Australian Traditions:

Australia is an extremely interesting country with a wealth of history and culture. But Australia is not a country which has many traditions. Halloween has only just been accepted but we do celebrate Australia Day on January 26th with much pride. This is Australia’s equivalent to Thanksgiving Day which represents the landing of the First Fleet of Convicts in Botany Bay.

Australia does not have any statues of pioneering convicts, and we certainly do not show much emotional attachment in regards to celebrating the fact that criminals who stole bread to survive, were shipped to Australia as hardened criminals.

Not many of us see this as a personal triumph for Australia. Perchance this is because most Australians are sympathetic to the hardships those convict settlers once faced. It’s somewhat ironic that the suffering those convicts endured at the hands of very cruel wardens, is actually celebrated.

Yet celebrating Australia day gives us a chance to veer away from the negative side of how Australia commenced its history and make the most of reflecting on just how far Australia has come since it was settled.

Australians celebrate Australia day with family get-togethers, barbecues etc as there is no basic rule for how we celebrate this particular day. A myriad of Australians have expressed their wish that our national day was somewhat like those of foreign countries in which there were clear symbolic meaning to our celebrated day.

In fact a very concerned citizen is quoted as having said “The 26th of January is an inappropriate date for Australia Day, as it merely represents the anniversary of the arrival of the British to establish the penal colony of New South Wales.

It does not represent of birth of a nation and disengages the aboriginal and non-British communities from their sense of involvement in nationhood. It also sends the wrong message to our Asian neighbours, reminding them of our European roots.” His comment certainly reflects the thoughts of many Australian citizens.

Something such as the Eureka Stockade celebrated on December 3rd would be more appropriate. Unfortunately though, this would cause some problems because the Eureka Stockade was partially associated with white supremacy and unionism.

Australians are very proud to celebrate Anzac day though, this has been around for decades. Anzac Day was built on tragedy as well. The 25th of April 1915 will long be remembered as the day the British landed our troops at Gallipoli as part as an offensive against the Turkish control of the Dardanelles.

Foolishly the Australian troops were landed on scrub-covered hills instead of on an open plain. Only 755 of the 1,500 men who landed remained in service by the end of the day.

The Turks mowed them down from elevated positions as they leapt from the boats. Anzac day is seen as a very humane approach to remembering the war.

Anzac Day celebrations start with a Dawn Service because during the battle dawn was the most favoured times for attack. This was because the half light is said to have played tricks with the eyes of the soldiers. Soldiers were awakened in the dark and given ample time to become fully alert by the time the first grey light appeared.

Although Reverend White led a service on the 25th April 1923 at Albany in Western Australia, the first official Anzac Day service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph. Part of the Anzac Day service includes a paragraph which was taken from the poem ‘Ode for the Fallen’ which was written by ……..

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.”

Australians also celebrate Christmas and it is certainly well supported both in a Christian way and the commercial way. Unfortunately Santa doesn’t see much snow while he is dressed in his winter woollies.

It seems ironic that is Australians are singing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” or “Frosty the Snowman” while we enjoy the harsh Australian Summer. Our Christmas is not all about the turkey, roast potatoes etc, most Australians prefer to celebrate Christmas around the dinner table with seafood on ice.

Australians have a love of horse racing and it’s only fitting that the nation stops when the Melbourne cup in on. Most Australians will have a little flutter in the Melbourne cup even if we don’t gamble any other time. In actual fact it was the discovery of gold back in 1853 which led to an influx of gamblers to our shores.

When a gold-digger struck it lucky, they would head to the racetrack to see if their luck would increase. Eventually racing clubs formed in hope of relieving the diggers of some of their hard earned money.

The very first Melbourne cup was run in 1861 and by 1866, the Melbourne Cup was proclaimed the day for a public holiday. This day is not just about horse racing, it’s also a day for dressing stylish and mixing with friends.

The Melbourne cup falls on the first Tuesday in November. While the Melbourne Cup is only a public holiday in the state of Victoria, many people take the day off work to watch the race at home or in the pub on television.

Bosses know many employees will call in sick. I guess our traditions are what make us who and what we are; happy, fun-loving people who are proud of their country and show it in so many ways.