57/70 D007 Anzac Day

Today, 25 April, is one of Australia’s most important national occasions--Anzac Day. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. On the 25th of April 1915, barely nine months after the outbreak of World War I, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula. More than 8,000 Australian and 2,000 New Zealand soldiers had died in the campaign. In the following year, in spite of the failure, the date was officially named Anzac Day. 'ANZAC' stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Rosemary is traditionally worn on Anzac Day as it is found growing wild on the Gallipoli peninsula.

Although the spirit of Anzac recognizes the qualities of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice which were demonstrated at the Gallipoli landing, some scholars found evidence of the Anzac's bad behavior which is believed to be part of the Australian tradition of masculinity.

Except the commemorative services that are held on 25 April, ANZAC Day is the one day of the year when two-up is legal. Two-up is an iconic Australian gambling game, involving a designated "spinner" throwing two coins or pennies into the air. Players bet on whether the coins will fall with both heads (obverse) up, both tails (reverse) up, or with one coin a head and one a tail (known as "odds"). It was extremely popular with Australian troops during World War I and has since become an Anzac Day tradition.On that day, pubs and clubs across Australia are packed to the hilt with people betting on the outcome of a coin toss.