In the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November. We trace the first Thanksgiving dinner to a poorly documented 1621 celebration in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Tradition, not necessarily history, tells us that the Pilgrims and Native Americans sat down to a rich harvest feast. It had been a harsh and challenging winter, …
The Melbourne Cup is the race that stops a nation. Melbourne may be the only city in the world that has a public holiday around a thoroughbred horse race. Since 1861, the city has stopped on the first Tuesday of November for this three-minute, 3,200 meter race. This year, 24 horses competed for the Cup and …
My sister-out-law and her family visited the US during the Halloween season and fell in love with it. Halloween is not big in Australia, but I love the holiday and I can’t let it pass me by without some celebration. We invited the family over for an afternoon of Halloween pumpkin carving followed by dinner. Field …
Recently on an American expat group that I belong to, someone asked about the things that caused us culture shock when we arrived. The answers were humorous and some ring true for me so I thought I’d share. They’ve been edited for grammar and clarity and names have been removed to protect privacy. On shopping …
A spooky holiday in spring? Australians don’t celebrate Halloween as much as Americans, but it’s catching on. I celebrate it every year.
Montsalvat is one of Melbourne’s most interesting treasures. It’s located in Eltham, thirty-five minutes from central Melbourne. Justus Jörgensen established Montsalvat in 1934 as an artist’s community on 12 acres of land. It is Australia’s oldest artists’ community and remains home to painters, sculptors, jewellery makers, textile artists, musicians, glassmakers, smiths, and ceramic artists. Some artists offer classes and workshops …
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