Australia Day - fly the flag proudly!!!

Australia Day - the day when the First Fleet arrived in Australia back in 1788, now a day to celebrate what it means to be an Aussie!

If you want the official historical meaning of the day, check out this link. If you want to see what it means to me, click here.

But this year, I'd like to tell you a bit about the Aussie flag. Our flag was born in 1901, the year of Federation, when Australia no longer called itself a British colony but an independent nation.

Most people might know that Australia was once a British penal colony and part of their Commonwealth so that accounts for the British Union Jack in the corner of the flag. There's also a religious significance to them. The crosses are the first and last letters in the Ancient Hebrew alphabet - Aleph (x) and Tau (+) and when placed on the other the crossed crosses form the Union Jack.

The stars are the Southern Cross, a constellation clearly seen in the southern hemisphere over Australia. The large seven pointed star (known as the Federation Star or Commonwealth Star) is symbolic; its seven points representing the States and Territories in Australia:

• Western Australia
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Northern Territory
• Queensland
• New South Wales
• Victoria

All the stars on the flag have seven points, except for the small one which has five.

The three colours - red, blue & white - hold religious significance as most Commonwealth countries have a Christian heritage. Red signifies the blood covenant fulfilled in Jesus. Blue is the national colour of (Ancient) Israel. White represents the white robes of righteousness given by God to his people.

Here ends your history lesson for today, readers! And if you're an Aussie...

Happy Australia Day!