Turns out India and Australia have their National Holiday on the same day (January 26th) so I decided to throw another shrimp on the barbie, cook up some samosas and choke down a vegemite sandwich and have a holiday doubleheader for Australia Day AND Republic Day.
First up, The Land Down Under... Australia was unified in 1901 as a Commonwealth of six formerly separate British states. The flag was adopted on the May 22nd, 1909 for national and civil usage and according to my handy-dandy reference book, includes 'three motifs, celebrating key aspects of Australian statehood.' The Southern Cross is the first one- a constellation visible throughout the year in the southern night skies and has been used a navigational aid for centuries and became a popular emblem for settlers on the new continent. The constellation appears on the fly with seven points for the brightest stars and five for the lesser Epsilon Crucis.
The Union Jack is in the canton, denoting Australia's historical links with Great Britain. It was first flown in Australia by Captain Cook was the national flag from 1788 and remained the official flag for use on land by citizens until 1954.
The largest star is the Commonwealth Star which represents the federal nature of government in Australia. Originally there were only six points for the six Federal states- but a seventh was added in 1909 to represent to Northern Territory together with the six other external territories administered by the Australian government.
Australia Day commemorates the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove in 1788 and seems to be the rough equivalent of our July 4th holiday at least according to Wikipedia- and as it's summer down there and decidedly not up here, a summer BBQ sounds just about perfect right now. In fact, I think I might crack a beer to celebrate! Happy Australia Day to all the family and peeps down under!
Next up... INDIA!
Adopted for national usage on July 22nd, 1947. It was based on the flag of the Indian National Congress which was founded in 1885 to press for independence (it succeeded and then some- it's actually the ruling party in the government today.) The orange in the flag represents courage and sacrifice, the green in the flag is for faith and chivalry and blue represents the color of the sky and the ocean.
The wheel is a chakra or a Buddhist spinning wheel... the 24 spokes (because I know you're going to count 'em) correspond with 24 hours of the day implying 'that there is life in movement and death in stagnation.' (Not a bad sentiment actually. Something for our own sclerotic government to consider, perhaps?)
Republic Day celebrates the day in 1950 when the newly drafted Indian Constitution came into effect throughout the country, officially making India a Republic. (Fast fact for poli-sci nerds: the Indian Constitution is the longest in the world- it's got 22 parts, 12 schedules and a whopping 97 amendments.) The highlight of the holiday is the massive Republic Day parade in New Delhi along the Rajpath- though similar parades are held in state capitols as well. Other celebrations include the distribution of sweets in schools and cultural dances according to Wikipedia.
The Indian Constitution itself is a staggering achievement and one worthy of celebration in and of itself- probably one of the greatest achievements in democratic development since our own Constitution in 1787- just considering the number of languages and cultures in India it's really amazing and Indian democracy, messy as it can be sometimes is actually quite inspiring. (At least to me.)
So cook up some vindaloo have some samosas and pour yourself a dram of Amrut whiskey and celebrate Republic Day. I know I will. (I'm still drinking that beer for the Aussies...)
Yes, it's a holiday doubleheader this week in vexillology so have a great Republic Day and an amazing Australia Day and remember until next time- keep your flags flying- FREAK or otherwise!
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