Anzac Day is a national remembrance day where Australians and New Zealanders pay tribute and commemorate all those who served in World War 1. Anzac stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps and marks the day when the Anzac troops landed on the beach at Gallipoli in 1915. It is an important day for all Australians and New Zealanders because it celebrates our sense of mateship and national identity. Anzac Day is celebrated through dawn services, commemorative marches and remembrance services. There are various arguments for and against the celebration of Anzac Day today.

The Anzac legend is a spirit that was generated in one of the darkest periods of world history and is still developing today. The Anzac spirit, or legend, refers to the values and attitudes that the Anzac soldiers carried to World War 1 and those same values and attitudes exist now are used to represent the Australian identity. Some of the qualities that were shown by Anzac troops in the war include mateship, endurance, courage and humour which are words that are used to describe Australians in modern day. When the Anzac troops arrived at Gallipoli, there spirit shone through such a dark time and that is why their spirit is still here today, in all Australians. Before the war, Australia was a small nation formed from convicts and didn’t have any distinctive characteristics but once the troops got to the war, Australia’s spirit was shown and the troops developed characteristics that showed that Australia