Yahoo!7 Answers Australia

Sometimes Dads get the raw end of the deal. We make a huge deal out of Mother’s Day – flowers are sent, breakfast in bed served, we take them out for lunch or give them a present of their favourite pampering products.

Father’s Day, however, doesn’t get quite the same amount of attention. There are many reasons for this. Father’s Day is a later invention – Mother’s Day originates from an official day in the church calendar church when servants would be given the day off work on Mothering Sunday to return to their Mother church / parish and see their families. Later on it became Mother’s Day and even later Father’s Day was invented by a young girl whose father raised her and her siblings after her mother died.

There are other obvious reasons why Mother’s Day gets more attention. For years, mothers were the main presence in the household. Mums were the ones who did all the cooking, cleaning and parenting of the little darlings. From a kid’s perspective, Dad just turned up at 7pm expecting his tea cooked and slippers waiting for him.

These days though, there are other reasons why Father’s Day isn’t celebrated as much. In some families, the dad isn’t around due to divorce or other similar circumstances. Or as Ming (I’m a girl!) says ‘My mum’s gift is always better than my dad’s. Only because my mum is a little more demanding and plus they gave birth to us.’ Good point… Half takes the commercial view: ‘The commercial business is booming more for mums. Much more profits, jewelry, clothes, etc., It’s all about MONEY nowadays.’ Silly Fart believes it’s ‘Because mothers care more. I said happy father’s day to my dad today and he just about grunted lol. But my mum wants cards, flowers etc..’

Maybe Dads just don’t want to appear demanding but really do want to be spoilt on Father’s Day? In this day and age, most Dads have an integral role in bringing their kids up and do a wonderful job. Perhaps for many of them, their affection isn’t as transparent as a mother’s love but underneath all the toughness, lots of them are big softies.

So Dads out there: How do you want your kids to thank you for being a great Dad? Do you want a home brewing set or do you want to be taken out for lunch or shouted a trip to the footy? Maybe you just want some time out like this Dad? Or perhaps the best gift would just be to spend some quality time with your kids?

If you’re a Dad, tell us how you’d like to spend Father’s Day in the comments section below. And if you’re not, do you think we spoil our Dads enough on Father’s Day?

Caitlin
Community Manager

Being a Mum is a tough job and they deserve some thanks. You only have to look in the Pregnancy and Parenting section of Answers to see the proliferation of mums getting advice on everything from how to ensure the baby is healthy in pregnancy to how to teach adult children about responsibilities. There are Mums from all around the world on Answers 24/7 asking questions about how to be the best mother they can be.

Sometimes we forget the sacrifice our Mums have made for us, so fortunately there’s one day a year that we can specifically say ‘Thank you Mum’. What do you want to thank your mum for on Mother’s Day this year?

While it’s always nice to thank Mum with a gift, if you’re feeling the pinch of the recession, a shopping spree is out of the question. Doesn’t mean you have to scrimp on showing your Mum how much you appreciate her though. 

Many mums say the best gift they’ve ever received has been something their child has made for them. For kids, sentimental ideas like this one from Syd are a particular favourite:

You could create a coupon book of extra chores you will do around the house and/or gym to help her out. It sounds cheesy, but mums love that kind of thing…and really appreciate the extra help too!

For us adults, this is a nice idea from chicagokat72:

Write her a letter and thank her for being your Mum and for everything she’s ever done for you. Make sure it’s a letter though – not some pre-made card, written by someone else.
I’m a Mum and hearing my daughter’s feelings – with a thank you every now and then mean more to me than anything she could ever buy me.

For many of us, part of the ritual of thanking Mum is all about the perfect Breakfast in Bed, and you can’t go past this recipe by smdiner:

Traditional Eggs Benedict

1 teaspoon vinegar; 4 eggs; 4 thin slices bacon; 2 English muffins.
Hollandaise sauce: 3 egg yolks; 1 tablespoon hot water; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; 1 stick melted and hot
unsalted butter; salt and pepper; paprika; chopped parsley

In a large skillet, bring 2 inches of water and the vinegar to a boil. Crack one egg into a glass. Reduce water to a simmer and pour egg into water in one quick motion. Quickly add remaining eggs. Let eggs cook for 4-5 minutes. The white should be firm but the yellow should be runny. Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. In a non-stick skillet heat the bacon until warm. Toast the English muffins until golden.

