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Remembrance Day remains important

High school student pens piece on Remembrance Day
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Remembrance Day. It marks the day World War One ended, at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, back in 1918. Nowadays, people remember those who were lost in the war by holding a two minute silence and by wearing a red poppy.Remembrance Day is one of the biggest days of the year to so many different people. From veterans to young kids, every person should be so thankful for the freedom we have been given. There have been people that gave their lives to give us a better one and sometimes I don't understand why nobody cherishes the day. There are so many different kinds of ways to be grateful for what we have. I personally try to take the day and think to myself of what I could do to make myself feel like I have done enough to make the veterans and people proud. I know myself that it is very difficult to make myself feel like I have done enough for the veterans, but I don't think there is anything that anybody could do to make up for what they did for us.  Many of those who have lost family members to war also use this day as a time to visit the graves of their loved ones. Remembrance Day can provide an excellent way to help children with an understanding of the complications of war and give them a reason to work towards a more peaceful world. 

 11th of November is universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the First World War. This war had mobilised over 70 million people and left between nine and 13 million dead and as many as one third of these with no grave. It took me a while to realize what Remembrance Day really was because as a kid I never really realized that it was such a meaningful day. Who is remembrance important too? While we say that Remembrance Day is recognized nationally, only six of the ten provinces plus all three territories have November 11th as a holiday. Nova Scotia and Manitoba recognize the day as a holiday but it is not statutory while Ontario and Quebec do not observe Remembrance Day as a holiday at all. But I hope that people don’t just see this day as a day off work or a day off school. I’m glad I get to take part in Remembrance Day every year especially in choir.

Being able to sing for the people that gave me a chance to be free and by myself in this country is the smallest thing I could do for them. “I don’t know about you but I have.  During my two minutes of silence, the thought of the soldiers sacrifice pops up in my head. How they all fought for their lives against Germany, and how they left their families to help save this country”. I found this quote on when I searched quotes on Remembrance Day. The question was what do you think of on Remembrance Day during the two minutes of silence? I never really thought about this before when I saw this, but I guess I realized that the world could really be something else if they didn’t do what they did for us. I don’t think there is any time in my life where I will be able to make up for what they did for me. But the least I could do is make sure that I take part in Remembrance Day for what they did for me to give me this freedom.


See a story by YRHS student Emma Simpson here.