Happy Earth Day, Everybody.

You know how it has become trendy for us Aussies to adopt American holidays over recent years? Well I personally don't think that we should. In general, I believe that American celebrations should stay in the US. Halloween is an excellent example of this. The holiday itself was adopted by early American citizens as a derivative of the All Saints Day celebrations. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundary between the alive and the deceased dissolved, and the dead become dangerous for the living by causing problems such as sickness or damaged crops. The festivals would frequently involve bonfires, where the bones of slaughtered livestock were thrown. Costumes and masks were also worn at the festivals in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or placate them. However, over the years the traditions of All Saints Day has all but been forgotten. It has been transformed into a fun night which gives the kiddies the opportunity to dress up and head out into the night, gather together a free supply of lollies and run slightly amok on the poor people who don't wish to add to their bounty. No offence to Americans, but that's not really something that I'd like to encourage my kids to do.

However, one celebration that I do believe all citizens of the world should adopt is that of Earth Day (April 22). The idea of this celebration began in America in the late 60's by a number of politicians who saw that environmental awareness was a good idea. Have a look here at the history of Earth Day, as related by one of the instigators, a man called Senator Gaylord Nelson. Senator Nelson convinced John F Kennedy and several other influential politicians that a national celebration of our planet was the best way to help conserve and protect our environment. And then...
". . . on April 22, 1970, Earth Day was held, one of the most remarkable happenings in the history of democracy. . . "

To be honest though, I'm a little disappointed at the lack of Earth Day activities in Australia. There are quite a number of events organised in the US and other countries, but not a whole hell of a lot here in the land of Aus. There is going to be a tree-planting day in the Daintree, Target Australia has promised that they will not be giving out any plastic bags today, and if you're in Sydney on the 24th of May, you might like to check out the Blue Earth Eco-Living Festival at Darling Harbour. But there doesn't seem to be much more planned for this day. A bit of a shame really.

Oh well, we can only do what we can to spread the message. So, from all of us to all of you.....

Happy Earth Day.