For the sauce: Place yolks, water and lemon juice into blender. Blend for 1 minute. With blender running, pour butter through open hole of blender lid. Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

To assemble eggs benedict: Top each muffin with bacon and a poached egg. Pour warm sauce over and garnish with paprika and chopped parsley.

Alternatives: Vegetarian: Substitute wilted spinach and a grilled tomato for the ham.

YUM! Here are some more ideas if your mum is looking for a more low calorie option, or if you’ve got kids making the breakfast in bed.

What are some other budget friendly ways to thank Mum?

Caitlin
Community Manager

The war memorial at Lone Pine, Gallipoli

This year, Anzac Day means just that little bit more to me. It’s not that I ever shunned it – I’ve always felt it was one of the most important days for Aussies and Kiwis, a time to thank our predecessors for the ultimate sacrifice – dying for our country.

However this year I feel I understand it more than ever. Last November I had the privilege of visiting the amazing Gallipoli site in Turkey. This was a particular important pilgrimage, one that was definitely a must-see in the land of ancient ruins, crystal clear waters and the best kebabs in the world.

So what is it about visiting this site that makes you really appreciate the ANZAC legacy? Well if you remember back to school or watched the film Gallipoli with Mel Gibson in it, you probably remember the basic storyline but I’ll give you a refresher:

Most of the men recruited into the Australian Imperial Force at the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 were sent to Egypt to meet the threat which the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) posed to British interests in the Middle East and to the Suez Canal. After four and a half months of training near Cairo, the Australians departed by ship for the Gallipoli peninsula, together with troops from New Zealand, Britain, and France. The aim of this deployment was to assist a British naval operation which aimed to force the Dardanelles Strait and capture the Turkish capital, Constantinople. More

However things didn’t really go to plan.

First, British and French warships attempted to sail between the peninsula and the Turkish mainland, a stretch of sea which had been heavily mined by the Turks and was commanded by large numbers of gun emplacements. The naval attack was a disaster, many ships being sunk or run aground. The land attack by French, British and ANZAC troops was badly planned, badly directed and made without any proper maps of the area.

(The) errors in range finding and a drifting tide meant that most of the proper landing points were obscured and the troops were going to land in the wrong area. By landing in the wrong areas, there were no pre-prepared plans of attack and the troops were not able to get off the beaches as the cliffs were insurmountable and the Turks were putting up a strong resistance. More

The peninsular

So basically the men who did survive were stuck in trenches for 8 months in all kinds of stinking hot, wet or freezing cold weather with limited medicines and food such as bully beef (the WW1 slang for tinned corned beef which was mostly fat), and hard tack.

When you visit, it becomes all too real how awful it must have been. The trenches are only a matter of metres apart, so close that during truces, troops would exchange food and cigarettes by throwing them across no man’s land. It was examples of this camaraderie that inspired ‘The Anzac Spirit’.

These qualities of the Anzac Spirit cluster around several ideas, including endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, and mateship. According to this concept, the soldiers are perceived to have been innocent and fit, stoical and laconic, irreverent in the face of authority, naturally egalitarian and disdainful of British class differences. More

The importance of mateship between soldiers and countries was even commented on by Kemal Attaturk, the Prime Minister of Turkey after the war and highly regarded as the Father of modern day Turkey.

“Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side now here in this country of ours… You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.” More

Seeing these trenches, it really hit home how awful the conditions would have been and made me realise that these were young men who were bravely fighting for our country.

For me, Anzac Day is a day to say thank you to all these young men and women who have stood up and fought for our country’s freedom in every war. It’s a time to remember the hardship they endured and to have hope that one day, we won’t feel the need to fight each other.

