Next: 21 Mar 2027
Harmony Day
Orange shirts and ribbons in Australian schools and offices, for a day about belonging in a country of many cultures.
The colours of Harmony Day
Australia has kept Harmony Day on 21 March since 1999, and it now sits inside a Harmony Week. Schools, councils and workplaces hold shared lunches and assemblies about the many cultures that make up the country, and people are asked to wear orange. The government campaign chose orange as a colour that signals social communication and meaningful conversation, and it also stands apart from the colours of any one flag or party. The same date is the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which remembers the Sharpeville killings in South Africa in 1960. Some Australians argue that the gentler name hides that harder purpose, and prefer the United Nations title.
#F47B20Harmony orangeThe campaign colour, worn on the day.#FFA94DRibbon amberRibbons and posters.#FFFFFFPaper whiteBackground of school displays.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Also part of it, and being written: Orange (The colour worn on the day.).
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Harmony Day" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.