Across 1000 communities in Australia, many people including politicians from both parties were expected to join each other for breakfast, dinner or morning tea to celebrate those people who contributed unselfishly to making Australia a better place to live.
On this day, people can say thank you to the thousands of voluntary workers who serve through the myriad of community and church service organisations that operate, often without a lot of recognition, in every community across the country.
For Christians, this day will enable them to give thanks for all His goodness, stated the National Day of Thanksgiving press release. This day would be celebrated different by a number of people.
Some of the activities that had been conducted in the past included: community festivals, mass spring cleaning of the homes of those unable to care for themselves, concerts, neighbourhood dinners, sending a Thanksgiving Day cards or simply pinning a thank you ribbon on a person who has provided exceptional service over the past year.
The National Day of Thanksgiving was launched by the Governor General at Government House on 11th February 2004. The Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition have given statements of support each year since its inception urging all Australians to celebrate the day in a way they feel comfortable to do.
Organisers are confident that they will have more than 260 radio stations committed to being major sponsors of the day in their respective cities and towns across Australia encouraging their communities to "own" the day at the local level.