Anzac Day after the Parade

After observing the dawn parade on Saturday Morning, I was tired, but also a bit confused. The presence of a Chaplain at the ceremony had confused me and taken my idea of secular religion of Anzac day away. Many people that had attended the dawn parade before said that it was a bit strange.Can anyone who has been before tell me whether it is a norm for a Chaiplain to represent Wellington churches at every dawn parade? Or was it quite random?

 

I went to the parade and gained a feeling not of national pride, but of sense of togetherness and that it gave all people attending a sense of national identity.

I also read a great book called ‘Inventing Anzac’ which outlined Anzac Day as a political secular ritual, kind of NZ’s answer to thanksgiving (refer to 10 stages in ‘inventing Anzac’ book).

Also I saw the dawn parade as a way to simulate what happened on this day; e.g. the cannons, the last post, the helicopter??? etc. They all appeared as symbolic means to portray Anzac and remember our loved ones and family that were effected and had died in the war.

There were many aspects I have gained from this reading and observing the dawn parade, the book mentioned ‘The crimson thread of kinship,’ and the new awareness of nationalism. It also talked of the invention of Anzac day as a response to ongoing day-to-day problems of social control. Anzac day can also be seen as a convienient vehicle for manipulating the symbolism of natural cohesion, and disseminate hegemony no matter what type onto the masses.

There is also an interaction between informalities of the crowd and formalities of the military.

What was interesting by talking to many people there, including veterans, soldiers, and onlookers, was that it was adapted to fit our community, and many had said that it was quite different in their home towns, presented in a more personal and relevant way to where they were from.

What I did notice about the dawn parade was the respect given to military sacrifice for our country. Any soldiers I spoke to, and they were all people I had known through university previously, were very proud but also viewed Anzac Day as a military celebration, “Military’s day.”

Another aspect I learned from the Anzac Parade was that in Australia Anzac day is seen as more of a celebration, whereas in New Zealand it is more of a ceremony of remembrance. Also the dawn parade does not place too much significance for New Zealanders, as we weren’t on the scene until around midday. The only reason we have a dawn parade is that we have a close relationship with Australia, they also have a parade around midday, because of this. Which I found very intriguing.

Well I have a lot more info, but this is it for now. I did really enjoy the parade and the conversations. I also found that the lecture we had on tuesday was very relevant, as like Brigitte said a lot of these rituals were made up only recently with a specific reason, or meaning to disseminate into our nation, in this maybe a feeling of nationalism, but also aiding in manipulating strong connections.

That’s all I have to say for now, but it’s all very interesting 🙂

Bridget 

Also I love Anzac Bikkies 🙂