Celebrating the Queen's Birthday in NZ

Monday was the Queen's Birthday.

Not her ACTUAL birthday. That was in April. And not the day Australia celebrates. That's next week. And this Saturday is when the United Kingdom throws her a party. Canada pops the champagne in May. The Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea in June. And don't even get me started on Fiji, which had the audacity to abolish the holiday altogether after a military coup. Heavens!

But here in New Zealand we celebrate our Queen -- the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II -- on the first Monday in June.

It's a national holiday, which means schools are closed and offices shut down. Stores are open because holidays = shopping, even in this far-from-convenience-driven country. And most restaurants jump at the chance to add a surcharge for the day, something they're legally allowed to do.

But beyond that, there's really not much New Zealand does to celebrate the monarch. Most of my Kiwi friends admitted as much, and I duly questioned their commitment to the Commonwealth ;)

But since it's our first time celebrating the Queen's Birthday -- and we want to stay in her good graces -- we came up with our own way to honor the holiday. And we made a video about it!

So, if you'd like to learn a little more about Queen Elizabeth and see Shane impersonating an actor impersonating Robin Williams impersonating Julia Child, now's your chance. Enjoy, and happy birthday, Queenie!

#holiday #livingabroad #AmericaninNewZealand