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THE ODE
They shall grow not old, As we that are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, And in the morning We will remember them. Anzac day is a great Australian Tradition. The name ANZAC stands for Australian & New Zealand Army Corps, and on the 25th April in 1915 the Anzacs landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula under a plan by Winston Churchill to open the way to the Black sea for allied ships. This was the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces. The day itself has since come to mean more than just the original anniversary. It now represents not only a rememberance of the men lost in that war, but also WWII, and any other wars and peacekeeping operations in which Australia has taken part. The ideals from that long ago time are also remembered at the many dawn ceremonies around Australia, in cities and nearly every small town, and indeed are deeply ingrained into our Australian culture - Mateship, Courage, Help and Sacrifice for other Aussies. Australian schools will usually hold a special service as well. In fact, I remember the services we used to have as far back as 1962-9 when I was in primary school. We all wore a sprig of rosemary (for rememberance) and would say the Ode, and then sing "Lest we Forget" in assembly. R.S.L. clubs (the Returned Services League) all over Australia are also well represented at dawn ceremonies, and then well used as the survivors celebrate and renew old acquaintences throughout the day (over a few beers of course - this IS an Australian Ceremony after all!) One of the more fun things to do on Anzac day is pop down the pub or club for a game of two-up. This is a usually illegal form of gambling where two pennies are thrown into the air from a wooden implement, and bets are laid on the results. Heads Tails or split, etc. This game is ONLY legal on ANZAC day! If you'd like to hear the Last Post played beautifully, please visit the Australia War Memorial Site here.
An excellent article, in more depth about the original day itself, can be found here. 
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