Remembrance Day is probably the most important commemoration we do in Canada. Our ceremony is the envy of many countries around the world. It is a day when grateful citizens gather to commemorate those among them who have stepped up to serve in times of war and crisis and to commit themselves for another year to improving themselves and their community to make their sacrifice worthwhile.

On Remembrance Day, we start with the National Anthem. Have you ever thought about the words of the National Anthem? We stand at attention with pride as we sing words to the effect of "Canada is our home and it commands us to love it deeply. When we think about Canada, our hearts are filled with pride and all of us are willing to protect it. We pray that it will always be an amazing and free country, always worthy of our pride and protection."

The ceremony usually contains some words and a prayer or reflection, and then something truly beautiful occurs: a stylized overnight vigil with bugle calls.

If you didn’t know, bugle calls were ever-present in the lives of soldiers a hundred years ago. Back then, soldiers didn’t have phones; they didn’t have alarm clocks; they didn’t even have watches. They needed to be told at all times by bugle what to do and where to be. It’s a lot like bells at school except the bells were done throughout the entire day, all day.

The first call of the day was Reveille (time to wake up), followed by the Rouse (time to get out of bed). Then there would be First Call, First Post, Mess Call, etc. The day would end with Recall and, finally, Last Post. The Last Post, in garrison, meant that the final sentry post had been inspected and to all that heard it, that the garrison was secure for the night.

In battle, the Last Post took on a different meaning. After soldiers were killed on the battlefield, some of the living soldiers were ordered to stand guard over the battlefield during the night. This was done to watch for any survivors, but also to ensure the enemy or anyone else didn’t disrupt or take the bodies of the fallen.

The soldiers on guard would begin their shift at the last bugle call of the day: The Last Post. The Last Post bugle call in battle was also a signal to those on the battlefield who might still be alive, that the fighting was over and to follow the sound of the bugle to find safety and rest.

In our ceremony, it is played symbolically to summon the spirits of the fallen to the cenotaph and to inform all who are lost that the fighting is done and they can return to camp to finally rest. To us, the living, it is a call to duty, to stand guard over the fallen, to ensure their memory is honoured and to inform all who can hear that our camp is guarded and secure for the night, and all may rest.

The Last Post is followed by 2 minutes of silence, sometimes bookended by a 21-gun salute in two volleys, which is the highest salute possible in Canada, even more than the PM or visiting head of state, who only get a 19-gun salute. The 2-minute pause allows us to reflect on the memory of those who served and those who have fallen and to reflect on our duty to stand guard over the fallen, and over Canada; to honour their sacrifice. In effect, we are representing the soldiers standing vigil over the fallen as their protectors and the protectors of our Nation.

The two minutes happens at 11:00 on November 11th: the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the minute upon which all guns ceased firing in 1918 ending the First World War. Sometimes the Lament is played by the bagpipes at this point in the ceremony, symbolizing the sounds of spouses and children crying over their dead.

This silence is interrupted abruptly by the Rouse, another bugle call, the second call of the morning after Reveille. Reveille was the call to wake up, the Rouse tells them to get out of bed. It was also a call to those on overnight duty that their shift was over. In our ceremony, it is telling us that our watch over the dead is complete. It is also a call to action to get out of our comfortable beds and go to work, charged with the memory of the fallen and inspired by their example of duty.

The ceremony concludes with an Act of Remembrance, which commands us to remember the fallen for the rest of our lives.

But what does remembering the fallen mean? Does it mean that we need to remember every name of every fallen soldier? Does it mean thinking about a bunch of soldiers fighting and dying? Well, the answer is in the poem by John McCrae.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

The poem is written from the perspective of the fallen soldiers, telling us that their final resting place is marked by crosses, but even more permanently by perennial poppies.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

In this stanza, the fallen are telling us to remember them, not as victims, not even as warriors, but as humans; regular people who were just like you and me, who had nice lives and had people in their lives that cared about them.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

In this last stanza, the fallen are telling us that we have to carry on their mission that they died in service to. Their mission, overall, was to make Canada a great and prosperous country and to make sure no one was able to destroy it. They have passed the torch to us. They’ve told us to hold it high. They are commanding us and counting on us to get up and make Canada a better place. How? By making our family better, our school better, our community better, our country better. Someday, maybe even making the world better.

They tell us that if we don’t do this, they will not rest, but instead will continue to remind us of their sacrifice with the poppies that will grow forever on their grave site.

My friend Andy was one of these fallen soldiers, killed in Afghanistan on Christmas eve. Do you think he wants you to cry about him and think of him as a victim? Do you think he would want you talking about the futility of war and how much of a waste it is? Does he want you to think his sacrifice was a waste?

No. My friend Andy was one of the best people I’ve ever met; always the first to volunteer, always making the communities and groups he belonged to better with his positivity and hard work.

If he were able to communicate to us right now, I guarantee you that he would not want you crying over him today. That is not what the fallen have asked us to do. Because they gave the ultimate sacrifice, it only makes sense that they should be able to ask us to make their sacrifice worthwhile.

But how?
By dedicating ourselves to improving our country in the limited ways we can. What will you do to improve your school this year, your family, your clubs, your community, your country, the world? That is what Andy and the other fallen want to know, because that’s what they gave their lives for. That’s right. My friend Andy died wondering if you would be worthy of his sacrifice.

Be worthy of it! This Remembrance Day, ask yourself what you can do to be worthy of Andy’s sacrifice. It doesn’t matter if it’s small. Do something!

Because if you don’t, Andy and the other fallen will not rest, though poppies blow in Flander’s fields. You don’t have to remember Andy’s name. Be proud of him and remember what he gave his life for and then let that inspire you to action!