Nov. 11 happens every year. So why do so few people attend?
This should be our most cherished holiday of the year. For without our veteran’s efforts we might not be so privileged to be here. Why is it that so few people make the effort to attend Nov. 11th ceremonies? It is refreshing to look around and not recognize familiar faces, but it is perplexing when I do not see familiar faces. We all have friends who we think should be in attendance. I know many people my age have similar experiences with understanding war through their families.
For the record, I do not like war, and I feel very fortunate I did not have to go to war. I absolutely respect everyone who chooses a path of service or joins the military. The first thing I do when I meet anyone and learn of their service, I shake their hand and thank them. It is what was instilled in me as a boy and I am passing along these same values to my children.
After this year’s Remembrance Day service, my family and I had a discussion about why only a few hundred people (less than 1% of a 25,000 population) attend this service annually.
It didn’t make sense, so I challenged my 12 and 14-year-old son and daughter to share the reasons they felt more people did not attend. Their responses were logical and thoughtful, from maybe they forgot, memories are too painful, mobility issues, no place to park, maybe they are at a different service, or they are out with family to mark this day of freedom—to perhaps they are lazy.
As a 56-year-old man, who grew up in our nation’s capital Ottawa, this day was shrouded in ceremony and tradition. I grew up with English grandparents who fought in wars and my mother, who lived through the Second World War by hiding out in the subways during German bombing raids of Liverpool. It is clear that their experiences resonate with me.
My grandparents were so grateful for how they ended up in Canada. They were happy people and so fun to be with. They never wasted food and had some creative meals that resulted from living off rations.
I guess this is why I place such a value on my attendance of this annual B.C, Statutory holiday service, for without honouring and respecting their sacrifices we might not have any of the other holidays we have all come to love and enjoy.
David Daniels
Squamish
