Happy Australia Day!

It's a bit of a mixed bag, is Australia Day. The marketing campaign is telling us to celebrate all things Australian, which I'm all for. So far "all things Australian" seems to be Lamingtons, BBQs and walking around with green and gold facepaint. It's a good thing I like Lamingtons.

But we just can't escape the fact that January 26 is the day us whitefellas landed, and lots of people are now crying out for a different national day. Ron Barassi wants us to celebrate the 1967 referendum when he thinks Indigenous Australians were given equal citizenship rights.  But the path to equal rights for Indigenous Australians was long and complex, with many symbolic dates spread out over decades.

So what are other significant days in our history that might be more inclusive?

Federation Day - the Constitution of Australia came into force on 1st January, 1901, merging separate colonies into a single state.

Pros: Good symbolism of when we officially became a nation of our own. The ideal occasion to celebrate our nationhood.

Cons: The date. It's already a public holiday.

Rights Day? - The referendum in 1967 was held on 27th May. It basically amended the constitution so that special laws could be made by the Federal government to include Indigenous Australians, thereby giving the opportunity to end discriminatory state legislation.

Pros: It is symbolic of a growing time of activism and self-determination by Australia's Indigenous population. It's in May.

Cons: It's a bit nebulous: not a definite day of "citizenship" or "voting rights" etc. In fact, nothing changed for at least 5 years after the referendum was won.

Sorry/Reconciliation Day? - February 13 was the day when Kevin Rudd made his public apology to the stolen generations. It's symbolic of a desire for reconciliation, perhaps? It's applicability to every people group in the nation is somewhat limited, but there is the potential to expand the theme.

Pros: a good time to think about forgiveness, healing, togetherness.

Cons: right next to Valentines' day. What will the shops sell????

Commonwealth Day - this used to be a half-day holiday known as Empire Day. Apparently my Father had the day off school and there were parades etc in town. The power of the Commonwealth/Empire has dwindled, however, as has our desire to celebrate it. Still, it would give the second Monday in March a good excuse to sleep in...

Pros: Another day off.

Cons: Still in the first half of the year. Rather irrelevant these days.

Melbourne Cup Day - it's already a public holiday in Melboune. It's in the second half of the year, which is currently lacking a plethora of public days off. Many office workers already spend the day having "cup parties". So why not?

Pros: another day off

Cons: glorifies gambling. And since horseracing isn't our national sport, there doesn't seem to be much relevance to the wider population.

Chaplain's Day - on the third of February, 1788, Richard Johnson held the first Christian church service down near Circular Quay. John Newton and William Wilberforce were among gospel-minded individuals who worked to ensure that the first fleet had an evangelical chaplain on board; a man who wasn't one of the more typical gentry of the Anglican church, but one seriously concerned with sharing the gospel with the convicts, soldiers, and free people who came to found the colony.

Pros: well, from a Christian perspective, it would be a great time to celebrate the gospel concerns of our ancestors.

Cons: in Multicultural humanist-secular Australia? Tell 'er she's dreamin'.

What days can you think of that might be good additions to our national public holiday calendar?