Yesterday was ANZAC Day. Like the other uniquely Kiwi holidays we've had so far here (Waitangi Day, Otago Day . . . ) I am most excited about the fact that I get time and a half and a day in lieu. Also, these holidays tend to generate vague answers when I ask people why we are celebrating. Take ANZAC Day for example. I asked quite a few people what the big deal was and the most I got was that it "had something to do with the army."
ANZAC Day is a time to remember the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps who fought in World War I. Now it more broadly celebrates anyone who has served for their country and remembers those who gave their lives in some sort of military operation. Here, ANZAC Day is a public holiday and many shops are closed or are only open for a half day. To show their support and remembrance, everyone buys and wears handmade poppy pins. This year, residents was up in arms about the fact that for the first time ever, the poppies were not handmade by Kiwis but rather were made in China. Sometimes on the street you could find a vendor selling Chinese-made poppies (they were shunned) next to someone selling Kiwi-made poppies. It was big news.
Big news for me is that New Zealand has their own kind of cookie called an ANZAC biscuit. They are tasty cookies made of rolled oats and coconut. They are associated with ANZAC Day because they were supposedly sent from army wives to their husband soldiers abroad as the cookies were known to stay fresh and sturdy during travel.
I celebrated ANZAC Day by earning time and a half and eating lots of cookies. All in all it was a pretty good day.
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