vi mindes dem.
#RememberThem
Hele året rundt og især i november mindes canadierne de mænd og kvinder, som reagerer på landets behov. På mindedagen, den 11. november, gør vi nogle særlige ting for at vise vores støtte og taknemmelighed for deres tjeneste. Vi holder pause i 2 minutters stille hyldest, bærer valmuer og deltager i mindehøjtideligheder.
More recently you may have noticed an increase in Remembrance Day hashtags like #RememberThem, #LestWeForget and simply #RemembranceDay. Adding poppies to profile pictures, using hashtags and sharing social posts remembering the war dead are all ways people will commemorate this solemn day online.
Hvorfor bære valmue?
Mange canadiere vil blive set iført valmuer eller tilføje dem til deres profiler på de sociale medier i november. Men hvordan startede denne tradition? Og hvad repræsenterer valmuen?
Veterans Affairs Canada explains and you can read more here.
“Following the First World War a French woman, Madame E. Guérin, suggested to British Field-Marshall Earl Haig that women and children in devastated areas of France could produce poppies for sale to support wounded Veterans. The first of these poppies were distributed in Canada in November of 1921, and the tradition has continued ever since, both here and in many parts of the world.
Poppies are worn as the symbol of remembrance, a reminder of the blood-red flower that still grows on the former battlefields of France and Belgium.”
I Flanders Fields
Under slaget ved Ypres i foråret 1915 skrev en læge i Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, oberstløjtnant John McCrae, om valmuerne, der voksede blandt de døde soldaters grave.
"På Flanderns marker blæser valmuerne
Mellem korsene, række efter række,
der markerer vores plads: og i himlen
Lærkerne flyver stadig tappert syngende
Knap hørt blandt kanonerne nedenunder.
Vi er de døde: For få dage siden,
Vi levede, følte daggryet, så solnedgangen gløde,
Elskede og blev elsket: og nu ligger vi
På Flanderns marker!
tage vores strid med fjenden op
Til dig, fra svigtende hænder, kaster vi
Faklen: Vær din til at holde den højt
Hvis I bryder troen med os, der dør,
Vi skal ikke sove, selv om valmuerne vokser
På Flanderns marker."
Oberstløjtnant John McCrae
2016 Remembrance Day Services in the Niagara Region
How ever you choose to remember, it’s important for all Canadians to take time during Veterans Week and on Remembrance Day to stop and show our support. If you’re in the Niagara Region this November 11th and looking for a Remembrance Day service we’ve compiled a list here of ceremonies you could attend.
Fort Erie Remembrance Day Service and Parade
Legion Branch 71
130 Garrison Rd, Fort Erie, Ontario L2A 6E1
November 6th, 2016 1:30 pm
Fenwick Cenotaph, Centennial Park
Legion Branch 613
999 Church St, Fenwick, Ontario L0S 1C0
November 6th, 2016 9:00 am
Ridgeville Cenotaph, Old Pelham Town Hall
Legion Branch 613
491 Canboro Road, Ridgeville, Ontario L0S 1C0
November 6th, 2016 10:00 am
Fonthill Cenotaph, Town Hall
Legion Branch 613
20 Pelham Town Square, Fonthill, Ontario L0S 1E0
November 6th, 2016 12:30 pm
Lincoln Jordan Cenotaph
2793 4th Avenue, Jordan Station, Ontario L0R 1S0
November 11th, 2016 10:30 am
Niagara Falls, Gale Centre
4171 4th Ave, Niagara Falls, Ontario L2E 4N2
November 11th, 2016 10:45 am
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Queen Street Cenotaph
15 Queen St, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0
November 11th, 2016 10:00 am
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Queenston Cenotaph
Legion Branch 124
116 Queenston St, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario L0S 1J0
November 11th, 2016 12:30 pm
Pelham Veteran’s Park
Legion Branch 613
141 Hwy 20 E, Fonthill, Ontario L0S 1E0
November 11th, 2016 10:45 am
St. Catharines Remembrance Day Service and Parade to Cenotaph
50 Church St, St. Catharines, Ontario
November 11th, 2016 10:00 am
St. Catharines Memorial Park Cenotaph
Legion Branch 24
6 Yates Street, St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 5R2
November 11th, 2016 10:45 am
Wainfleet Cenotaph
31953 Sugarloaf St, Wainfleet, Ontario
November 11th, 2016 10:45 am
And for those visiting Niagara make sure to stop at the war memorial at the base of Clifton Hill, between Falls Avenue and Niagara Parkway.