Sunday, April 25, 2010

ANZAC Day!





Today was ANZAC Day! (If you didn't read the last post, it's basically Veteran's Day). There was a dawn service at 4:28 am (yikes!) that me and my other two roommates decided to check out. We had to take a taxi to get to the city since it was so early! The service was in a shrine in the middle of the city dedicated to the veterans. The service was a lot like a religious service, there was a few speeches and songs, and an eternal flame was lit to remember the veterans by. There was so many people and we were so far away that we actually just watched the service from a big screen TV out up outside! All in all it was very humbling to see how many people gathered to support the veterans and the appreciation Australians have for their comrades in the armed services. It only lasted for around forty five minutes, so we decided to head back home and get some sleep. I went back to the city in the late afternoon to check out the Anzac day parade. No candy or water guns but mostly just veterans marching by with bands and military vehicles. The onlookers clapped in appreciation at all the veterans walking by. The city was packed! People were everywhere. I walked around the city after the parade, there was a band playing in the city square and that was nice to watch for a while. Then I headed to South Bank with some of my roommates and we wandered around the markets. It was a really hot day out, but having the sun out was nice. All in all it was a fun day in the city! If you want to learn more about the Anzac Day and its traditions you can go to http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/anzac/. Wikipedia also has some good information is you just google "Anzac Day". This is the Shrine of Remembrance and what it looks like inside. Here is what the crowd looked like outside the shrine at four thirty! Hope you enjoy!

No comments:

Post a Comment