QM said:
I actually don't think it should be a holiday. Currently, downtown cores shut down for the parades on 11 November, and in many (most?) schools and offices, a moment of silence is observed at 1100hours. At the very least, this causes young students to recognize that "something" happened on 11 November that is meaningful, and they will remember the solemnity of the moment of silence.
If 11 November becomes a national holiday, all that will end. The children will be out playing at 1100hrs, and of course won't be bothered to pause and take note of what happened, so in one generation, we will have lost the habit of pausing at 11/11/11. No one will be at work to peer out their windows at the veterans parade around the cenotaph in their city, or to actually leave their offices to attend the parade, as many do now. No, 11 November will simply become another long weekend - another chance to have a BBQ or to maybe close the cottage or watch a football game. The impact will be lost - most Canadians will simply take a day off work and not be bothered to remember or acknowledge why they get to go hunting on a Tuesday, or go shopping in the States for a long weekend in November. The only people who will put any effort into the day, are us, of course. But by providing people the opportunity to pause during their schoolday or workday to reflect on the occasion, we keep the memories alive.
In Australia, Rememberance day is not a national holiday, but 11AM is observed at schools, work, with buglers on every street corner in the city central Business District.
But ANZAC day (25 April) is a national holiday, but it isn't treated as a "day off", it is a day of rememberance and mourning of those who died, and thanksgiving to those who served.
Dawn ceremonies attract crowds in the tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands line city streets for veterans marches (televised live). Even the smallest of towns have ceremonies and dawn services that attract large attendences.
The young children get taught in school a few weeks out from the day about Australia's war history (in particular about Gallipoli), and then observe it with thier families.
Having the day off has not taken away from the focus of the significance of the war, quite the opposite. It serves as a means to keep every generation informed, aware, and thankful of those who have served and sacrificed for Australia.
Australia would honestly not be the same country without this day.
Yes a football match does take place (the traditional Anzac day clash between bitter rivals Collingwood and my beloved Essendon), but not in lieu of reflection, but as a form of it. Navy seahawks deliver the match balls, the RAAF conducts a flyover, a parade of ex-footballers who served takes place, the ADF provides a tri-service honour guard, then 95,000 people become absolutely silent for 1 minute, then the last post is played, and finally the national anthem is sung by some ADF muso's. Having that many people stay silent before 2 of the most bitter rivals in aussie sport do battle is a powerful moment, and nobody in the stadium takes it lightly.
