If my entry on the day didn't make it obvious, it was ANZAC Day a few days ago. I was thinking about how it's really the only holiday anyone takes seriously here. On ANZAC Day, people will actually go to the Dawn Services and there's a whole bucketload of respect for our heritage and those who have fallen in war. In comparison? Australia Day's a good excuse for a barbecue. People are in Christmas for the presents and Easter for the chocolate. New Year's Day simply exists so that everyone can get over the hangover from the night before. And let's be honest, who cares about the Queen's Birthday? No-one gives a damn that it's the Queen's birthday (or at least is the day designated as the day to celebrate a birthday that I think is earlier in the year). Everyone's just in it because they get a day off work, and who doesn't like that? Australia could become a republic and we'd probably still celebrate the Queen's birthday. Or we'd suddenly decide we really love Edmund Barton and should've been celebrating his birthday all along instead.
My point is that no-one typically cares about the reasons behind a holiday, we're just pleased to have a day off work. So what if you aren't a Christian? Hooray for Easter! Chocolate and a couple of days off work. Who doesn't like that? If you don't want to hear about Jesus, just don't go to church, it's that simple. And the Queen's Birthday? Cheers, Queenie, thanks for existing so we can have a day off! I can't hate the Queen, purely for the reason that it's because of her that we all get a holiday on the second Monday in June (or the first Monday if you live in New Zealand, and I think Western Australia celebrates it in late September).
So, by this logic, I've determined we should have John Howard Day and George W. Bush Day. It would actually make their existence useful. Cheers, Bush and Howard! I can't bloody stand either of you, but thanks for giving us an excuse to not do work!
With that said, I better return to writing and trying to complete my essay on the political impact of the Protestant Reformation generally and John Calvin's teachings specifically on the Genevan Republic in the sixteenth century. Thrilling, I can assure you.
