Introduction
Where we come from isn’t the only thing that makes us different. All over the world different people have different religions - and every religion has its own unique beliefs, values and practices. As we’ve seen in previous topics, lots of religions have been brought to Australia from other cultures and countries. In Australia everybody is free to believe in anything they want, so we still have lots of different religions.
Religious Groups
Most Australians are Christian, if you look at the graph below this includes Catholic, Anglican and other Christians. But there are lots of people that belong to other religions too, remember that 1% of Australia’s population is about 200,000 people! There are also a lot of people in Australia who don’t have a religion. Where do you and your family fit in the graph?
Christmas in Australia
Christmas is one of Australia’s biggest holidays. All over Australia people celebrate in different ways, but what is it all about?
Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Today almost everybody celebrates Christmas whether they are Christian or not. For some people Christmas is all
about spending time with family, other people like to spend Christmas
volunteering and helping people in need.
Some people go to church on Christmas day, some people go on
holiday, others go to the beach with their family. Christmas means different things for different Australians and we all celebrate in our own way.
Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. Today almost everybody celebrates Christmas whether they are Christian or not. For some people Christmas is all
about spending time with family, other people like to spend Christmas
volunteering and helping people in need.
Some people go to church on Christmas day, some people go on
holiday, others go to the beach with their family. Christmas means different things for different Australians and we all celebrate in our own way.
Other Religious Days
Christians celebrate other significant days, and other religions have special days too, here are a few examples:
Islamic people celebrate Ramadan
Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah
Hindi people celebrate Krishna Janmashtami
Buddhists celebrate Diwali
Christians celebrate Easter
Islamic people celebrate Ramadan
Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah
Hindi people celebrate Krishna Janmashtami
Buddhists celebrate Diwali
Christians celebrate Easter
Activities
Brainstorm
How many religions can you think of?
How many different religions are in your school or community?
How many different religions are in your school or community?
Poster
Select one of the religious holidays from the list above. Individually or insmall groups, use the internet, library and any other availabe resources to find out:
• What is the holiday all about?
• Who celebrates it?
• What does it’s name mean?
• When is it celebrated? And
• How is it celebrated?
Include some images from the internet and compile all of your information onto a poster. Present your poster to the class.
• What is the holiday all about?
• Who celebrates it?
• What does it’s name mean?
• When is it celebrated? And
• How is it celebrated?
Include some images from the internet and compile all of your information onto a poster. Present your poster to the class.