Attending the dawn parade on ANZAC day at the National War Memorial in Canberra,is one of the most moving experiences I have had.
People of all ages standing around in the pre-dawn darkness in sombre silence listening to the prayers and hymns, many with candles. People cough, babies whimper, but apart from these usual signs heard in large gathering, the children are relatively well behaved. It’s as if they can sense that this is a solemn gathering where they need to be on their best behaviour.
It is bitterly cold and misty, which adds to the bleakness of the gathering. The ceremony ends with a lone piper playing ‘The Last Post’ followed by Reveille, a fitting and eerie ending to the morning as the grey dawn breaks.
When it is over people stand around as if not wanting to break the power of the moment. But finally they start to wend their way down the Anzac parade between the monuments dedicated to the different corps and allied countries, back to their cars, many with tears in their eyes.
Most will return for the ANZAC parade later in the morning, to once again pay their respects to the soldiers from all the wars in which Australia has been involved over the years, The Second World War, The Korean War, The Vietnam War and countless others.
In the early days, the dawn ceremony was restricted to veterans to give the diggers quiet time to reflect on their fallen comrades. The day time ceremony was for families and the general public to attend pay homage to these brave men.
Now days more and more youngsters are encouraged to take part in the dawn ceremony as representatives of their grandfathers and fathers.
After the parade many will go to the local RSL, clubs and pubs for a few drinks and to play two up, an Aussie tradition. Some will just return home for cups of tea and Anzac biscuits.
Cochise
Hi, WSPC!
First of all, I’d like to say thank you for visiting my humble Apache. I’m glad you like it, because it symbolizes the kind of person I really am. You’ve got an excellent blog too and I can assure you that yours is much better than mine.
Same (holi)day, different celebrations. Today, you celebrate ANZAC to remember the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who landed at Gallipoli in Turkey, during World War I. (I confess I didn’t know what it was and I had to look on Wikipedia).
We, Portuguese, celebrate the Freedom Day, on this very same day: on April 25, 1974, an almost bloodless, military-led coup d’état (the Carnation Revolution) changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a liberal democracy.
P.S. Please, next time, if you’re thinking of visiting again, I’d appreciate if you left your comment in my blog instead.
Greetings from Europe!
Amazing Gracie
Thanks for your comment – I like your blog very much.
I really appreciate this post. Our nations have been brothers-in-arms many times and I have an abiding love for the Australian people!
~~~Blessings~~~