JSランゲージスクールブログ | Three Meanings of November 11th
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by Patrick
In Australia, November 11th is an important day for two reasons.
Since Australia is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations (英連邦), we observe Remembrance Day on November 11th. This is a day for remembering soldiers who died in war. The date was chosen because the First World War ended on November 11th in 1918. At 11:00am on Remembrance Day, in schools and workplaces, it’s traditional to have a ‘minute of silence’ to show respect for the dead, and to think about the tragedy of war.
All Commonwealth countries observe Remembrance Day, and other countries have similar memorial days. But in Australia, November 11th is also the anniversary of the Dismissal. In fact, this year is the 40th anniversary of the Dismissal.
To be ‘dismissed’ from your job means to be fired. Have you ever been fired from a job? If you lose your job, your boss is the person who fires you, right?
But what if you’re the prime minister (首相)? Who is the prime minister’s boss? Who can fire you?
In Australia, the prime minister is the head of government (政府の長), but the head of state (国家元首) is the Queen… of England! The Queen’s representative in Australia is called the governor-general, but the Queen follows the prime minister’s advice about whom to appoint as the governor-general. This means that, in theory (理論的には), the prime minister can fire the governor-general, and the governor-general can fire the prime minister. But in practice (実際に), this never, ever happens.
But on November 11th, 1975, it did happen! The governor-general, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the prime minister, Gough Whitlam. This was an important and very controversial event in the history of Australian politics. People still discuss it today. So we call it ‘the Dismissal’ – with a ‘the’ and a capital ‘D’.
Here in Japan, according to my high school students, November 11th is Pocky Day. Glico, the company that makes Pocky, is trying to invent a new tradition, using advertising. I wonder if they’ll try to advertise ‘Pocky Day’ in western countries too…
