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Australia’s day

Australia Day is fast and furiously approaching…and when I take a moment and think about what that day means to me and other fellow Aussies, the first thoughts that come to mind are:

My mother once told me… if you had stopped being born until the next day, you would have been born on Australia Day and received a silver spoon! (Do they still do that… give silver spoons to babies born on Australia Day?)

Another thought is… ah… a holiday, however, it’s within the school holidays, so the advantage for school-age children isn’t that great from that perspective… their parents though they get the profit for that day. … many barbecues coming soon (and yes, we will be part of that tradition too… )

What does this day mean to each of us here in Australia?

The tradition of celebrating Australia Day as a national holiday on January 26 is recent. It was not until 1935 that all Australian states and territories used that name to mark that date. It wasn’t until 1994 that they began to celebrate Australia Day consistently as a public holiday on that date.

How did all this start…

This tradition of noting January 26 began in the early 19th century with the Sydney almanacs referring to First Landing Day or Foundation Day. On this day, Captain Arthur Phillip arrived at Sydney Cove in command of the First Fleet, which consisted of 11 convict ships from England. Captain Arthur Phillip also became the first Governor of New South Wales. The fact that the Union Jack was flown like a British flag symbolized the British arrival in Australia of the eastern half of Austral that had been previously claimed by Captain James Cook on 22 August 1770.

So for me…it’s a mix of birthday celebrations and Australia Day celebrations…my BBQ Dream Team will come and as usual perform their extraordinary miracles…it’s my two sons-in-law running the barbee … and what they evoke is simply delicious! Added to that will be a chocolate birthday cake.

I am sharing my birthday with one of my daughters starting this year, as her birthday is on new year’s eve, and she hardly sees each other… so from this birthday onwards, we will share the celebrations of both birthdays at the one day…

Nevertheless,

Now there is another aspect of Australia Day that we can all be proud of and that is that our beloved country is home to many, many nationalities… each nationality brings its own gifts to Australia and of course let’s not forget our own aborigines, indigenous Australian people who were here long before the Union Jack flag was first flown.

I always think about the different foods that each nationality brings to the table!!! This is always a good place to start!

So, with our flag flying high, our spirit uplifted, our friends to cheer on this mighty nation, and a thirst for the drink of prosperity, we celebrate this great country with pride and joy. You all deserve to have a wonderful day.

(Check your local council website too for Australia Day activities…)

Until next week.