IT’S tempting to think that traditions, by their very nature, will always endure.
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But just because something has always been done one way doesn’t mean that it always will be.
Dubbonians of a certain age will have seen many traditions change, evolve or, in some cases, just disappear over their lifetime – some because they were simply no longer relevant to a new generation and some because they were not nurtured as they should be.
A tradition will not be kept alive by the current generation, but by the next generation, who need to understand the meaning behind the symbols, the words, the gathering at a certain time and a certain place.
They need to hear the stories and understand the connections. They need to feel the link between what they do now and what was done before.
They need to comprehend the power of the words, the gestures and the sounds.
If they can understand all that, if they can see how the past touches the present, then they will follow the tradition – and they will pass it on to those who come after them.
When the people of Dubbo gather to see the Anzac Day march to the Cenotaph on Wednesday morning, they will show, once again, that this is a tradition that remains alive and vital.
They will be in Talbragar Street in numbers – all ages, from all walks of life. They will pay their respects as the march passes by them and then they will walk to Victoria Park to stand sombrely and pay their respects once again.
If past years are any indication, they will be in our streets and at the Cenotaph in their thousands – gathered on the one day, at the one time, at the one place to stop and remember.
And that is something that should never be taken for granted.
In a changing Australia, the tradition of Anzac Day seems to have actually grown stronger in recent years – but we shouldn’t simply assume that will continue to be the case.
The reason we stop on this day at this time needs to continue to be explained lest some of those connections begin to be lost, some of those meanings start to fade, some of those symbols start to be stripped of their power, some of those stories start to fall silent.
A new generation should not be given the chance to forget. Because they might never again remember.