Australia Literature and Language

Christmas was moved to December 25th to coincide with a pagan holiday. This got more pagans to celebrate Jesus' birthday. This move was one of the reasons why the church split in 1043. It was then that the Pope went to Rome and the Patriarch of the Orthodox church went to Constantinopole. == == * Christmas is on December 25 because the Roman Catholic Church established it to compete with pagan traditions for winter solstice that also celebrated near that date. Winter solstice is the passing of the shortest day, when days begin getting longer. Thus, early missionaries associated the bringer of light, Christ, with the coming of the light in the form of longer days and warmth. * Christmas is celebrated as the birth of Christ, however no one know what day he was born on, just sometime in December. In 350 AD Julius I, a Bishop of Rome, chose December 25th as Christmas's official day. == ==

"Yakka": "My ... that was hard yakka!"

There used to be a jean company of the same name.

The Boomerang is a hunting or ceremonial device crafted from wood by Australian Aborigines.

Since we cannot pronounce or remember their many terms for them, we refer to any Boomerang like object as a "Boomerang".

The Adult way to say friend is '' Mate'' and most teenagers say '' braa'' as in bro

Just as misogyny is 'hatred of women', so misandryis defined as 'hatred of men' - so a misandrist would be one who hates man... These terms apply whether the person being described is male or female.

The blue on the Australian flag is simply the British blue ensign. It represents nothing more than Australia's British heritage.

When the English came to Australia the people that inhabited Australia did not speak English. As a matter of fact there are still places in Australia where English is not their first language.

A common Australian term for 'boy' is bloke.

Colin Thiele's first book was a book of poems, "Progress to Denial", which was published in 1945, just before he turned 25. He continued writing novels and articles, and began writing children's books during the 1960s. Sun on the Stubble was published in 1961 and Storm Boy was published in 1963.

Yes. Many people homeschool their children. They need to register the fact that they are homeschooling, as there are certain legal requirements that must be met.

For more information on the requirements for homeschooling in Australia, see the related link.

English is the language spoken by Australians. If you are referring to Aussies learning a second language at school, they vary depending on different schools. Could be Indonesian, Italian, French, Japanese, German or Spanish.

Bloke

A matilda was another, though less common, name for the swag that itinerant workers carried. It comprised perhaps a change or two of clothes and a few light, personal possessions rolled up inside one or two blankets that were secured at each end by a strap or rope and slung over the shoulder. Over the other shoulder the swagman often carried a tucker bag, usually a hessian sugar bag or cotton flour bag. The contents were evenly placed at each end, then the open end tied shut and the centre tied with twine so each weighted end hung over the shoulder. The billy - a quart tin can with a handle and a lid for boiling water over an open fire - was often suspended from the swag strap. In one hand the swagman carried a waterbag, a canvas bag that allowed a little water to seep to the outside and keep the water inside cool by evaporation. WWhen I was growing up, many houses had these, some quite large, hanging from a shady tree limb or on the verandah of the house to provide cool drinks in summer. Other names for a swag were shiralee (rare), drum and bluey (from the colour of the blankets). Now to answer your question; Waltzing matilda is a vernacular expression that means to carry your swag all over the countryside. Because matilda is a girl's name, he likens it to waltzing his girl all over the dance floor.

AB 'Banjo' Paterson's Man From Snowy River was a famous poem based on the following:

A valuable racing horse had escaped and joined the wild bush horses of the High Country in Australia. Many riders gathered at the station where the horse had escaped, and joined forces to go after the horse.

Many experienced riders such as Harrison and Clancy also gathered but there was one very young man and his weedy horse. The man was told that he could not come on the quest to find the horse because he was young and inexperienced, and such a ride was only for the worthier riders. Only Clancy stood by his young friend saying that he and his horse were mountain bred and knew the hills well.

The man and his horse were allowed to join all of the other riders. Once upon the mountains the group soon spotted the horses. The experienced riders tried to bring them around but lost them as they galloped over the mountain gorge. All of the riders then pulled their horses back as they watched the wild horses ride down the steep mountain - that is, all riders except for the man from Snowy River. He chased the group of horses down until they gave up. He brought them home with his small mountain pony.

The movie was based on the poem, but with extra detail and embellishments. The high country of Australia was showcased beautifully, and the movie is well worth watching, if only for the scenery and the terrific horse chase towards the end.

The "correct" Australian slang term is strine.

Traditionally biscuit - except for chocolate chip cookies which are based on US recipes. However, as TV and other global advertising intrudes more and more into our lives, cookie for all biscuits is heard increasingly often.

The US "biscuit" is a version of the scone, though softer and more doughy, but it seems that because we want to please the Americans (who have difficulty with anything that is "foreign") our biscuit may lose to cookie, just as patty cakes are losing out to cup cakes and hundreds-and-thousands to sprinkles.

No.

There is no official language for Australia: English is the default language throughout the country. However, Australians have developed and adapted a number of interesting slang terms which truly leave some overseas visitors completely baffled as to their meaning. Some of these words are derived from Australian aboriginal dialects, and some of them have simply developed from the wide mix of local English and Irish dialects which came with the early convicts.

The 12 days of Christmas are the days from Christmas Day (the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ) to Epiphany (the celebration of the arrival of the 3 Kings). They go from December 26th to January 6th.

"I'm hungry".

Australians speak English.

There isn't really a greeting that is particular to Australia. 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Christmas' would be the main ones.

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Please note there is no such language as "AUSTRALIAN", most people in Australia speak ENGLISH as their first language (with an Australian accent). Thus Australians would say "Merry Christmas".

Unfortunately, in 1902 Lawson returned from London very depressed and at some time he had developed an alcohol problem and he was extremely depressed. He did not care for himself properly and in 1920 he suffered a brain haemorrhage and was hospitalised for quite some time. Henry Lawson died in a cottage in Abbotsford on the 2nd of September 1922 at the age of fifty-five. He was given one of the largest State Funerals that Sydney has ever seen.