[Juniper]

Is that the proper salutation? :-) Well it may not be April 25th for us yet, but over yonder it is!

Anzac Day, for those unaware, is a memorial day for fallen troops. Apparently it is a fairly emotional holiday for many, more than just a day off.

Did anyone here go to any sort of Anzac gatherings? What was it like?

Here's some info I found...

"Anzac Day continues to enjoy unusual reverence in a country where emotional public rituals are otherwise absent. It has come to celebrate values that many New Zealanders consider either distinctive or admirable about their nation — mateship, unity, courage, self-sacrifice, loyalty — in addition to its traditional commemorative function. Indeed, such has been the atmosphere of national unity engendered by Anzac Day that some have called for it to become the day of national commemoration in place of Waitangi Day (http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/waitangiday-introduction) which has often been marked by protest and division. In 1996, Prime Minister Jim Bolger suggested, without eliciting much enthusiasm, that Anzac Day have the dual function of commemorating the war dead and celebrating nationhood. Other proposed changes, such as that in 1997 to allow shops to open on Anzac Day morning, have been firmly resisted by the RSA. Despite this, Anzac Day continues to be re-defined by each succeeding generation, especially as the last of the Second World War veterans pass away.

More and more New Zealanders continue to attend Anzac Day ceremonies - including those at Gallipoli. Young people especially are to the fore in these ceremonies, with some wearing the medals their grandparents and great-grandparents won during the war."


source: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/anzacday

[Hannah]

I hadn't ever even heard of ANZAC day until I came to NZ. I had only heard of ANZAC biscuits.

Did anyone see the documentary last night ("Our Lost War") where the neice of a fallen soldier (George) traced back his life, travelling to Salisbury where he trained and then on ultimately to the place he died. I was in tears at the end when the woman laid flowers at his grave and said 'I just want you to know you haven't been forgotten'. The programme highlighted the personal aspect of his life, through diary extracts and official accounts, showing where he fought and slept (and the squalid conditions that led to so many soldiers dying not of battle injuries but just disease and malnutrition). That particular battle, as with so many of them, was so pointless.

When I think about war it just reminds me of how lucky we all are that the only real thing to trouble us is the worry of whether we get PR, whether we can get a job in NZ, whether we can earn enough money to pay for those little treats, and so on. We can all go to bed at night, sleep in peace and know that things tomorrow will probably be just the same as they were yesterday - thankfully. We owe the soldiers of yesteryear so much and we should never forget that.

[Smiler]

We owe the soldiers of yesteryear so much and we should never forget that.

Well said Hannah. I can't imagine the struggle our grandparents went through in WW2 and afterwards. The soldiers coping with the fighting and squalid conditions and those who were left behind who worked so hard to keep the family and country going.

It seems so easy today to me, kids worrying about having the new label, phone and car. The soldiers who paid the ultimate price are being forgotten.

We drove through Welly this morning and couldn't see any signs of services. :( The Mount Vict gun was set off for the Queens birthday but not today and that is a shame. I would rather remember those who gave their lives for us. Armistice day was always emotional for me in the UK but then I was taught in school and at home, about what so many gave and lost.

[Juniper]

Yet another reason to get out of the U S of A these days...I realize there are NZ soldiers in Afghanistan and elsewhere I'm sure, but the warmongering these days...(paranoid? me??)

My grandfather is always coming up with these crazy stories, such as from when he was in WW2. It's crazy because he doesn't particularly like to talk about the war, so when it does come up we're like, whoa you seriously met a tribe of headhunters in Burma??? (He even dug up photos)

(Okay after googling info on the tribe that he met, this seriously wigged me out, on some guys blog he shows the SAME PHOTO my grandad gave me and says his dad took it...small world on the internet isn't it!!!)

Don't follow this link if you are not interested in seeing something from a drastically different culture, that is to say, heads of kids taken as trophies (yikes, I hesitate to post it but this is just anthropology really): :exit

http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/000432.html

All in all, I have to wonder what other stories are tucked away in grandpa's head :uhoh

[Oregonkiwi]

Smiler - the ceremonies are usually at dawn so you might have just missed them. According to the Herald,
"The Auckland dawn service attracted between 15,000 and 20,000 people and a sea of umbrellas as heavy overnight rain continued to fall throughout the service, abating briefly shortly before the service started."
And a link to the Herald's photo gallery
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/media.cfm?c_id=773&objectid=10378863

[Moorf]

Coming from a Forces background with rellies buried all over the world, Remembrance Sunday, the UK version of ANZAC day or any memorial to troops lost in wars are always poignant, nice to see the local villages and towns celebrating despite the awful weather..... not sure about the greeting "happy ANZAC day" though :uhoh it's always been a sombre event in our family, but I don't think there is an official one...

[Juniper]

yeah, what on earth do you say on Anzac Day, or any other memorial day...maybe it's just not a salutation-type situation!

[Moorf]

You're right, not the day for a jaunty greeting.... ;)

[Moorf]

I hovered over that link to "heads" - it's having that "rubber necking at a car crash" effect on me - not sure if I want to see it but curious as hell :D

[Juniper]

well it's not gory at least, they could be buried in sand at the beach, only...they're not... :eek: my grandfather put it into perspective by mentioning the infamous "rape of nanking" around that time. "not so awful, considering" the incredible death toll there, as he put it :no well maybe both are awful!

as mentioned above somewhere, thank goodness most of us are snug at home worrying about job offers!

[zardell]

When I think about war it just reminds me of how lucky we all are that the only real thing to trouble us is the worry of whether we get PR, whether we can get a job in NZ, whether we can earn enough money to pay for those little treats, and so on. We can all go to bed at night, sleep in peace and know that things tomorrow will probably be just the same as they were yesterday - thankfully. We owe the soldiers of yesteryear so much and we should never forget that.


Well said Hannah.......'we should never forget'

Julie

xx

[StevieD]

What a fantastic post - yes, we should never forget those poor souls who suffered, often for the egotistical megalomaniacs who caused it all. Having lost uncles in both the 'great' war and WW2, it brings home to me how futile war is, when good people's lives are totally devastated for what?