What is Gravy Day and why are Australians celebrating it?

The annual day of celebration was inspired by a 1996 Paul Kelly song

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

With four days to go until Christmas, you may be forgiven for wondering why your social media feeds have suddenly become flooded with mentions of gravy from Down Under.

The reason? None other than Gravy Day of course, a national day of celebration in Australia.

The tradition of commemorating Gravy Day stems all the way back to 1996, when Australian singer Paul Kelly released a song called “How To Make Gravy”.

In the song, Kelly tells the tale of a man called Joe who’s been incarcerated and is writing a letter to his brother.

In the letter, Joe expresses his sorrow over not being able to join his family on Christmas Day.

“Who’s gonna make the gravy now?” he laments, before providing his brother with instructions on how to make the perfect gravy for the festive family meal.

"Just add flour, salt, a little red wine and don't forget a dollop of tomato sauce for sweetness and that extra tang," he says.

The song's protagonist writes his letter on 21 December, hence why Gravy Day falls on the same day.

In 2008, "How To Make Gravy" was included in The Australian magazine's list of best Australian songs over the past two decades, with musician John Butler describing it as a song that's "steeped in modern Australian culture".

The song is seemingly treasured by Australians across the country, many of whom have been tweeting about their annual food-inspired day of merriment.

"Happy Gravy Day everybody!! May your tomato sauce bring you all sweetness and that extra tang #gravyday," one person tweeted.

"Spare a thought for all the poor ABC local radio presenters today getting bombarded with requests for 'the gravy song' #gravyday," another person wrote.

Kelly also joined in the conversation, wishing his 23,000 Twitter followers a happy Gravy Day and sharing a video of himself performing the song.

While some Aussies might be making gravy today as per the recipe detailed in the song, others aren't too impressed with Kelly's concoction.

Speaking with ABC Radio in December last year, Kelly revealed that he's been approached by people who dislike his inclusion of certain ingredients in the recipe.

"Sometimes I got into trouble for that recipe; every now and then a foodie comes up to me and says, 'You don't put tomato sauce in gravy'," he said.

For an alternative gravy recipe, try this method by chef and restaurateur Mark Hix.

Hix uses a combination of plain flour, butter, red wine, beef stock, shallots and cooked carcasses from grouse or game birds for a thick, rich gravy.