Events
Christmas is part of the long summer school vacation and during December and January you can be forgiven for thinking that half of Australia is on holiday. This is when accommodation is almost always booked out.
The national holidays in Australia are:
- January 1: New Years’ Day
- January 26: Australia Day, marking the anniversary of the First Fleet’s landing in Sydney Cove in 1788.
- Easter weekend (”Good Friday”, “Easter Saturday”, “Easter Sunday” and “Easter Monday”): a four day long weekend in March or April set according to the Western Christian dates.
- April 25: ANZAC Day, honouring military veterans
- Second Monday in June: Queen’s birthday holiday (not celebrated in Western Australia, which observes Foundation Day a week earlier)
- December 25: Christmas Day
- December 26: Boxing Day
Many states observe Labour Day, but on completely separate days. Most states have one or two additional state-wide holidays.
When a public holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday (Easter excepted), the following Monday (and Tuesday if necessary) are declared holidays in lieu, although both the celebrations and the major retail shutdowns will occur on the day itself. Most tourist attractions are closed on public holidays. Supermarkets and other stores may open for limited hours on some public holidays and on holidays in lieu, but are almost always closed on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day and Christmas Day.
Salaried Australians have four weeks of annual leave every year. There is no fixed time to take it, but many take the three working days between Christmas and New Year and the following week. Domestic tourism is strongest during January and the Easter school holidays.
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