ANZAC Day

This year Anzac day fell on the same weekend as Easter. Anzac Day is celebrated on April 25th each year in both Australia and New Zealand. I saw on TV that there was also a ceremony in Vietnam by Australian and New Zealanders. It is a day to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps ( the acronym is ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I but now it is a day for all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. 


I spent the weekend in the small town of Ulladulla. On Anzac day there is a thing called dawn service. We had to be there at 6 a.m. We went to the Dawn Service at the Ex-Servo's club. That is a club for all the ex-service people. At the dawn service people said hymns and readings. There were songs played on the bugle and we had a two-minute silence followed by the laying of wreaths were family members loved ones lay wreaths commemorating fallen soldiers. 
This is a picture I took after the service.

Most people are off of work for ANZAC day. The pubs are open and after the Dawn Service some people go straight to the pub. I heard that from 7-10 beer was $1. We went back to the Ex-Servo's that afternoon to watch Rugby League Football. Every year since 2002, the National Rugby League (NRL) has followed the lead of the Australian Football League, hosting a match between traditional rivals St George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters to commemorate Anzac Day in the Club ANZAC Game. It was really fun. I tipped the Dragons to win and they did. 

Australians get Friday off of work and the Monday after Easter as a public holiday. This year because Anzac day fell on that Monday, Tuesday was also a public holiday. 

Australia Day

On January 26th Captain Arthur Phillip, commander of the First Fleet of eleven convict ships from Great Britain and the first governor of New South Wales, arrived at Sydney Cove in 1788. Convicts and sons of convicts began marking the colony's beginnings with an anniversary dinner.
Australia Day is an official public holiday and nearly everyone is off work. It is also called Invasion Day by some Indigenous people.


I experienced my first Australia Day on January 26th, 2011. Many families and friends go to the beach, have picnics, and barbecues (a very Aussie thing to do). 
I spent the day with my boyfriend and his family and their friends. We walked up to Cronulla Mall for breakfast and to get a few things from Woolworths grocery store for the barbecue later. About 10 A.M loads of people dressed in red, white and blue began spilling from the Cronulla Train Station. Girls had on their cozies (swimsuit) and girls and boys had Australian temporary tattoos adorned all over their bodies. They had Aussie hats and t-shirts and fake nails. Boys had the Australian Flag as a cape. Many people had eskies (ice coolers) full of food and drinks. 


I went with my boyfriend, his sister, her husband, and their baby to their friend Tim's house that was on the water for a barbie. It was a super hot day reaching 35 degrees! Lucky we were at a house with a pool and the bay to jump in. Beers, potato chips, and sausages were served and it was fun hanging out all day. 


In every major city a firework show is performed for family's to enjoy. Also in smaller suburbs like Cronulla, (where I live) music, fun, and games are just the pre-show for a fantastic firework display. 

 

 I feel like the closest resembling holiday in America would be the 4th of July or Independence Day. American's celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain by getting together with friends and family for barbeque's and to watch fireworks.