November 9, 2015
2 Minute Read
Each year Commonwealth nations celebrate Remembrance Day on November 11 marking the end of World War 1 on November 11, 1918. Remembering those who have fought for our nations, those who died fighting and those who still fight. We gather together for a moment of silence on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Public Commemoration Remembrance Day Ceremonies
Ceremony and Parade at Victory Square (Vancouver)
9:45am – 12:00pm
At 9:45am the Vancouver Bach Youth Choir and Sarabande will begin the program with a 15 minute performance. Followed by veterns, miliatry marching units and bands being led to Victory Square at 10am. At 10:30am the cenotaph ceremony starts.
At 11:00am the Last Post will be sounded. Followed by Two Minutes of Silence during a 21-gun salute by the 15th Field Artillery Regiment.
The main parade will march west along Hastings, turning right on Richards, east on Cordova and south on Cambie. The parade route can be found here.
Victoria Park Cenotaph (North Vancouver)
10:30am – 11:30am
There will also be a Remembrance Day parade and service at the Victoria Park Cenotaph in North Vancouver. The park is located in the 100 block of East Keith Road and Lonsdale Avenue. The parade moves up Lonsdale and West on 15th street before concluding at the Engineer Squadron Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.
North Delta Social Heart Plaza (Delta)
10:40am – 11:45am
The Kennedy House Seniors’ Society and the Corporation of Delta, will host a Remembrance Day Wreath-Laying Ceremony at the North Delta Social Heart Plaza at 10:40 am. Following the ceremony, a public reception will be held at the North Delta Recreation Centre.
Other Ceremonies Around Vancouver
Memorial South Park Cenotaph @ 10:30am
41st Avenue and Windsor Street
Japanese Canadian War Memorial in Stanley Park @ 10:40am
Grandview Park @ 10:45am
1657 Charles Street at Commercial Drive
Royal Vancouver Yacht Club @ 10:55am
3811 Point Grey Road
(can be viewed from Hastings Mill Park)
CRAB Park at Portside @ 10:55am
Chinatown Memorial @12:30pm
Keefer at Columbia streets
Canadian Remembrance Day Traditions
In Canada, we wear a poppy on our clothes leading up to Remembrance Day as a symbol of our respect and gratitude. In 1915, Canadian soldier Major John McCrae wrote his now famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ after the death of one of his comrades. It was this poem that inspired the tradition of poppy wearing.
In Flanders Fields by Major John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.