What does Anzac Day mean to you?

Caitlin
Community Manager

Aaah Easter. As a child it was synonymous with Easter egg hunts and overloading on delicious, sweet chocolate. For many it’s a time of reflection and giving thanks. For most of us, it’s a welcome four day break from what has already been a tough year.

We all know that Easter is associated with new life. There are the obvious Christian connections and also rebirth is connected with the fact that it’s Spring in the northern hemisphere. But the origin of Easter is quite fascinating.

The word Easter comes from the Anglo Saxon word for April Eostremonath … They say Eostre simply means opening or dawn – Eostremonath being the first month of the Angle-Saxon year. More

So what’s that all got to do with bunnies and eggs? According to KC:

Rabbits and eggs are both symbols of the fertility goddess Eostre/Ishtar/Ostara. Her symbol is also the moon, in which some cultures see a rabbit instead of a face. Eggs also symbolise the moon and are the ultimate symbol of creation and new life. The basket is a symbol of the womb in which this new life is carried.

The feast day is pagan and was widely celebrated way before the time of Jesus. Like pretty much all holidays, it was adopted by Christians to help get more converts. However, since the point is to celebrate new life and the hope of continuance, Christian symbols of a Resurrection day and the old pagan symbols mean the same thing. Just like Christmas, we are all celebrating the same thing, just using different symbols. More

How about Passover, how does that fit into Easter? According to combat_medicus:

Easter is a Christian Holiday celebrating the rebirth of Christ after he was crucified. Passover is a Jewish Holiday and Old Testimant Christian Holiday (Judeo-Christian), both of which are about the same time of year. The passover holiday is called passover because they believed that if you put lambs blood on your door that the spirit would “pass over” your home and leave your first born child unharmed. More

So even though it’s not Spring in Australia, I’ll definitely pop a chocolate egg in my mouth on Sunday morning and think about the new life this day represents… and be thankful there’s an extra day of holiday for all my thinking! Happy Easter!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Around the middle of March each year, many of us put on our favourite green outfits, find a new taste for dark stout beer and practise our bad Irish accents with phrases such as ‘Top o’ the morning to ya‘.

Yep it’s almost St Patrick’s Day, the day of celebration for Ireland’s patron saint. Both in and out of the Emerald Isle, St Patrick’s Day is a popular event that is celebrated by many, regardless of their heritage. It’s funny though, no other country in the world commands such a party. For example, England’s patron saint is St George but you’d never think of heading to the local English pub for a pint of ale on St George’s Day, would you? That is, if you even knew when St George’s Day was… Why is that? According to Christine:

When mass emigration occurred in the 19th century, the Irish stuck together and built up communities, like the Italians, Greeks etc, whereas the British did not for some reason. So its natural in a foreign land that large ethnic communities would keep their traditions alive more so than others. More

St Patrick’s Day is particularly popular in America, where many are descendents of the Irish. In fact, in Chicago, they even dye the river green to celebrate (see the picture to the right).

They use a vegetable-based dye that is harmless to fish. The powder actually starts out orange and then turn green when it’s mixed in the water. More

The Americans seem to have taken St Patrick’s on as their own and many Irish say they don’t even celebrate the day in the same fashion as the rest of the world:

We don’t dye our rivers green or drink green beer, we don’t sit down to a feast of cabbage and corned beef, or go around pinching someone who isn’t wearing green. These are all American customs. In Ireland, the older folks go to mass, the rest of us celebrate with the Patrick’s Day festival, which lasts for 5 days. On the day itself, we go to the parade, then hit the pub and dance the night away. Check out www.stpatricksday.ie and see all that goes on over the week. More

Who is this St Patrick anyway? There must be more to the day than drinking Guinness and wearing green.

St. Patrick was an Englishman who was taken prisoner by the Irish Pagans. He was returned to his family but God told him to go back and convert the Pagans. With help from God he returned and taught them about the Holy Trinity using a three leaf clover as an example. Thus, the clover is a universal sign for St. Patrick’s Day. More

How about you? Are you going to do anything special for St Patrick’s Day this year?

