Ways to mark Anzac Day, starting with a dawn vigil at the end of your driveway

Iwas recently asked if I was disappointed that Anzac Day would not be going ahead this year. The truth is, while there is some regret that this important date in our calendar will not be remembered with any large public gathering, I don’t know if disappointment is the right word to use.

In truth, I’d be disappointed if people did decide to break lock-down to get together with anyone outside of their bubble. It seems like the utmost form of disrespect to step outside our doors for anything less than absolute essentials.

There are plenty of memes on social media about the hardship of staying at home. Most of these are tongue-in-cheek but there is a grain of truth there, given the high numbers of people still going out and about.

Anzac Day is about remembering the sacrifices of others. We are all descendants of people who were willing to give their lives for our freedom, and those who worked ‘for the greater good’ of their society.

For the greater good of today’s society, we are literally being asked to stay at home.

Stay at home. That’s it.

I’m not saying this is an easy task. We are, by nature, social beings and our desire to see other people becomes extremely dominant when it's the one thing you are told you cannot do. There are, of course, far more serious issues that can affect people at home and while I’m not the expert in this field, there are support services available.

So what can we do to keep ourselves occupied, and still honour those we would remember on Anzac Day?

One idea doing the rounds on social media is for residents to light candles at the end of their driveways at 5.55am on 25th April. This is a nice idea, allows us to set our alarms clocks for something, maintains social distance and will certainly feel quite eerie, perhaps even quite moving. Let’s not leave any flames unattended, though.

You could look into your family history and take the time to look through old photographs. Do some research on genealogy websites, including those accessible via the Western Bay of Plenty libraries’ website or apps such as Ngā Tapuwae Gallipoli. Share with younger members of the family stories that have been passed down to you. Phone or video chat with older members of your family and talk to them about their parents and grandparents. Bake some Anzac biscuits!

You may even choose to hold a private memorial. For those who have recently lost loved ones, this may be the first year without someone special they’d normally spend the day with. What better way to celebrate their lives than with some time set aside to remember.

As a community, perhaps we can plan a later commemoration once the lockdown is lifted. As an imported kiwi - my younger years being spent in the UK - I also remember Armistice Day on 11th November. Let’s hope that by the time November rolls around we’ll have this virus corralled and we’ll be able to come together again.

Whatever you choose to do this 25th April, please stay at home. Stay safe. The sooner we realise the isolation is for our safety, the sooner we’ll be able to enjoy those freedoms that were earned for us. This is perhaps the closest thing to ‘sacrifice’ that most of us will ever have to make for our country. If that is the case, then I can feel absolutely no disappointment at all.