THE DAY OF THE POPPIES

Anzac Day is a very special day both in Australia and New Zealand. The anniversary of Anzac day is probably Australia’s most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by New Zealand and Australian forces during the First World War. On 25th April 1915, forces landed on Gallipoli, so that date became the day on which Australians remember the sacrifice of soldiers who died in the war. In 1916, the 25th April was officially named Anzac Day. In 1917, the word Anzac meant someone who fought at Gallipoli, but later it came to mean any Australian or New Zealander who served or fought in the First World War. During the 1920s, Anzac Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the Australians who had died during the war. Every state observed some form of public holiday on Anzac Day for the first time in 1927. By the mid-1930s, all the traditions and rituals we now associate with the day had been firmly established as part of Anzac Day culture.
Every year at precisely 10:15am, a ceremony takes place in the presence of people such as the Governor General, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries at the Australian War Memorial, in Canberra, Australia’s capital city. In addition, a dawn service, which usually starts with a drum roll, is held to mark the time at which troops first landed on Anzac Cove. A typical Anzac Day dawn ceremony firstly includes an introductory speech and then the National Anthem, a hymn , a prayer, another address , the laying of wreaths , a recitation , the Last Post and the Rouse (both special military bugle/trumpet calls), a period of silence, the Reveille (another special military bugle/trumpet call), and a final drum roll. As a part of ceremony, families put red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Australian War Memorial’s Roll of Honour . After the dawn service, a traditional coffee brew is served along with an Anzac Biscuit, to give people a chance to talk and reminisce .
In addition to ceromonies held in Australia and New Zealand, thousands of people attend Anzac Day at Gallipoli, in Turkey, each year. A combined dawn service is held at Anzac Cove, which is followed by the New Zealand service at Chunk Bair and an Australian service at Lone Pine. (Reading text adapted from anzac)