Caitlin
Community Manager

Every so often we come across an open question that we think hits the spot. If you hadn’t already noticed, we have a little Answers Question of the Day spot on right hand side of the Yahoo!7 Frontpage. This is the perfect place to put these good questions and get a whole variety of answers from the Yahoo!7 network.

Today, Goldie asked the Answers community ‘What does Australia Day mean to you and how will you celebrate it?’ The question has been featured on the Yahoo!7 Frontpage with some great answers so far. Here are some of our favourites:

I am a recent migrant to Australia. To me, Australia Day means celebrating the fact that I have been embraced by the best country, and the best people in the world. Perhaps since I wasn’t lucky enough to be born here, but was lucky enough to become an Aussie by choice, it means very much to me. I will celebrate, give thanks, fly the beautiful Aussie flag, and look forward to the day in the near future when I am granted citizenship here. That will be the best day of my life. Thank you, Australia Fair!! - rose ^_^

How many people know what Australia day is all about? Australia day is about Australia becoming a nation being able to ruled by its people not a dictatorship, we are free to follow what ever religion we choose, most of us have jobs, houses, our children don’t starve, we have a welfare system, sure some times things stuff up, but where in the world could you find better. This is why I think Australia Day should be celebrated, most of all our freedom, After all why do so many people want to come to live here? I am on my own so I will celebrate by going to see the Film Australia. - Dizzyjune76

It’s a day that all Australians black or white or any colour celebrate the lovely country we live in, as the saying goes WE ARE ONE, AND WE ARE AUSTRALIANS. It is to remind us we do live in a lucky country, i am English born but have lived here most of my life. I became naturalised in 1997 after being home to Britain on holiday, and realising it was nice to visit but it was great to get back to Australia my home. I live in West Aus, we have great weather , not to cold , not too hot.lovely beaches, the people are great. i dont celebrate any way special on the day, to lazy to get up early to go to Aussie breakfast, and most of my family live 2 hours away and doing ther own thing, my son and grandkids are in Brisbane. – Suncatcher

“Australia Day” is an important reminder to me that what we fail to acknowledge on this day is that it is, in my mind, “INVASION DAY”. I would prefer that it be a day, like “Remembrance Day” when we take the time to remember the previous thousands of years of traditional aboriginal life was irreparably interrupted. I say “Sorry” for the past injustices, atrocities and crimes commited in ignorance AND in full knowledge. - weeza

Australia Day is very important to me – I will celebrate my great great grand mother who was a koori girl who actually married my great great grandfather giving me both Aboriginal and European heritage – I will celebrate the magnificent history of Australia, all 60000 plus years of it – I will celebrate with a few beers in the pub with a few mates and remember the men and women who served and died in war to give me the life style I live – I will be working on a painting of part of a series I am doing from Dorothea Mc Keller’s poem “My Country” – the stanza ” …it’s beauty…” I will be a proud Australian, as I have every right to be. - Billwilkinsoncps

I’ll be hanging the washing on the Hills’ hoist. – Jenny M

Seriously – time with good friends and family – a great BBQ and a couple of drinks on a hot day – what could be more Aussie than that? - Kylie

Too right, Kylie. Have a great Australia Day!

Caitlin
Community Manager

The end of each year is an awesome time for reflection. As you while away your summer break on the beach or by the pool, you have plenty of time to think about the things you want to change in your life and what makes you most satisfied. That’s probably the reason why January is seasonally the month when people start looking for a new job, when quit smoking campaigns kick into overdrive and why people start thinking about diets and exercise routines.

People have been making (and probably breaking) New Year’s Resolutions for quite some time.  According to Allora, it takes back to 153 BC.

“Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.

