Christmas in Australia is different from the Western countries.
Christmas is celebrated in summer months in Australia. December comes in
Australia with the warmth of summer. With opposite seasons to the Northern
Hemisphere, Christmas in Australia is quite different from the traditional
concepts around the world . Instead of white, snowy scenery, Australia is
filled with blue skies and sunshine and intense heat sometimes up to 35
degrees Centigrade (100 degrees Fahrenheit). Thus, Christmas is special to
Australians as it is Summer Holiday season for them. With the Australian
Christmas in the middle of the long summer school holidays, many families
spend their Christmas Day away from home, in a resort or on the beach. For students it means an end to homework and school studies and beginning of
lots of time for family, relatives and mates.
Many Australians spend Christmas out of doors, going to the beach, or
heading to camping grounds for a longer break over the
Christmas holiday period.
Generally, Christmas is celebrated along traditional lines and families
often travel great distances to be together. Church
is attended in great mass on Christmas Day. Services are often held very
early in the morning. Christmas dinner may be a
picnic in the woods or on the beach. Australians also sing carols by
candlelight and decorate their homes with flowers and
other plants. People decorate the exterior of their homes with special
lights and displays to share Christmas with their
neighbors. The Australians celebrate Christ's birth with an imagery drawn
from the Australian Christmas Bush, which flowers
at The carols sung are also mostly Australian. Bing Cosby's is a popular
album for Christmas Down Under.
Public celebrations include Carols by Candlelight Concert, on Christmas Eve,
held at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne and
Carols in the Domain, Australia's largest annual community Christmas
celebration. The event, which is free to attend is held
in Sydney's Domain Gardens, a short walk from the Sydney Opera House and is
always held on the last Saturday before
Christmas. These events are aired live on television and radio throughout
the country and seen through Southeast Asia and New
Zealand. The attendance usually ranges from 70,000 - 100,000 with nearly two
million television viewers.
It has become traditional for international visitors who are in Sydney at
Christmas time to go to Bondi Beach where large
people visit on Christmas Day. Because of the warm weather, Australians
enjoy a tradition commenced in 1937. The traditional
Australian Christmas eve carol service lit by candles is held in Melbourne
every year where thousands of people gather in the
city of Melbourne. They sit on blankets, light numerous candles under the
night sky and join together to sing Christmas
Carols. This event is broadcast on TV across the country and other parts of
the world . At this time, traditional carols are
sung as well as some Australian ones like "Six White Boomers" and "Santa
Never Made it into Darwin". Most towns have a
concert and two major ones are televised across Australia from Sydney and
Melbourne.
As Australia is now a multicultural society with many people from around the
world, food can vary. But nearly all celebrate
Christmas by giving gifts and preparing special food to share with friends
and family. Meals mainly center around the
traditional Hams, Turkeys and Plum Pudding. Often these dishes are cooked
earlier and served cold. Salads and other summer
foods are also very much common. So are food items from other cultures.
Lately, more Australian families are having Christmas
Dinners, which reflect the summers. At such soaring temperatures as 35
degrees, eating a hot meal isn't much fun. Hence, more
people are beginning to eat cold meats and salads, seafood and tropical
fruit like mangoes and pawpaws, rockmelons,
watermelons and stone fruits like plums, apricots, cherries and peaches.
Christmas meal includes turkey dinner, champagne,
with ham, and pork. Christmas plum pudding is the dessert of the night. It
has become acceptable to serve the traditional
Christmas plum pudding with cold custard, ice cream or cream. Pavlova, a
meringue base topped with whipped cream and fresh
fruit, and various versions of the festive ice cream pudding have also
become popular Christmas menu. Many Australian
Christmas dinners look (and taste) like traditional English and European
feasts - with roasted meats and vegetables, special
fruitcakes and puddings. In the Australian gold rushes, Christmas puddings
often contained a gold nugget and this tradition
continues today with a coin (once upon a time, a sixpence) often baked
inside.
A day after Christmas day is celebrated as Boxing day in Australia. Boxing
Day got its name from an old tradition when
employers boxed gifts for their workers on the day after Christmas. On
Boxing Day at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the
Australian Cricket Team takes on one of its traditional opponents (England,
New Zealand, Pakistan, India, West Indies, South
Africa) in a Test Match. Many Australians spend boxing day watching the test
match and the beginning of the Sydney to Hobart
Yacht race on Sydney Harbour some times referred as 'Bluewater Classic'. The
race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of
Australia. Other people spend Boxing Day traveling to or from their summer
holiday destinations.
Australian shops and homes are decorated with tinsel and bright Christmas
decorations and have Santa available for a chat
with the children or for a photo. City squares and other public places like
Shopping Centers have many decorations and giant
living Christmas trees. Most homes have a Christmas tree - with many people
now having a pine tree growing in a pot, which is
brought inside once a year. Some people decorate the exterior of their homes
with special lights and displays to share
Christmas with their neighbors and any cities have competitions for the
best-decorated house and street etc.
Most Australian schools finish a week before Christmas for the summer break
and recommence after Australia Day on 26 January.
This is known as the Summer Vacation.Click here to delicious Australian recipes
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