Anzac Day 25th April 2006
It was lovely…a day off in the middle of the week to relax and do nothing. I scrapbooked part of a present for a friend, ate some nice food, caught up on some telly watching and spent some time with my hubby discussing stuff. Generally it was very fulfilling.
One thing that came up was how the Australians seem to have two days in the year were everyone gets to pat themselves and others on the back for ‘being’ Australian.
Australia Day happens in February. On this public holiday people wander the streets with flags, making merry, watching ferry racing on the harbour (if in Sydney) and having a great time just being Australian.
Anzac Day happens in April. On this public holiday people watch a parade of returned and serving service men and women, take in the circling DC-10’s and congratulate them for protecting this great land from trinary and the threat of invasion. All of that is followed by the afternoon in the pub, playing Two-Up. A game that involves tossing two coins into the air and hoping they both land showing the same face. It is the only day of the year that gambling is allowed in all pubs.
On both holidays of course, many use it as a chance for a long weekend and bugger off up the coast, the police use them as a way to get people off the roads by making it double demerits weekends (twice as many point on your driverslicence).
But, I’m from Britain. There we have no national day (the only country in the world, I believe, not to have one). Remembrance Day or Poppy Day as it is more commonly known, is in November. Eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month and you don’t get a day off, just a minutes silence.
I don’t have a point to this, just saying.
(317 words)
2 comments:
Not patting oursleve son the back for being Australian..those that attend the dawn services and marches do so out of respect for the people who fought and died to allow us to live the life we now do (and manage to screw up the country they helped create so well....I am sure many are turning in their graves). I don't think it is so much a celebartion of being true blue Aussies but the fact that we aren't German, or Japanese or god knows who else we have fought over the years.
If that makes any sense at all.
And more long weekends I say.....
Now...MissE did you miss the line 'and congratulate them for protecting this great land from trinary and the threat of invasion.'?
I hope so, I think what the armed forces do for the country is great and good on 'em I say. I just think it's a bit odd having a whole day off to do it. When I'm used to having only one minute of silence.
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