“With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.” More

Losing weight is one of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions, but as rustabout mentions, it’s probably one of the most given up on also. For those of you who are hoping to shed some kilos post January 1st, what are some ways to ensure this is the year that you’ll fit back into those skinny jeans?

mrs. awesome asked for some sensible advice to changing her lifestyle. Jorginho had lots of tips:

- Cut down in those guilty pleasures, you know, that chocolate that is always good after a fight or that sweet dessert that it makes the moment just right
- Also cooking at home is better than out food since you can control the amount of fat and other stuff that goes on it that will ruin your balanced diet. I’m not saying never eat out… but be smart about it
- Oh and remember… eat till you’re pleased…. not till you’re ready to burst!!! That way you prevent your belly skin from stretching!!!! More

Maiv8 says:

Drink lots of water every single day. 8 or more cups. It works wonders! I put two of my friends on it, they both lost a lot of weight. I cannot stress enough the importance of eating breakfast. Also, this may sound hard to do, but do not eat any chips, chocolates, or junk food at all. Don’t drink pop or juices that are not 100% juice. (NOT from concentrate). More

New Year’s Resolutions could be about anything, of course. In previous years, Imisdro wanted to know everyone’s Business New Year Resolution, whereas A Z was more interested in everyone’s environmentally friendly New Year’s Resolution and iRockyOhyeah wanted to know how you could improve things in the home.

Yahoo!7′s resident dating expert Brooke Hemphill wants to know your dating resolution for the New Year and to celebrate the new Jim Carrey movie Yes Man, we’re asking you what you’re going to say YES to in the New Year?

Happy New Year!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Australia is a pretty diverse nation, and while Christmas is the dominant celebration for this time of year, many of us are are celebrating a different kind of festivity. Answers user Jelly123 was curious about these celebrations and got some very interesting responses!

What do other religions celebrate instead of Christmas?

Muslims have two main festive occasions. One is called Eid ul Adha, which this year fall on the 8th December. This particular festive occasion honours Abraham’s willingness to submit to the Will of God. The other called Eid ul Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan (The Fasting Month). I usually put up fairy lights in the house for the 3 days. Other friends of mine, get their kids to decorate their houses with lanterns, balloons, streamers and even tinsel! My kids find presents on the couch in the morning, but they can’t open them until after the 7am-8am Eid prayer at the mosque. Many families cook special desserts/biscuits that signify Eid. Last year my Eid biscuits were gingerbread men & women, this year it was jam drops. I’m still experimenting with different desserts, looking for that perfect Australian Eid dish. The Pavlova is already reserved for birthdays, so I’m still looking. On Eid night, we come home at night feeling bloated and on a massive sugar high from all the desserts. The kids count the money they’ve been given by relo’s and play with their pressies. Take away the tree, Santa, the roast ham & the alcohol laden pudding and it’s exactly the same as Xmas.

- Mon

I’m a Hindu living in Australia. We just put some decorations so we don’t look different from the house next door, which blinds people every time we go outside. We also buy each other gifts because everyone likes them and because every time we go into a shop, the sign “BUY A GIFT FOR A LOVED ONE” is standing in your face and shop attendants kep badgering you.

- Chris S

I’m a non-practicing Hindu Sydneysider and Hinduism’s most auspicious festival’s Diwali – the festival of lights. Mythologically, it marks the arrival of Lord Rama back into the town of Ayodhya (which yes, is really a town in the East-South Eastern region of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh) after 14 years of exile and of course the defeat of Lankan King Ravana (who’d kidnapped Rama’s wife Sita). Diwali, like most major religious events are based on the lunar calendar (it always falls on a new moon) and falls usually between late October – mid November.

Sikhism‘s major event is ‘Guru Nanak Jayanti’ (Anniversary of the first ‘Guru’ or preacher of Sikhism, Nanak) who branched out of Hinduism to preach the relatively new faith, Sikhism, somewhere in the late 15th century. Sikhism’s faith is revolved around the teachings of 10 major ‘Gurus’ – the first being ‘Guru Nanak‘ and the last being ‘Guru Gobind’.

