In recent times Australia has seen a stream of migrants making a home for themselves and lending the country (continent) its multicultural, multihued existence. Most of the world’s countries are now represented and this can be seen in the food, fashion, colloquial language and even religion. English is the predominant and official language, but many other tongues also flourish here.
A secular country it is open to all religions, and by law no religion is given precedence over another. The early settlers brought Christianity with them to a land where the Aborigines had a religion of their own. Subsequent migrants have contributed towards introducing Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism. Australia has become the melting pot of various cultures, religions and lifestyles and it is this secularism that has contributed to the growth of this country and will continue to do so.
English is the official language, but a large part of the population is bi- or even multi-lingual. Italian is spoken at home by almost 2.3% of the population, Greek by 1.6%, Cantonese by 1.2% and Arabic by 1%. It is the first generation of settlers that still speak their original language at home, but the shift to more and more English being spoken at home is seen primarily in the second generation. French, German, Maltese and Hungarian too find a place in spoken languages.
In fact a large number of the overseas student population comes to Australia either to study or improve their command over the English Language.
In government sponsored events, arts crafts, visits to museums as also dance, music and theatre are popular activities amongst the natives. The country sees a large number of national celebrations, Australia Day, Labour Day, Queen’s Birthday, Christmas and Easter to name a few.
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