The Wire

The Australian flag will fly at half mast every year on February 7th, to commemorate those lost in the Victorian bushfires. So how important are rituals of this kind in the grieving process? Thousands gathered across the nation yesterday to participate in the national day of mourning, headed up by community, government, political, and royal leaders, and of course religious leaders. Catherine Zengerer asks Senior Lecturer in Cultural Studies and Communication at the University of South Australia, Jackie Cook, what she thinks the multi-denominational service said about how we view rituals in Australia.