- Silverwater006

For Nichiren Buddhists who chant Nam myoho renge kyo, (which include people you would know such as Tina Turner, Orlando Bloom, Miranda Kerr, Herby Hancock, Patrick Duffy, Annie Lennox and the list goes on) – the main day to celebrate is New Year’s Day, marking the beginning of a new round of opportunities for turning poisons into medicine and contributing towards world peace -Kosen Rufu.

- C

This time of the year for Jews is the festival of Channukah/Hannukah (different variations of spelling) and we light the channukah candles each night for seven days representing the oil in the channukah story. We receive presents each day (8 days) however the meaning of channukah isn’t about present giving, it’s just become bigger and more commercialised in countries where Christianity is the majority. I usually get a small present each day. For instance a fifteen year old girl might receive something like this: 1st day – costume jewellery + channukah gelt, 2nd day – a pair of shoes, 3rd day – hello kitty stationary, 4th day – box of chocolates, 5th day – make up, 6th day – twilight book, 7th day – juno dvd, 8th day – Britney Spears CD.

- wikiUSMdawg

Regardless of religion, race or creed, we hope you have a wonderful festive season!

Caitlin
Community Manager

For many around the world, the weeks leading up to 31st October are a flurry of pumpkin carving, putting up decorations, designing costumes and buying additional ‘candy’ for hyped up kids.

Despite it being one of America’s favourite holidays, the origins of Halloween are believed to have started with the Celts, in what is now known as Ireland. One avid history buff, p-dogg, says that 1st November was ‘New Year’, marking the end of summer and harvest and the beginning of winter.

Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. More

As time progressed, the celebration became merged with the Catholic All Saints’ Day on 1st November.

The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. More

Versions of the tradition moved from Europe to the USA during the waves of migration in the 19th century. But what does the original celebration have to do with the American version featuring trick-or-treating and pumpkins?

Lizzy says dressing up as ghosts and ghouls was actually an ancient tradition, believed to be so the real people would blend in with the otherworldly creatures that were haunting the earth that night.

This gradually evolved into trick-or-treating because children would knock on their neighbours’ doors, in order to gather fruit, nuts, and sweets for the Halloween festival. More

According to Bridghid, pumpkins weren’t involved in the original Samhain tradition, however carved out vegetables were.

Celts would walk around with various root vegetable lanterns to guide the roaming dead to the next world. They also carved spooky faces into them (the lanterns, not the dead) to keep malignant spirits away. More

Well there you go! It’s nice to know behind every money making holiday, there’s a semblance of tradition If you’re celebrating Halloween here in Australia, have a great day!

Caitlin
Community Manager

Those of us in New South Wales, ACT and South Australia are the lucky ones this weekend. We’re gearing up for the Labour Day public holiday on Monday. In my opinion, this is one of the best public holidays in the calendar as it’s almost summer, it doesn’t really celebrate anything and it feels like it has been a long cold winter since we last had a day off.

Actually there is apparently a point to Labour Day and we do have people to thank for our day off:

The celebration of Labour Day has its origins in the eight hour day movement, which advocated eight hours for work, eight hours for recreation, and eight hours for rest. On 21 April 1856 Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne, Australia, stopped work and marched from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight hour day. More

Nice one guys!

So what are your plans of this less than illustrious holiday? Going on a short break? If you’re in NSW or ACT, you could head to the Central Coast. With its gorgeous beaches and short drive distance from Sydney, it’s a perfect long weekend destination. Not too keen for sun and sand? Jenolan Caves is a unique suggestion (particularly fun with kids) and you could go via the Blue Mountains. How long has it been since you saw the Three Sisters in all their glory?

From South Australia, there are also some great spots. The Barossa is a favourite, as is Strathablyn and Gladstone. Simple Guy recommends the Fleurieau Peninsula, just south of Adelaide:

The white sand beach with the almost literally ‘blue’ water, the nice cliff walks just along the beach, the serenity of it, the bicycle track. More

For me, though, this long weekend is all about catching up with friends & family and getting some well earned R&R. Have a great weekend!

Caitlin
Community Manager