Today we’d like to wish everyone a very festive Chinese New Year and a very happy Australia Day! Oh sure, even if you aren’t Chinese or Australian, you can still have fun learning about these two holidays and even attempting to answer a question or two once you’ve read up about them.
Below are some trivia facts and popular Q&As about each of today’s Eastern hemisphere celebrations.
In China…
- The Chinese New Year is traditionally celebrated with dragon dances, fireworks, family gatherings with festive meals, and giving out red envelopes.
- Chinese New Year is actually celebrated all over the world, wherever there are large groups of ethnic Chinese folks living together. It’s become a tradition for other Asian countries with large Chinese populations as well, including Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand.
- Find out which foods are served during the Chinese New Year holiday.
- Learn how to say ‘happy holidays’ in Chinese!
- Check out more Chinese New Year Q&A.
Meanwhile, over in Australia…
- Today is the national day chosen to commemorate the establishment of the first British settlement on the continent of Australia. January 26th is actually the date when the first penal colony was founded in New South Wales in 1788. So that’s where all those Australian ex-con jokes come from…
- Bake your own Lamingtons! The spongy, buttery cake is an Australian treat traditionally handed out on Australia Day. Here’s a recipe.
- Barbecues, citizenship ceremonies and the beach: This is how Australians celebrate the day.
Jan 26 is a very important date for Indians as well since this date in 1950 marked the establishment of India as a republic country. Every year this day is celebrated with a Republic Day parade held in New Delhi and the state capitals across India to showcase the military and cultural strengths of India as a diverse but united country.
The original message here told me how to say ‘happy holidays in Chinese. What is the equivalent expression used in Australia?