Happy 'stralia Day!

Wednesday, 26th January was Australia Day.  Having not paid much attention to this holiday in the past, on account of not being Australian, I was intrigued to see how the Aussies celebrated it.

Waitangi Day (the New Zealand version for those non-kiwi readers... of which I have about 2, haha) is usually marked by a bit of controversy near where the treaty was signed, a bit of lying in the sun and having a few drinks.

It turns out the Aussies celebrate their national day in much the same way, minus the controversy and treaty part. Throw in a BBQ (apparently it's tradition to do lamb on the barbie on Australia Day... the whole prawn thing is a myth - and rightly so as it dries them out) and Bob's your uncle.  Almost every workmate I asked about their Australia Day, said they went to a BBQ.  Some had mulitple BBQ commitments. 

What I was surprised by however, was the level of patriotism exhibited on the day.  Supermarkets, 2 Dollar shops and the like must make a killing on flags, t-shirt, boardshorts, bikinis, beach balls - you name it.  If it had an image of the Australian flag on it, it was worn on Wednesday.

Nice really.