Happy Canada Day! And...

Woo and hoo. It's the 139th anniversary of the signing of the British North American Act what made Canada a dominion in its own right. July 1st is Canada Day, a national holiday and cause for celebrations from coast to coast. There are celebrations from dawn til late at night, with sunrise ceremonies, and block parties, and BBQs and all kinds of shindigs, right up until nightfall when most cities celebrate with fireworks.

Born in New Brunswick, one of the three original provinces who signed the Act into being, I celebrated Canada Day enthusiastically until I moved to Newfoundland, the newest province, halfway through my life (so far). Formerly a British colony, Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949.

And that's where it gets tricky. Today is also the 90th aniversary of the Battles of the Somme and Beaumont Hamel. Up until 1949, July 1 was an official day of mourning for Newfoundlanders. During World War I, during the bloodbath that was the assault on the Somme, in slightly less than half an hour, the Royal Newfoundland Regiment was all but annihilatied at Beaumont Hamel on July 1, 1916.

Excerpt from The Somme, 1916, Newfoundland and The Great War
"When the roll call was taken, only 68 responded. The full cost would not be known for several days. The final figures revealed that the regiment had been virtually wiped out: 710 killed, wounded or missing."

There was hardly a family on this island not touched by this loss. With the passing of time, fewer and fewer of the people who remember this sad time remain, but you will still see homes around town flying the Union Jack in remembrance rather than the newer Canadian Flag in celebration.

I like to think, in my usual Pollyannaish fashion, that we can combine both occasions without diminishing either one. Those men fought so that we could remain independent. They, along with the other members of the Allied Forces who died that day and during the many other battles of that and the next war, made it possible for countries like Canada to be the self-governing entities they are today.

So while I celebrate Canada Day, I still remember the boys who gave their lives during what was not, sadly, as it was billed, the "war to end all wars."

So. Happy Canada Day! And don't forget the boys...