At the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Canadians and others around the world will stop and remember for two solemn minutes. Some will gather in groups for services, others in school gymnasiums, and others still will simply pause what they are doing, but together we will remember them.

#CanadaRemembers

All year round and especially during November Canadians remember those men and women who respond to our country’s needs. On Remembrance Day, November 11th, we do certain special things to show our support and gratitude for their service. We pause for 2 minutes of silent tribute, wear poppies and attend commemorative ceremonies.

More recently you may have noticed an increase in Remembrance Day hashtags like #CanadaRemembers, #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.

Why Wear a Poppy?

Many Canadians will be seen wearing poppies or adding them to social media profiles during November. But how did this tradition get started? And what does the poppy represent?

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.”
 

In Flander’s Fields

At the Battle of Ypres in the spring of 1915 a doctor serving with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, wrote of the poppy flowers that grew among the graves of the dead soldiers.

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place: and in the sky

The larks still bravely singing fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved: and now we lie

In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe

To you, from failing hands, we throw

The torch: be yours to hold it high

If ye break faith with us who die,

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.”

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae

2018 Remembrance Day Services in the Niagara Region

However 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

• Sunday, November 4th at 2:00 p.m. at Stevensville Memorial Hall, 2508 Stevensville Rd., Fort Erie.
• Sunday, November 11th at 11:00 a.m. at the cenotaph located near the intersection of Farr Avenue and Gorham Road, Ridgeway.
• Sunday, November 11th at 2:00 p.m. at Mather Arch Park, Mather Circle, Fort Erie.

 

Grimsby

• Sunday, November 11th at 10:30 a.m. at the cenotaph at the Grimsby Museum, 6 Murray St., Grimsby.

 

Lincoln

• Friday, November 9th at 10:30 a.m. at the cenotaph at the Lion’s Club, 2769 Fourth Ave., Jordan.
• Sunday, November 11th at 10:30 a.m. at the cenotaph located near the intersection of King Street and William Street, Beamsville.
• Sunday, November 11th at 2:00 p.m. at Albright Manor, 5050 Hillside Dr., Beamsville.

 

Niagara-on-the-Lake

• Sunday, November 11th at 10:45 a.m. at the clock tower cenotaph in Old Town on Queen Street between Regent Street and King Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake.
• Sunday, November 11th at 12:45 p.m. at the cenotaph located near the intersection of Niagara Parkway and Queenston Street, Queenston.

Air Terjun Niagara

• Sunday, November 4th at 1:00 p.m. at Chippawa Willoughby Memorial Arena, 9000 Sodom Rd., Niagara Falls.
• Sunday, November 11th at 10:45 a.m. at the Gale Centre, 5152 Thorold Stone Rd., Niagara Falls.

Pelham

• Sunday, November 4th at 8:00 a.m. at the cenotaph in Centennial Park, 999 Church St., Fenwick.
• Sunday, November 4th at 9:00 a.m. at the cenotaph at Old Pelham Town Hall, 491 Canboro Rd. W., Ridgeville.
• Sunday, November 4th at 12:30 p.m. at the cenotaph in Peace Park, 20 Pelham Town Square, Fonthill.
• Sunday, November 11th at 10:45 a.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 613, 141 Hwy. 20 E., Fonthill.

 

Port Colborne

• Sunday, November 11th at 11:00 a.m. at H.H. Knoll Lakeview Park, at the intersection of Sugar Loaf Street and Elm Street, Port Colborne.
• Sunday, November 11thas the sun sets (about 5:45 p.m.) A Bells of Peace commemoration will also take place at King George Park, 56 Clarence St., Port Colborne.

St. Catharines

• Sunday, November 4th at 9:30 a.m., veterans will parade from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 418 at 292-296 Vine St. to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church at 5 Oblate St.
• Sunday, November 4th at 10:30 am, members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 350 at 57 Lakeport Rd. will parade to the cenotaph on Ann Street.
• Sunday, November 11th at 10:15 a.m., Royal Canadian Legion Branch 24 veterans will parade from City Hall, 50 Church St., to the cenotaph at Memorial Park on St. Paul Street West.
• Sunday, November 11th at 10:45 am, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 138 members will parade from 2 Chestnut St. E. to the cenotaph at 343 Merritt St.
• Sunday, November 11th at 11:00 a.m. at Imperial Veterans Association, 15 George St.

Thorold

• Sunday, November 11th at 11:00 a.m. at Memorial Park, located near the intersection of Albert Street East and Chapel Street North, Thorold.

 

Wainfleet

• Sunday, November 11th at 10:45 a.m. at the Township of West Lincoln, 31940 Hwy. 3.

Welland

• Sunday, November 11th at 10:45 a.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 4 at 383 Morningstar Ave., Welland.
• Sunday, November 11th at 10:30 a.m. at the cenotaph in Chippewa Park, 128 Fitch St., Welland.

West Lincoln

• Sunday, November 11th at 11:00 a.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 393, 172 St. Catharines St., Smithville.

 

And for those visiting Niagara Falls make sure to stop at the war memorial at the base of Clifton Hill,  between Falls Avenue and Niagara Parkway.