Australia’s day

Australia Day is coming up fast and furiously… and when I take a moment and think about what this day means to me and other fellow Australians, the thoughts that come to mind are first of all:

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

Another thought is…ah…a public holiday, however, it is within the school holidays, so the advantage for school children is not so great from that perspective…however, their parents they get the benefit of that day. …lots of barbecues coming up (and yes, we’ll 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 Australia Day began to be consistently celebrated as a public holiday on that date.

How did this all start…

This tradition of noting January 26 began in the early 19th century with 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 flew like a British flag symbolized the British arrival in Australia of the eastern half of Austral that had previously been claimed by Captain James Cook on August 22, 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 taking care of the barbee … and what they evoke is simply delicious! To that will be added a chocolate birthday cake.

I’m sharing my birthday with one of my daughters from this year on, as her birthday is on new year’s eve, and she’s barely seen…so from this birthday onwards, we’ll be sharing both birthday celebrations on 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 their own gifts to Australia and of course let’s not forget our own Aboriginal people, Australian indigenous people who were here long before the Union Jack flag first flew.

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 spirits buoyed, our friends cheering 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.