I don’t get why there is a public holiday on Monday in lieu of Anzac Day falling on a Sunday.
It actually seems contrary to the “Anzac spirit”, which wartime historian Charles Bean defined as: “Reckless valor in a good cause, enterprise, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship and endurance that will never own defeat.”
Although, I suppose it is resourceful of Australians to contrive an excuse for a long weekend.
Maybe I’m just bitter that I worked most holiday Mondays during my career as a journalist.
But it’s interesting to note our Kiwi friends aren’t taking a day off on Monday.
“A spokesman for the Minister of Labour said there were no immediate plans to change the current situation and most New Zealanders wanted to recognise Anzac Day on the day itself.”
And it will be interesting to see how resourceful Australians are next year when Anzac Day falls on Easter Monday.
Regarding Anzac Day itself, there has been some discussion this year about whether relatives of deceased servicemen should be allowed to march, as they have been encouraged to do in past years.
Relatives were today being asked to join the back of the marches. The RSL said this was to boost the dignity of the events amid concerns about the dress sense and behaviour of some planning to attend.
That’s fair enough. I’ve been concerned that Anzac Day has lost its solemnity in recent years. Some people behave as if it’s a celebration, rather than a commemoration.
There will come a time soon enough when there are no longer WW2 veterans marching. The RSL needs to start planning for this, both in terms of its membership and managing the Anzac Day ceremonies.
I suggest doing away with the marches. Simply have an 11am service in addition to the dawn service.
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I agree with you.
It seems like you guys are going in the direction that we’ve gone to. Our Memorial day isn’t solemn at all. A few people go to cemeteries…especially if they personally lost a family member. But for most of us, it’s a day off school/work, a day for sales, and a day for a barbecue.
I think once you turn something into a three day weekend, it becomes a celebration. People are thinking about their day off.
On Facebook, I saw some Australians remembering those lost. They posted a poem line or something. But others just mentioned how great it is to have a three day weekend.
I feel like a hypocrite saying this because I’m totally one of those Americans who just sees Memorial Day weekend as a long weekend. But I admired Australia for being different in such a positive ways. I’d hate for you guys to sink to our level.
Personally, I support having public holiday ‘observances’ (I think that is the official term) when a public holiday (such as ANZAC Day) falls on a weekend.
I know that the Monday-Friday work-week isn’t as widely practiced anymore, but it is still the case that if a public holiday falls on a weekend, employees effectively end up with one less public holiday than in other years.
I can see how on a holiday such as ANZAC Day it can detract from the appropriate spirit of the event, when it is turned into a long weekend.
On the other hand, I suppose it is a the love of the long weekend is a classic trait of ‘Australian-ness’ that ANZAC Day is supposed to focus attention on.
At least as far as I know (although I may be wrong) it was former Victorian Premier, Jeff Kennett who started the move (in Australia) towards eliminating public holiday observances when the public holiday in question fell on a weekend.
Today, May 1, is of course May Day, or as it is more officially known International Worker’s Day. I’ve always felt it a pity that we don’t celebrate this here in Australia, as it would be nice, IMHO, to have a holiday that is so international in its observance (other than religious holidays).
However, I can understand the reason we don’t observe May Day in Australia, which is that otherwise the period late March/early May would be rather over-loaded with public holidays (Easter, ANZAC Day and them May Day) compared to the rest of the year.
So instead we have Labour Day in October. I suppose it is also nice to share a public holiday with the USA, given that we usually folow more British traditions (US Labour Day is in September, so almost similar timing).
Interestingly, the US has Labour Day instead of May Day for different reasons than Australia. There it was because many American politicians, as well as quite a few trade union leaders, felt un-easy about the links May Day had with socialism and communism and how May 1st celebrations were often a propaganda pinnacle in the former Soviet Union (during the Cold War).
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Labor Day is only observed in October in South Australia, New South Wales and the ACT. In Victoria, Tasmania and Western Australia it occurs in March, while in Queensland and the Northern Territory it’s in May.
This reinforces my view that Australia’s holidays should be totally revamped on a national basis to make them more meaningful and consistent.