Family Matters |
Parenting in Pursuit of Happiness |
Today, everyone in Australia is celebrating Queen’s birthday.
I remember, when we first arrived here, we were very surprised at the holidays Australians have.
The birthday of the Queen, who is only officially the queen of Australia, but has no role in daily life here, is still a good reason for a public holiday.
Horse racing is another good reason for a public holiday.
If Easter, Christmas or New Year’s Eve fall on a weekend, the 
Australians move it to the following weekday, so they can celebrate it again.
Not that I am complaining. I like it this way, and today, I am taking the day off to spend time with my family.
Wherever you are, why not do what the Australians do? Adopt a queen for another day off every year. But hurry up, because there are not many queens left in the world. Pick one and go for it!
Happy Queens Birthday,
Ronit
(From the beaches of Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia)
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2 Comments to “Queen’s Birthday in Australia”
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Hey Ronit - its interesting that you say this because I never really thought about it.
I think its a great thing though. By actually making the public holiday a weekday, even if it falls on the weekend, I think it is saying we think that this occasion is important and everyone deserves an extra rest and a day to celebrate.
Unfortunately for some people the Queen’s birthday is not considered an important event for Australians as many people are currently pushing for a republic.
Despite the fact that my background is Greek and it is probably fair to say that on many occasions most people see me as more Greek than anything else: as an Australian I think for historical reasons the Queen’s Birthday is an important event to remember.
Whilst many would prefer not to think of colonisation and how this country began, the fact is, being a British Colony meant that our country developed in ways that I am particularly proud of.
For example our legal system was inherited directly from England - and I believe it to be one of the fairest in the world. We have a system of government based on the Westminster system which I believe to be one of the most, if not the most, democratic in the world.
This puts our country in a far better position than any other colonies in the world.
History should always be remembered, its how we explain our present, and how we then choose to mould the future.
Don’t get me wrong,
I am happy about it.
Any reason to take a day off is good for me.
I told the kids that the best thing for me would be 4 days off and 3 days of work.
I do think that a day off is a big expense on the economy, and I think that just like voting is not a free day ( which I think it is exactly how it should be)it is funny to shift the holidays to the next weekday.
Funny, but with my blessing.
The more queens, the better.
Happy day
Ronit
http://www.behappyinlife.com