Rachel Rose Withers

On Jan. 26 each year, my country celebrates Australia Day. We Aussies love our public holidays, or really any opportunity to crack open a cold one. The national holiday is both: a midsummer day on which having a barbecue and drinking a beer is practically mandatory. We listen to the Hottest 100, the annual indie music countdown (craft beer in hand); we try not to get sunburned playing backyard cricket (with an esky nearby); we watch the fireworks over Sydney Harbour (while nursing a pint).

Or we take to the streets.