Anzac Day is the one day of the year when Australians and New Zealanders come together to commemorate their war heroes, but the 2020 celebrations will be rather different to previous years.
With people being urged to stay in their homes due to the coronavirus, dawn services, marches and pubs heaving with patrons playing Two-Up will be non-existent this year.
But how can we celebrate the diggers from our homes?
Turns out there are a few options.
You can still pay your respects on Anzac Day from home.
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In these unprecedented times, communities have rallied to think of ways we can honour our Anzac heroes, so that we can commemorate them together.
While it may not be the way we expected to pay our respects, these ideas will help make April 25, 2020 a date to remember.
1. Driveway Dawn Service
Use the hashtag #LightUpTheDawn for any social media posts.
(Image: RSL Australia)Dawn services and marches may be a no-go this year, but there is a way for the community to band together whilst social distancing.
Australians are being encouraged to stand at the end of their driveway or atop their balcony at 6am with a candle, light or even their phone torch and while doing so, tune into the ABC Commemorative Service, which will broadcast The Ode, The Last Post, and a one minute silence.
Buglers and trumpeters are also encouraged to play The Last Post from their homes and perform it at dawn.
“What’s more Aussie than standing in your driveway celebrating Anzac Day?” musician James Morrison asked Nine News.
“That’s something we need at the moment.”
2. Tune into a live service
At 5.30am, there will be a live commemorative service from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra that you can watch on the ABC.
There will be another closed service from Sydney on the same channel at 10am and both services can also be streamed from the RSL NSW Facebook page.
3. Make some Anzac biscuits
Seeing as many of us have embraced baking, April 25th is the perfect day to make a batch of Anzac cookies.
Whilst most biscuit recipes require eggs, the Anzac recipe have none, due to the scarcity of eggs during war time and to increase shelf life.
They are instead made with golden syrup, oats and coconut.
This is a great idea if you have kids in the house and the tasty treats also make a lovelyt gift that you can leave on your neighbours’ doorsteps.
Whilst there are a multitude of recipes and takes on the iconic bickie, we think we’ve found the best one here.
WATCH BELOW: The Australian Women’s Weekly‘s best Anzac Day biscuit recipe. Post continues after video…
4. Make a commemorative wreath to hang in your window
For all you arts and crafts fans out there, making an Anzac Day wreath is a creative way to show your respects to the diggers.
Whether you’re using cardboard and paint or feel like incorporating artificial poppies in there, this is another activity families can do together.
If a wreath sounds too tricky, get your hands on an Australian flag and pop it in your window so everyone can see.
5. Share stories with loved ones via video chat
One of the toughest parts about being in isolation is not being able to see loved ones, especially if they’re older and more at risk to the virus.
However, that doesn’t mean you can’t call up grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles and friends and talk about the incredible bravery showed by the Aussie and New Zealand troops during wartime.
For many veterans out there, a phone call could make their year.
A video chat with a veteran could make their day.
(Image: Getty)6. Enjoy a game of Two-Up
This variation of Heads or Tails is only legal to play on April 25th, so why not challenge your household to a game of Two-Up?
If you live alone or want to get your friends in on the action, host a Zoom or FaceTime party to keep spirits up.
