why is ANZAC day celebrated each year?

Answer 1

Australia and New Zealand commemorate the ANZAC Day public holiday on 25 April every year to honour the bravery and sacrifice of the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), and of all those who served their country. ANZAC Day is also a public holiday in Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga.


Beginnings of the memorial day
ANZAC Day - 25 April - is probably Australia's most important national occasion. It marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during the First World War. ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The soldiers in those forces quickly became known as Anzacs, and the pride they soon took in that name endures to this day.

When war broke out in 1914 Australia had been a federal commonwealth for only fourteen years. The new national government was eager to establish its reputation among the nations of the world. In 1915 Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of the Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The plan was to capture Constantinople (now Istanbul), capital of the Ottoman Empire and an ally of Germany. They landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Turkish defenders. What had been planned as a bold strike to knock Turkey out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915 the allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. Over 8,000 Australian soldiers were killed. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which Australians remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war. Though the Gallipoli campaign failed in its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking Turkey out of the war, the Australian and New Zealand troops' actions during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity of both nations. This shaped the ways they viewed both their past and their future.

On 30 April 1915, when the first news of the landing reached New Zealand, a half-day holiday was declared and impromptu services were held. The following year a public holiday was gazetted on 5 April and services to commemorate were organised by the returned servicemen.

The date, 25 April, was officially named ANZAC Day in 1916; in that year it was marked by a wide variety of ceremonies and services in Australia, a march through London, and a sports day in the Australian camp in Egypt. In London, over 2,000 Australian and New Zealand troops marched through the streets of the city. A London newspaper headline dubbed them "The knights of Gallipoli". Marches were held all over Australia in 1916. Wounded soldiers from Gallipoli attended the Sydney march in convoys of cars, attended by nurses. For the remaining years of the war, ANZAC Day was used as an occasion for patriotic rallies and recruiting campaigns, and parades of serving members of the AIF were held in most cities. From 1916 onwards, in both Australia and New Zealand, Anzac services were held on or about 25 April, mainly organised by returned servicemen and school children in cooperation with local authorities.


ANZAC Day was not gazetted as a public holiday in New Zealand until 1921, after lobbying by the Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association, the RSA. In Australia, at the 1921 state premiers' conference it was decided that ANZAC Day would be observed on 25 April each year. However it was not observed uniformly in all the states.

One of the traditions of ANZAC Day is the 'gunfire breakfast' (coffee with rum added), which occurs shortly after many dawn ceremonies.

During the 1920s, ANZAC Day became established as a national day of commemoration for the 60,000 Australians who died during the war. The first year in which all the States observed some form of public holiday together on ANZAC Day was 1927. By the mid-1930s all the rituals we today associate with the day - dawn vigils, marches, memorial services, reunions, sly two-up games - were firmly established as part of ANZAC Day culture. With the coming of the Second World War, ANZAC Day became a day on which to commemorate the lives of Australians lost in that war as well, and in subsequent years the meaning of the day has been further broadened to include Australians killed in all the military operations in which Australia has been involved. ANZAC Day was first commemorated at the Australian War Memorial in 1942, but due to government orders preventing large public gatherings in case of Japanese air attack, it was a small affair and was neither a march nor a memorial service. ANZAC Day has been annually commemorated at the Australian War Memorial ever since.

Australians recognise 25 April as an occasion of national commemoration. Commemorative services are held at dawn, the time of the original landing, across the nation. Later in the day ex-servicemen and women meet and join in marches through the major cities and many smaller centers. Commemorative ceremonies are held at war memorials around the country. It is a day when Australians reflect on the many different meanings of war.

The Dawn Service observed on ANZAC Day has its origins in an operational routine which is still observed by the Australian Army today. The half-light of dawn plays tricks with soldiers' eyes and from the earliest times the half-hour or so before dawn, with all its grey, misty shadows, became one of the most favored times for an attack. Soldiers in defensive positions were therefore woken up in the dark, before dawn, so that by the time the first dull grey light crept across the battlefield they were awake, alert and manning their weapons. This was, and still is, known as "Stand-to". It was also repeated at sunset. After the First World War, returned soldiers sought the comradeship they felt in those quiet, peaceful moments before dawn. With symbolic links to the dawn landing at Gallipoli, a dawn stand-to or dawn ceremony became a common form of ANZAC Day remembrance during the 1920s; the first official dawn service was held at the Sydney Cenotaph in 1927. Dawn services were originally very simple and followed the operational ritual; in many cases they were restricted to veterans only. The daytime ceremony was for families and other well-wishers, the dawn service was for old soldiers to remember and reflect among the comrades with whom they shared a special bond. Before dawn the gathered veterans would be ordered to "stand to" and two minutes of silence would follow. At the end of this time a lone bugler would play the "Last Post" and then concluded the service with "Reveille". In more recent times the families and young people have been encouraged to take part in dawn services, and services in Australian capital cities have seen some of the largest turnouts ever. Reflecting this change, the ceremonies have become more elaborate, incorporating hymns, readings, pipers and rifle volleys. Others, though, have retained the simple format of the dawn stand-to, familiar to so many soldiers.

Each year the commemorations follow a pattern that is familiar to each generation of Australians. A typical ANZAC Day service contains the following features: introduction, hymn, prayer, an address, lying of wreaths, recitation, "The last post", a period of silence, "The rouse" or "The reveille", and the National Anthem. At the Australian War Memorial, following events such as the ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day services, families often place red poppies beside the names of relatives on the Memorial's Roll of Honor

Answer 2

Where Is Anzac Day Celebrated

Answer 3

To get a feel for the Gallipoli Expedition (which ANZAC Day commemorates) get hold of the song, "And The Band Played Waltzing Matilda". Many good recordings available. The narrator of the song is a young man who goes to Gallipoli with the ANZACS. The last two verses of the song are full of the heartache and futility of war.

Answer 4

To remember and learn from the sacrifices these young men made for our country on Anzac Day that is the day I can say I am most proud to be an Aussie.
I always go to the march first with my children now with my grandchildren and hope they never have to make the supreme sacrifice these brave soldiers did.

Answer 5

"It is not "celebrated" but commemorated."
True if you look at it from a purely historical aspect which everyone here seems to be doing. ANZAC Day from the point of view of personnel serving in the Armed Forces IS a celebration of what they do. In all honesty, for many it is seen as the only day of the year they aren't going to have people abuse them on the streets for having a job that may require killing people, instead everyone thanks them for sacrificing their lives to keep the Australian way of life and protecting our sovereignty.

Answer 6

"and its called plagiarism, to copy and paste material from another source, its an offence lol.."

Someone should use a dictionary and look up the meaning of words like "plagiarism". Basement Bob gave the source of the material he quoted , he did not attempt to pass it off as his own and therefore was not guilty of plagiarism. If people on Y!A were guilty of plagiarism every time they gave an attributed quotation from Wikipedia and other sources, there would not be too many answers of any substance.

Answer 7

It is the day of the year we show respect for all of the servicemen and women who died for their countries, amongst the Australians and New Zealanders. 25th April.

It is also the anniversary of the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign during the First World War.

Answer 8

It is not "celebrated" but commemorated. We do not glorify war or the loss of our country men, but remember who they where and what they did for us

Answer 9

crazy whoever this guy is...
the longest answer i have ever seen whoa !!
and its called plagiarism, to copy and paste material from another source, its an offence lol..
answays his answer is correct ! Its 25th of April..
and its a public holiday.. !
ENJOY !