ANZAC Day
This weekend was ANZAC day weekend here in Australia (sort of like Memorial Day weekend) with April 25th actually being Anzac Day. I know there are several Americans and Australians now reading this blog and most (if not all) Americans have no idea what ANZAC day is so here is a bit of text from a website that you can go to by clicking on this post's title if you'd like to read more.
What is ANZAC Day?
ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiersin those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.
Why is this day so special to Australians?
They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders and like lambs to the slaughter, over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
So - that's the BRIEF history. Like our Memorial Day there are ceremonies and football games on t.v. etc. Sunday night, David and Karyn had a BBQ at their house - they are both great cooks and David grilled up some amazing skewers, sausages, etc. (and beer of course! I had a great time as Karyn's parents, her sister Nikki and boyfriend Adam, friends Sarah and Mick were all there. Karyn put a cake together for her mother, Mick and me as our birthdays are all relatively close. One funny thing was they were all (except for fellow New Yorker David) were all in fleeces, jackets, and jeans while I (and David) were in shorts and t-shirt. Had a nice relaxing time out on the patio on a quiet Brisbane night Autumn night!
Then on the 25th, we went to Karyn's parents' house (pretty much the same entire crew with the addition of her brother Richard and girlfriend Beverly) for ANZAC/Marilyn's (Karyn's mom) birthday party. More great food, fun conversation, and beer; and port, and lemonciello, and grand marnier, and wine, and .... really nice way to cap off a relaxing weekend.
Just hit the comments button to leave a thought or two!
What is ANZAC Day?
ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiersin those forces quickly became known as ANZACs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.
Why is this day so special to Australians?
They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders and like lambs to the slaughter, over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
So - that's the BRIEF history. Like our Memorial Day there are ceremonies and football games on t.v. etc. Sunday night, David and Karyn had a BBQ at their house - they are both great cooks and David grilled up some amazing skewers, sausages, etc. (and beer of course! I had a great time as Karyn's parents, her sister Nikki and boyfriend Adam, friends Sarah and Mick were all there. Karyn put a cake together for her mother, Mick and me as our birthdays are all relatively close. One funny thing was they were all (except for fellow New Yorker David) were all in fleeces, jackets, and jeans while I (and David) were in shorts and t-shirt. Had a nice relaxing time out on the patio on a quiet Brisbane night Autumn night!
Then on the 25th, we went to Karyn's parents' house (pretty much the same entire crew with the addition of her brother Richard and girlfriend Beverly) for ANZAC/Marilyn's (Karyn's mom) birthday party. More great food, fun conversation, and beer; and port, and lemonciello, and grand marnier, and wine, and .... really nice way to cap off a relaxing weekend.
Just hit the comments button to leave a thought or two!
posted by Ed | 6:10 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Ed, I heard about ANZAC day from some Aussie friends on a chatboard I am on (and have been for about 6 years!)...I am actually going to meet some of them when I go to Brisbane in June to see you guys! :) I probably looked up the same site you did when they first posted about it...had never heard of it and wanted to know a bit more. Thanks for the provoking post!
Post a Comment
<< Home