As many other people around the world, Australians celebrate a lot of holidays common to Europe and America, but they also have some original traditions and celebrations unique in their character.
Perhaps the most celebrated and beloved holiday in the Christian world (and Australia belongs to the Catholic Church) is Christmas. Due to the fact, that this holiday in Australia comes in summer – December here is a summer month – there are some differences in the way of its celebration. As you can probably guess there is no traditional to us Christmas tree but this does not mean that Australians do not have a tree at all – they have a bit different one called New South Wales Christmas Bush. Homes and different enterprises are not as heavily decorated as we are used to. They usually trim a Christmas Bush and use flowers, Christmas bells and lights as traditional decoration. They also decorate their doors with wreaths and sing carols. Common thing is to put a Christmas tree on a beach and lit the night ocean sky with fireworks. Santa comes to their homes on kangaroos instead of traditional reindeers wearing shorts or swimming suit. Speaking about traditional Christmas food, we cannot omit turkey. During the holiday Australians also have such usual dishes for them as fresh seafood, ice cream, and panettone – a Christmas cake.
The Anzac Day (April 25) belong to the national holidays celebrated by Australians and also the Day of Australia (January 26) and Queen’s Birthday (June 8). The Anzac Day commemorates the Army Corps of the Commonwealth of Australia particularly those of New Zealand and Australia itself. They memorialize all the victims of wars and sufferers of the World War I in particular.
The Day of Australia (early called the Foundation Day) is a public and also family holiday which coincides with the last days of summer vacations. This event is to honor the day when the British Empire proclaimed Australia a part of the Commonwealth making it an English colony. This happened in 1788 and since then it is celebrated with beach parties, fireworks and festivals. With this date another holiday is also connected – the Queen’s Birthday, which was first celebrated in honor of the British King George III. It was solemnized on the day that stood for the actual birthday of the monarch till 1936. After that, it was decided to set a stable date for this holiday.
Apart from all above-mentioned holidays, each state of Australia also has its own public celebrations and festivities followed by local parties, fireworks, and festivals, which are very often free of charge. So, no matter at what time of the year you decide to visit Australia you’ll always find something interesting going around.