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Eighteen war brides and their husbands renewed their vows Wednesday at a ceremony at Canada's Pier 21 in Halifax, where some 48,000 women landed after marrying Canadian servicemen during World War II.
"They are really excited and happy," a correspondent for Canadian national broadcaster CTV said.
"They are getting the attention they didn't get 60 years ago in war time when they were getting married and so much was going on and their husbands were leaving for the front."
The event kicked off the Year of the War Bride and marked the end of a long journey by train across Canada to the place where most first had set foot on Canadian soil and begun a new life.
The war brides moved to Canada from 1942 to 1946, mostly from Britain.
At the time, many were greeted with jeers from Canadian women upset that so many young Canadian men had married abroad, and because some brides had secured passage to Canada while their husbands were still fighting in Europe.
In contrast, the women who arrived in Halifax on Tuesday said they were shocked by the cheering crowds and warm welcome they received.
"We never thought we'd be of any importance to anybody," Ruby Grey told CTV. "We just wanted to be accepted."
amc/vs
Canada-Britain-WWII-brides
AFP 082201 GMT 11 06
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