ANZAC Day - Lest We Forget

[DADOCTOR]

ANZAC Day Is a very important day for Australians and New Zealanders

I am lucky to have a place that I can post about this day,
I have always posted about ANZAC day since I have had a forum to do so, its a great way for others to learn more about it.

I have one relative that was an ANZAC, He is not around today and this makes me think of him. It is a happy day to remember him.


Here is some more info about ANZAC Day








In the early hours of April 25, at various Shrines of Remembrance, cenotaphs and war memorials everywhere in Australia and New Zealand, there is a gathering of the men and women who have gone to war and returned, and with their families and friends gather for a dawn service that heralds the start of another Anzac Day.



This is a day of remembrance — of the deaths and sufferings in war, the valor of fighting men and women, and the ever-present hope for the peoples of the world to live together in harmony and lasting peace.



And, as every Anzac Day service recalls, "at the going down of the sun and in the evening we will remember them."
End of innocence

Anzac Day, a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand, commemorates the landing at Gallipoli in 1915 of the two countries' fighting men, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, during World War I.



This was the war that was impossible to win and marked the end of Australia's age of innocence as Australians and New Zealanders alike witnessed and heard reports of the distant booming guns and the cries of the dying.

All in all, in the Gallipoli Campaign which ultimately ended in defeat, more than 8700 Australians and between 2400 and 2721 New Zealanders were killed. In relation to the two countries' population at the time, this was a massive loss of lives — a sacrifice remembered deeply on Anzac Day.



"They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
we will remember them."

[DADOCTOR]

A typical ANZAC Day ceremony may include the following features: an introduction, hymn, prayer, an address, laying of wreaths, a recitation, the Last Post, a period of silence, either the Rouse or the Reveille, and the national anthem. After the Memorial’s ceremony, families often place red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour, as they also do after Remembrance Day services.

Rosemary is also traditionally worn on ANZAC Day, and sometimes on Remembrance Day. Rosemary has particular significance for Australians as it is found growing wild on the Gallipoli peninsula. Since ancient times, this aromatic herb has been believed to have properties to improve the memory.

The ANZAC Biscuit

During World War One, the friends and families of soldiers and community groups sent food to the fighting men. Due to the time delays in getting food items to the front lines, they had to send food that would remain edible, without refrigeration, for long periods of time that retained high nutritional value; the ANZAC biscuit met this need.

Although there are variations, the basic ingredients are: rolled oats, sugar, plain flour, coconut, butter, golden syrup or treacle, bi-carbonate of soda, and boiling water.

The biscuit was first known as the Soldiers’ Biscuit. The current name, ANZAC Biscuit, has as much to do with Australia’s desire to recognise the ANZAC tradition and the ANZAC biscuit as part of the staple diet at Gallipoli.

The ANZAC biscuit is one of the few commodities that are able to be legally marketed in Australia using the word ‘ANZAC’, which is protected by Federal Legislation.


For useful links surrounding Anzac day, please click on the below:

Messages from the troops
Todays' veterans'
Dawn Service
The Last Post
The significance of Silence
The Rouse and the Reveille
The Ode
For the fallen
In Flanders Fields
Catafalque Party
What did Grandpa do in the war?
History in focus
CA Scholarship
Defence ANZAC Day image galleries

[jaycube]

Is this a historic day for these two countries ?