This past weekend marked the commemoration of ANZAC Day in New Zealand and to start off I thought it might be a good idea to explain what ANZAC day is about, personally I had no idea such a day existed. It's not a holiday but we did receive a day off of school. This year in particular was extremely profound and amazing because it marked the 100th anniversary of the Gallipolli Battle. So Anzac day occurs on April 25 and it commemorates all New Zealanders killed in war and also honours the returned servicemen and woman. The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers (the Anzacs) on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. This day so many years ago 2,779 New Zealanders lost their lives in service. To be in New Zealand on this year was such an honour. Also across the street from where I live they just opened a new park that is solely dedicated to Anzac day and those lives that were lost so for the past few weeks since the park opened there has been heaps of events and activities going on each night. It was so entertaining to look out my window and see everything that was going on.
My favorite activities were the light show they held every night. They projected a light-show onto the museum building and the show was beautifully designed to honour and commemorate those lost and to tell there story. The other big events that I went to in commemoration was a parade held down Taranaki Street, they actually shut the street down so that the parade could go, I have some photographs from the parade but it was packed full of people so it was challenging to take photos but the parade itself was so fun to watch. The other service I went to was New Zealanders gather for a dawn service on April 25 and when I say dawn I really mean it. This service was held at 5 am and I'm so glad I dragged myself out of bed and went because there were 100's upon 100's of people there to commemorate Anzac day. It was a wonderful cultural experience to be a part of. It was the first time I've been in the presence of people singing the New Zealand national anthem too!! (Luckily they had a script so I could sing along). It's been another week in Wellington and with each day I finish I continue to mark off my calendar the closer I'm getting to coming home and it scares me how fast time still flies by.
My favorite activities were the light show they held every night. They projected a light-show onto the museum building and the show was beautifully designed to honour and commemorate those lost and to tell there story. The other big events that I went to in commemoration was a parade held down Taranaki Street, they actually shut the street down so that the parade could go, I have some photographs from the parade but it was packed full of people so it was challenging to take photos but the parade itself was so fun to watch. The other service I went to was New Zealanders gather for a dawn service on April 25 and when I say dawn I really mean it. This service was held at 5 am and I'm so glad I dragged myself out of bed and went because there were 100's upon 100's of people there to commemorate Anzac day. It was a wonderful cultural experience to be a part of. It was the first time I've been in the presence of people singing the New Zealand national anthem too!! (Luckily they had a script so I could sing along). It's been another week in Wellington and with each day I finish I continue to mark off my calendar the closer I'm getting to coming home and it scares me how fast time still flies by.