Remembrance Day falls on a Monday this year, giving some the impression there is a long weekend to celebrate.
But Nov. 11 isn't a holiday in the way Victoria Day and Canada Day are holidays. Granted, in Saskatchewan, the day has been designated as a statutory holiday, but I believe the intent of that move was to ensure everyone would have time to observe the importance of the day, not to kick back and watch sports on TV.
Serving one's country is more than a job. Those who join the armed forces have individual reasons for their career choice, but underlying that choice is almost always the desire to give back to a beloved country.
Many have died in that quest, many have been wounded and many have lived lifetimes remembering the horror of war, pride in a job well done and in a country served.
If you do no more than to observe two minutes of silence Monday, to reflect on those who have died and those who continue to die so we can live free and secure, you will have honoured them.
There are, however, four main Remembrance Day services for the public throughout the Battlefords, all of them taking place on Remembrance Day.
The Gold Ridge Centre will host a service for Métis and First Nations veterans that will be open to the public. The doors will open at 9:30 a.m. and the service will begin at 10 a.m. Wreaths will be laid at the Veterans' Monument in front of the casino.
There will be three services held by the Royal Canadian Legion. Branch No. 349 and auxiliary will hold their service at Saskatchewan Hospital in the main dining room at 2 p.m. Rev. Nora Borgeson will speak, and pie and coffee will be available for visitors after the service.
Legion Branch No. 70 will form a parade at the Legion Hall in North Battleford at 10:15 a.m. and will march to John Paul II Collegiate, where a service will be held. The branch will also hold a banquet that will be open to the public at 5 p.m. at the Legion Hall.
Legion Branch No. 9 of Battleford will have a parade forming up at 10:30 a.m. at the Legion Hall located on 22nd Street. The parade will march to St. Vital School where the service will take place at 11 a.m. The parade will move to the cenotaph after the service, and lunch will follow after, at the Legion Hall.
Communities throughout the Northwest -St. Walburg, Edam, Maidstone, Unity and Hafford, just to name a few, will also be hosting Remembrance Day services Monday. Take one in near you.
