ANZAC Day
What do we mean by Anzac spirit?
It’s a term we’re familiar with, but what does it actually mean?
The ‘Spirit of Anzac’ was forged when Australians and New Zealanders (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) stood side by side as comrades through two world wars. The term stands for values of courage, camaraderie, compassion and commitment.
Today, the Anzac spirit still represents everything we respect. It’s multi-cultural, multi-generational and inclusive, and now it’s not all about war. It’s about honouring and celebrating courage, selflessness and service wherever it happens in our communities. It requires us to stand strong together, help each other out and try to share a good-natured sense of humour through good times and not so good.
The spirit of Anzac is a stand against loss of community spirit and connection, isolation, loneliness and selfishness. It’s rock solid – built on the traditional values that keep communities strong, and are more relevant today than ever.
It’s a term we’re familiar with, but what does it actually mean?
The ‘Spirit of Anzac’ was forged when Australians and New Zealanders (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) stood side by side as comrades through two world wars. The term stands for values of courage, camaraderie, compassion and commitment.
Today, the Anzac spirit still represents everything we respect. It’s multi-cultural, multi-generational and inclusive, and now it’s not all about war. It’s about honouring and celebrating courage, selflessness and service wherever it happens in our communities. It requires us to stand strong together, help each other out and try to share a good-natured sense of humour through good times and not so good.
The spirit of Anzac is a stand against loss of community spirit and connection, isolation, loneliness and selfishness. It’s rock solid – built on the traditional values that keep communities strong, and are more relevant today than ever.
See here for a historical article on the unveiling of the Halcombe Memorial.
For more NZ at war information and history see http://ww100.govt.nz/
Why the Poppy?
The poppy has a long association with Remembrance Day. But how did the distinctive red flower become such a potent symbol of our remembrance of the sacrifices made in past wars?
Scarlet corn poppies (popaver rhoeas) grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land into fields of blood red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
In late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were once again ripped open as World War One raged through Europe's heart. Once the conflict was over the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields.
The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was realised by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae in his poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy came to represent the immeasurable sacrifice made by his comrades and quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died in World War One and later conflicts. It was adopted by The Royal British Legion as the symbol for their Poppy Appeal, in aid of those serving in the British Armed Forces, after its formation in 1921.
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Scarlet corn poppies (popaver rhoeas) grow naturally in conditions of disturbed earth throughout Western Europe. The destruction brought by the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th Century transformed bare land into fields of blood red poppies, growing around the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
In late 1914, the fields of Northern France and Flanders were once again ripped open as World War One raged through Europe's heart. Once the conflict was over the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields.
The significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial symbol to the fallen was realised by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae in his poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy came to represent the immeasurable sacrifice made by his comrades and quickly became a lasting memorial to those who died in World War One and later conflicts. It was adopted by The Royal British Legion as the symbol for their Poppy Appeal, in aid of those serving in the British Armed Forces, after its formation in 1921.
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
