WINTERS KIWI EXPERIENCE: Anzac Day

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Anzac Day

Saturday, April 25th was a national Day of Remembrance in New Zealand. It is called Anzac Day. This year it was the 100th anniversary of the World War I battles and the landings on Gallipoli. The holiday commemorates all New Zealanders who served and died in all wars. Anzac day is New Zealand's Veterans day. They honor those who have served in the wars, perhaps more than we do in in America. All businesses were closed and they had many small parades in various locations. There was a sunrise ceremony celebrating the 100 years at the Auckland War Memorial in downtown Auckland. Everyone wore red poppies and laid them at the memorials. Last week at church many who had served in the armed forces wore their medals. There were a few members who had a whole row of medals. It was quite impressive. Today at Church we stood and had two minutes of silence in remembrance of those who died. The closing hymn was the New Zealand National Anthem. The song has lyrics in Maori and English. We sang the first verse in Maori and then the remainder of the verses in English. The title is "God Defend New Zealand". They mentioned many times "God defend our free land and to guard Pacific's triple star. It is a beautiful song and very patriotic.

On holidays all businesses shut down. Saturday many businesses were closed all day. A few opened at 1:00 pm. Monday will be a holiday again. The Area Office will be closed.

We went to downtown Takapuna and visited the war memorial there and took note of many displays.

For you history buffs the attached clip shows Anzac Cove and Gallipoli then and now.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2015/apr/22/anzac-cove-and-gallipoli-then-and-now-interactive