Remembrance Day - Featured Comments
We receive more comments related to Remembrance Day in the weeks preceding November 11 than for any other holiday all year around. It's great that so many of you care so deeply about this day! This is a commercial website but this page is ad-free so you can read, free of distraction, some of the most thought provoking comments as selected by the editor of this website. Thank you for contributing, thank you for caring. Lest we forget.
Send us your thoughts, comments and ideas about Remembrance Day in Canada. What should and should't be done on this day? How best to pay respect to current and past members of the armed forces?
I have found that over the past few years that the public does not understand the service: what is done and why, what is the proper way(s) to show respect, when to be silent, when to clap, how to wear a poppy, how to properly dispose of a poppy etc. My family is made of generations of Canadian military/veterans. I grew up on a couple of military bases. What I was taught in base school about Remembrance Day was much more than what the public is aware of it seems and more information would help attenders know how to participate most appropriately and reduce chatting during the solemn parts of the service. Ex. a father couldn't stop chatting and laughing and scolding his kids during the reading of the list of the names of the fallen soldiers. People didn't know the words to O Canada and God Save the Queen. People were wearing poppies on the right side instead of over their hearts. Cadets were dressed sloppily. In honour of the 150 anniversary of our great country, more information might be well received so that those who made sacrifices and those who mourn them might feel loved and not forgotten by society. Thanks! If you are unable to find the etiquette for Rem Day online, perhaps you could contact Veterans Affairs, National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa or some of the Veterans Groups. Many members of the Legion are not directly associated with the military due to death of veterans so that would not be my first suggestion.
We can remember all we want and make this a week long holiday but it's our actions that matter not lip service.
Today my daughter, a first grader, came home from school with a RD themed activity book. The days prior to RD she told me stories of movies they watched about RD, poems they heard in the library. They made their own poppies as a craft. Instruction was stellar and age appropriate. I do not agree with everything the public school system stands for but they nailed this one. At home we spent some time talking about this as well and do so throughout the day if a related event or landmark begs for explanation. At work, at a private small company, we did not pause for two minutes. I didn't expect so. But if you truly care you can pause for two minutes anytime, anywhere like I did that day at the train station waiting for my train. Governments can do many things. But they can't control your thoughts. Lest we forget.
I do not wish for Remembrance Day in Ontario to be a stat holiday as people will not take the time to remember the soldiers who died for Canada. It should be taught in schools prior to the 11th and 2 minutes of silence observed as well. Otherwise children will think they have another day off and won't understand why.
One cannot enforce virtue anymore than one can enforce patriotism and gratitude. What a sick world we live in, where gratitude for the Peace and Freedoms we enjoy with a rich and diverse population who it seems have taken all for granted and the precious gifts of our freedoms for which they came to this great country to enjoy - and which now are quietly being stripped from us one by one by. Government aquieses to lobbyist minority pressure wherein the masses are refused and debauchery of sound values and principles of freedom in mainstay society are taken and substituted and deemed good for all Canadians. Fathers of Confederation are ignored and visions of democracy for which a 100,000 Canadians have died fighting for are on a slippery slope of destruction.
The day should be kept in whatever way best served as a way for people to remember.I don't believe it should be treated as holiday as such but needs to be held such high accord that time is taken people are obliged to stop whatever is at hand and come together as one people to honor, remember, and contemplate the horrible, almost inconceivable atrocity that is....war
There is a recurring discussion about whether Remembrance day should be a holiday in Canada. I say yes. There is a rise in tension in the world and there are still wars happening. We need to remind everyone, especially the young, about the consequences of war and the freedom they are experiencing due to the sacrifices of others. We need to remember those Canadians that sacrificed their lives. We also need to recognize those that survived and lived with the horror of war all of their lives. There is a large decline in memberships at the Canadian Legion and this is due to the passing of many war survivors. This is also an indication of the growth in the lack of recognition that is happening. The Legion is now accepting applications from anyone who is interested in their cause, not just veterans and their families. There have been other days set aside to remember victims of Afghanistan and other wars. I think they should all be observed on Remembrance Day. With the inception of Family day in February that mirrors the U.S. Presidents day holiday, it becomes even more apparent that Remembrance Day needs to be a holiday here in Canada. Ken Campbell