Friday 23 December 2016

Another post about Christmas Down Under

Christmas in the southern hemisphere

The heat of early summer in Australia has an impact on the way that Australians celebrate Christmas and on which northern hemisphere Christmas traditions are followed.
In the weeks leading up to Christmas houses are decorated; greetings cards sent out; carols sung; Christmas trees installed in homes, schools and public places; and children delight in anticipating a visit from Santa Claus. On Christmas Day family and friends gather to exchange gifts and enjoy special Christmas food.
Many Australians spend Christmas out of doors, going to the beach for the day, or heading to camping grounds for a longer break over the Christmas holiday period. It has become traditional for international visitors who are in Sydney at Christmas time to go to Bondi Beach where up to 40,000 people visit on Christmas Day.
The tradition of an Australian Christmas Eve carol service lit by candles was started in 1937 by radio announcer Norman Banks. This outdoor service has now been held in Melbourne every year since then.
Carols by Candlelight events today range from huge gatherings, which are televised live throughout the country, to smaller local community and church events. Sydney's Carols in the Domain has become a popular platform for the stars of stage and music.
Some uniquely Australian Christmas carols have become popular and are included alongside the more traditional carols sung at carol services and at Christmas church services: John Wheeler's The Three Drovers is perhaps the best known of these.
Many light-hearted Australian Christmas songs have become an essential part of the Australian Christmas experience. These include Rolf Harris's Six White Boomers, Colin Buchanan's Aussie Jingle Bells and the Australian Twelve Days of Christmas.
There are many native Australian plants in flower over the Christmas season. A number of these have become known as 'Christmas plants' in various parts of the country, including Christmas bells, Christmas bush and the Christmas orchid.
When Europeans first arrived in Australia they were delighted that they could pick wildflowers resembling bells and bright green foliage covered in red or white flowers to use as Christmas decorations. This was a huge contrast to the bare trees and dormant gardens they had left behind in Europe.

Christmas in Australia comes at the beginning of summer and many people no longer serve a traditional hot roast dinner. Cold turkey and ham, seafood and salads are often served instead. It has even 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 desserts. 

20 comments:

  1. Wow, that's interesting. I'm in California so there have been times, when we have had a warm Christmas, still cold at night, though. I do wish for a white Christmas - just one day would be lovely.

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    1. If we had a white Christmas it would make world news, going to a bloody hot day here with temps in the 30's

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  2. I bought a ham for Christmas. We'll probably eat it cold because it's supposed to be quite warm on Christmas Day, but not warm enough to go to the beach.

    Love,
    Janie

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  3. One of our dear friends and his wife are from and live in NZ. They have called here on Christmas almost every year and they are doing everything you mentioned. :-) It is like our American Fourth of July in weather it seems. One of my sons was in Melbourne last year! He has a friend there via a blog, and they finally got to meet. It was a great experience for my boy. Two of my sons went to NZ several years ago and stayed with our friends and they went to Australia as well before returning back here to home.

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    1. Christmas is such a wonderful time and I think it would be nice to experience it in different countries but for me won't happen as you know my family means so much to me and I can't imagine celebrating Christmas without my family

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  4. It's funny how some traditions are the same everywhere and some are just so different.

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  5. I just don't think I could get in the Christmas spirit during the summer. When I think Christmas, I think snow. Even though we've only had snow one Christmas in the last 31 years. It was in 1989 and hurricane Hugo had really torn our area up in September. There was debris everywhere but, on Christmas Day, it was all covered with snow and the piles of debris looked like snow hills. It was lovely! Of course, if I had grown up having Christmas in the summer, I probably wouldn't think of snow. LOL Merry Christmas!

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    1. Leo said this morning that he would like to go somewhere there is snow one Christmas, just so he could have a white Christmas

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  6. Interesting to hear how you spend Christmas in the warm weather. That might be kind of nice. You all have a very Merry Christmas.

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    1. We had the air con going at mum's and I turned it on as soon as I got home today

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  7. It sounds as though you celebrate with special foods comparable to those we eat here in Canada but fine tuned for hot weather! Enjoy your Christmas with all its' special food , friends and family!

    the critters in the cottage xo

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    1. I have had a great Christmas we had the air con going all day at mum & dad's place

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  8. Cn't imagine a warm Christmas or going to a beach--LOL! Sounds like a lot of nice traditions, though. :)

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  9. I guess I never thought about Christmas in summer...though it's supposed to be almost 80 degrees 26 C here on Christmas Day with a chance of storms.
    Merry Christmas Jo-Anne

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    1. Been a pretty hot day here, had the air cons going all day

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  10. I think it might be wonderful to have a Christmas one could enjoy outside...

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    1. Sometimes it is too hot to be outside not so much today we had the air con going but it wasn't that hot outside either

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