dug777
Lifer
90 years to the day since the Gallipoli landings in WW1.
This gives you an idea of what it means to us i guess...probably like your Memorial Day/Veterans Day i guess, but very different as well...if that makes any sense.
If you can't be bothered reading it don't bother asking for cliffs notes please cos i certainly can't summarise it easily 😉
This site explains it all...
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/generic.aspx?sectionID=1691
"What is Anzac day?
What started on the cliffs of Gallipoli in 1915 has become perhaps the closest thing Australia has to a national day. Anzac day is sacred ? a day when Australians and New Zealanders stop to remember those who served our countries and fought, died or suffered in war.
For the older people ? those who saw or felt the consequences of war ? it's a day of memories: a time to meet with old mates, play two-up and spin yarns over a beer. For the young, who can only imagine the horrors, it's a time of gratitude to those who sacrificed to keep our homeland free.
Anzac Day commemorations begin at dawn. Past and present servicemen and women, veterans' families, dignitaries and the patriotic attend services across the country. From capital cities to tiny communities, wreaths are laid and tears shed to the strains of the Last Post.
The day gives way to the Anzac parade. Proud former soldiers ? medals pinned to their chests ?march through the streets as crowds cheer and children with blue-satin badges wave flags. As the years progress though, more sons and daughters of World War veterans fill the thinning ranks.
Wherever Australian servicemen and women are on duty, ceremonies are held. This year the Anzac legacy will be commemorated in Indonesia, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and the Middle East.
Australians traveling overseas also pay tribute. In fact, many travel especially to former war sites as a mark of respect to the Australians who lost their lives. Tens of thousands make the pilgrimage to Gallipoli, to imagine that day when ordinary blokes alighted from landing boats to be confronted by a hail of bullets. On the Aussie backpacker circuit, Gallipoli has become a must-see destination.
Throughout the decades, the popularity of the occasion has increased. In decades past, younger generations questioned the relevance of Anzac day. These days, it has become an annual lesson in classrooms around the nation.
While April 25 marks the date of Gallipoli landing, Anzac day represents all conflicts ? indeed all military action that Australians have been involved with. The reason Gallipoli is so significant is not that the hardships and tragic events there were any worse than those encountered by Australians elsewhere. It's that Gallipoli is seen as Australia's first test as a nation.
Our country, unlike others, was not born of a bloody fight for independence ? the traditional test for freedom. When we went to war in 1915 we were a young and untried force. Thousands of our young men lost their lives at Gallipoli ? the campaign was an abysmal failure. But in the eyes of the world ? in particular Britain ? we had passed the test. Australia, as a nation, had grown up.
C.E.W. Bean, the official war historian, put it this way: "The influence of the Gallipoli Campaign upon the national life of Australia and New Zealand had been far too deep to fade?In no unreal sense it was on the 25th of April, 1915, that the consciousness of Australian nationhood was born." "
This gives you an idea of what it means to us i guess...probably like your Memorial Day/Veterans Day i guess, but very different as well...if that makes any sense.
If you can't be bothered reading it don't bother asking for cliffs notes please cos i certainly can't summarise it easily 😉
This site explains it all...
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/generic.aspx?sectionID=1691
"What is Anzac day?
What started on the cliffs of Gallipoli in 1915 has become perhaps the closest thing Australia has to a national day. Anzac day is sacred ? a day when Australians and New Zealanders stop to remember those who served our countries and fought, died or suffered in war.
For the older people ? those who saw or felt the consequences of war ? it's a day of memories: a time to meet with old mates, play two-up and spin yarns over a beer. For the young, who can only imagine the horrors, it's a time of gratitude to those who sacrificed to keep our homeland free.
Anzac Day commemorations begin at dawn. Past and present servicemen and women, veterans' families, dignitaries and the patriotic attend services across the country. From capital cities to tiny communities, wreaths are laid and tears shed to the strains of the Last Post.
The day gives way to the Anzac parade. Proud former soldiers ? medals pinned to their chests ?march through the streets as crowds cheer and children with blue-satin badges wave flags. As the years progress though, more sons and daughters of World War veterans fill the thinning ranks.
Wherever Australian servicemen and women are on duty, ceremonies are held. This year the Anzac legacy will be commemorated in Indonesia, East Timor, the Solomon Islands, Iraq and the Middle East.
Australians traveling overseas also pay tribute. In fact, many travel especially to former war sites as a mark of respect to the Australians who lost their lives. Tens of thousands make the pilgrimage to Gallipoli, to imagine that day when ordinary blokes alighted from landing boats to be confronted by a hail of bullets. On the Aussie backpacker circuit, Gallipoli has become a must-see destination.
Throughout the decades, the popularity of the occasion has increased. In decades past, younger generations questioned the relevance of Anzac day. These days, it has become an annual lesson in classrooms around the nation.
While April 25 marks the date of Gallipoli landing, Anzac day represents all conflicts ? indeed all military action that Australians have been involved with. The reason Gallipoli is so significant is not that the hardships and tragic events there were any worse than those encountered by Australians elsewhere. It's that Gallipoli is seen as Australia's first test as a nation.
Our country, unlike others, was not born of a bloody fight for independence ? the traditional test for freedom. When we went to war in 1915 we were a young and untried force. Thousands of our young men lost their lives at Gallipoli ? the campaign was an abysmal failure. But in the eyes of the world ? in particular Britain ? we had passed the test. Australia, as a nation, had grown up.
C.E.W. Bean, the official war historian, put it this way: "The influence of the Gallipoli Campaign upon the national life of Australia and New Zealand had been far too deep to fade?In no unreal sense it was on the 25th of April, 1915, that the consciousness of Australian nationhood was born." "
