Despite the bitter cold on Sunday, current and former members of the Canadian military made their way through the Fairview Cemetery in Halifax.
Approaching in pairs made up of a current or former member of the military and a young cadet, they placed balsam wreaths at the headstones of Canada’s veterans.
By the end of the ceremony — and with the bagpipes having long since gone quiet due to the freezing temperatures — 115 wreaths had been placed as part of the first Wreaths Across Canada event to be hosted in Atlantic Canada’s largest city.
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Steven Lake, a Navy cadet, said it was important to attend the event because it was important to pay tribute to those who had helped Canada in the past.
“It shows I respect what they’ve done, what they’ve done for us,” he said.
Inspired by and modeled on a similar program in the United States, the Wreaths Across Canada program is meant to encourage Canadians to make a personal connection with the nation’s veterans.
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Chief Petty Officer Craig MacFadgen says the annual event — often held on the first Sunday of December, but delayed until this weekend due to logistical regions in Halifax — is larger in Ottawa, although it is beginning to take off across the country.
“We’re starting out small but we’re planning to grow to the east and west of the province,” MacFadgen said after the ceremony.
The goal is to be able to weath all of the graves in each community across Nova Scotia.
— With files from Alicia Draus