Love can be hard to explain. There’s no formula to how it works, but you know it when it’s there. You know when it moves you, or when it gets you worked up.

What’s true for a love of a person is also true for a love of country. Most of us will have an affection for Australia. It isn’t always something we find easy to express. Emotions rarely are.

Kim Thien Truong wears an outfit she made for a citizenship ceremony in Sunshine, Victoria, last year. Credit:Jason South

Patriotism comes in many forms. The Australian kind can be as much about a connection with the landscape, as it is about history and family. For others, it can be something that is civic and democratic. More often than not, it involves a mixture of these elements.

Perhaps the most affirming patriotism I see is at citizenship ceremonies. When migrants come here and decide to join us as citizens, it says something about the place: that it’s a country people want to make theirs. There’s a sense of renewal in being reminded Australia is a project that people want to be part of.