WEYBURN - The Weyburn Legion Branch #47 is celebrating Decoration Day on Sunday, June 1. This is an annual event where volunteers visit the local cemeteries and place Canadian flags on the grave sites of those who served.
Historically, before Remembrance Day came about, Canadians had a different memorial called Decoration Day in which we commemorated our war dead with the laying of real flowers, not in the hopeless gloom of November but in the warm light and optimism of late spring or in summer, often on the weekend closest to June 2, the anniversary of Canada’s forgotten first modern battle, the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866.
On Decoration Day, Canadians gathered at war monuments, tended to soldiers’ graves after the ravages of winter and “decorated” them with flowers, wreaths and garlands, prayed that their sacrifices were not in vain and that we had come to be worthy of them.
Veterans were showered in flowers as they passed, escorted by phalanxes of children. It was a popular communion of young and old with the souls of our fallen soldiers in a celebration of hope, life and rebirth. We remembered and we remembered well.
Decoration Day includes all veterans who served in any and all wars to protect our country.
They are asking the community to step in and help us honour those who fought for all of us. Please volunteer by coming out on June 1st to put flags on graves of our local fallen veterans.
The day starts at 9 a.m. at both cemeteries and you can volunteer by putting your name on the list while you are at the Legion or by calling the office at 306-842-4258. Depending on the number of volunteers that are willing to come out, this will take approximately two or three hours. Obviously the more who come out the less time it is for everyone.
There is a short memorial service at Hillcrest Cemetery at 2 p.m., followed by a lunch served in the Legion lounge for anyone who comes out to volunteer. “We will remember them!”
More information can be found on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ridgeway website.
