Harmony
day is celebrated on every 21st of March began in 1999. The day
coincides with the United Nations International Day for the elimination of
racial discrimination. Harmony day is especially important for a diverse
country such like Australia. In Australia, Harmony day is also a celebration of
its proudly cultural diversity, a day of celebration for everyone who lives in
Australia.
The
‘message’ of Harmony day is ‘everyone belongs’, it has significant meaning in
Australia. Australia is home to the world’s oldest continuing cultures, the
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, Australia is also home to
people who identify with more than 250 ancestries, an additional 20 per cent of
Australian were born overseas. Mass immigration after Second World War also
generated the modern culture diversity. Harmony day aims to encourage people to
participate in different culture, respect cultural and religion diversity and
foster sense of belonging for everyone.
The
official colour for the day is orange. It was chosen because orange represents
social communication and meaningful conversations in human tradition. It also
plays important roles in other culture, it is the colour most associated with warmth,
energy, and activity. In Asia, it is a significant symbolic colour for Buddhism
and Hinduism. It also related to the freedom of ideas and encouragement of
mutual respect. Australian celebrate and support Harmony Day by wearing
something orange, to demonstrate their support for cultural diversity.
International
Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed annually on 21 of
March which shares the same day with Harmony day. On the same day in 1960,
police killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration in South Africa. Six years
after, the United Nations General Assembly called on the international
community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial
discrimination. Different themes are proposed each year by the United Nation,
there are numerous themes such as how to combat racial discrimination, learning
from tragedies to combat racial discrimination, and disqualify racism. The
common feature of both days are aiming to eliminate all forms of racial
discrimination, fight for democracy, and equal human rights.
