This week marks the festivals of Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and Nayrouz, a festival of Coptic Orthodox Church.

The three cultural and faith events are governed by different calendars, and it’s rare for them to coincide.

Around now, millions of people are also marking Mawlid al-Nabi, the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, and the Christian festival of the Holy Cross which marks the transformation of the cross from an ancient instrument of torture into a symbol of love, sacrifice and salvation.

As much of the world celebrates these cultural and religious events, it’s a reminder that there are more things that unite us than divide us. The convergence is also emblematic of our shared humanity.

At Enkutatash, after attending church in the morning, families gather to share a traditional meal of ‘injera’ flat bread and ‘wat’ sauce.

Later in the day, young girls wearing new clothes, gather daisies and present friends with  bouquets while  beating drums and singing “Abebaye hoy”, a New Year’s song.

Nayrouz is a feast of  the Coptic Orthodox Church that celebrates martyrs and marks the first day of the Coptic New Year.

Rosh Hashanah is a Jewish festival that marks the beginning of the civil year. It is also the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman according to the Hebrew Bible.

The holiday initiates a ten-day period of self-reflection and repentance, which culminates in Yom Kippur.

These festivals also align with Australian Citizenship Day, which marks the creation of Australian citizenship.

Before 1949, all Australians were considered British subjects and subjects of the then British Empire.

The day is a celebration of our common bonds that represents our shared democratic beliefs and gives us a sense of belonging and pride in our achievements as a multicultural nation.

It’s worth remembering that Christianity, Islam and Judaism are linked by shared traditions and a focus on charitable work.

The three share key traditions including similar stories of human creation, judgment, and life after death.

Australia’s multicultural and multifaith nature is one of our greatest strengths.

Just like the conjunction of these cultural and religious celebrations, Australia is an experiment in cultural convergence; a nation that has welcomed people from different cultures while valuing its first peoples and fostering exchanges of ideas.

Australia is the most successful multicultural nation in the world with a third of us born overseas and half of us with at least one parent born overseas.

But as divisive debates around migration reemerge, it has never been more important to show solidarity with our diverse communities and to bolster the high levels of social cohesion we enjoy in Australia.

Social cohesion is human glue. It is the intangible national and community infrastructure that determines whether people trust one another, join together, volunteer to help the needy and feel responsible for more than just themselves.

Research shows that when social cohesion is strong, communities solve problems sooner. Social cohesion means that people have someone to call on when they face trouble, when the bushfire approaches, when unemployment strikes or when a neighbour falls ill.

Its is something we all need to cherish and protect.