Mother’s Day in Australia

In Australia we have both Mother's Day and Father's Day. Both are celebrated on Sunday - Mother's Day is the second Sunday in May and Father's Day is the first Sunday in September. By tradition, we wear a white flower for our mothers. This often happens in churches and certainly newsreaders on the television wear a white flower in their lapels on that day. People tend not to do it in their own homes - it tends to be if they are in a public forum such as restaurants and so on. Both days are important for uniting the family with families getting together with parents and grandparents. I love to go to the football (Australian Rules) during the winter. We have 16 teams in the competition so each week there are eight games. They are scheduled on Friday night, Saturday afternoon and evening and Sunday afternoon. On the Mother's Day weekend last year they raised a lot of money for Breast Cancer research and gave out a free badge to all the mothers in each of the stadiums. (The home grounds of the teams are located in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.) Children make gifts for their mothers and fathers in the kindergartens and primary schools. Older children and young parents buy gifts for their parents and grandparents. Best wishes, Judy Barr.