Canberrans love a public holiday — in fact, alongside Victoria, we have the most in the whole country.
But if you're wondering why we get a dedicated "Canberra Day", you may not be alone.
The public holiday falls on the second Monday in March every year, to honour the official naming of Canberra by Lady Denman, wife to then governor-general Lord Denman, on March 12, 1913.
In the lead-up to Canberra Day, the city enjoys two weeks of festivities, including the Enlighten Festival, Night Noodle Markets and Balloon spectacular.
And in the days following the public holiday, the city acknowledges a "Canberran of the Year".
Canberra historian Nicholas Brown said "to a large extent this is our foundation day".
And, being named Canberra is reason enough of itself to celebrate, he said.
"I think what we can celebrate is when Lady Denman opened that envelope and took the name 'Canberra' out of it.
"On the other side there were people who suggested 'Swindleville' or 'Gone Broke' were the other options."
He said the name Canberra was an inclusive word that wasn't simply a "gesture to the empire", but was derived from a traditional word used by Indigenous Australians in the area.
"What I think is quite remarkable about Canberra is that when we could have had something that was quite pious and high-flowing and kind of a gesture to the [British] empire or gesture to somewhere else, what we got was a remarkably vernacular, local word — and that's worth celebrating in itself."
Professor Brown said that nowadays, the public holiday reflected the modern identity of the city.
He said despite initial confusion about how to celebrate the day, in the mid 1960s the city decided to start awarding the "Canberran of the Year".
"Over time Canberra Day has really reflected the emergence of an identity for Canberra, and it's an interesting identity. I think for a long period of time, people didn't know exactly what to do with Canberra Day.
"What you get through the Canberran of the Year is a real statement that Canberra is not just the national capital, but is a community that has sought to create an identity for itself and deal with its own issues.
"We have the balloon festival, we have Enlighten, and they run through the early weeks of autumn when the weather is wonderful and Canberra is really at its best."
Canberra's 109th birthday celebrations will have an extra emphasis on diverse foods and performances at Commonwealth Park after the 2022 Multicultural Festival was cancelled.
Charles Koker from Celebration of African Australians says it's been a difficult two years without sharing African dance, and he is looking forward to being able to celebrate at this year's festival.
"That dance is going to be demonstrated by a really good handful of African women. They're really willing just to come out, to be able to showcase some of the joy and the happiness that we all feel coming out," he said.
