Christmas in Australia

Christmas in Australia marks the beginning of the 6 week Summer Holiday’s, the end of the school year and a time when many workers take their annual leave. Families pack up and head for the coastal areas, so roads are packed with caravans, trailers and mobile homes and cars with surfboards on the roof.

Our first family Christmas in Australia was in the 1970’s 6 months after we emigrated here. It was the first Christmas without our extended family for many years so we decided to go to the beach for the day and have a picnic on the sand. As children we thought this was the strangest Christmas, eating Christmas lunch from a picnic basket under a beach umbrella. It is not unusual for Aussies to spend Christmas Day at the beach and I have grown more accustomed to the idea now, but back then it just did not feel like Christmas. My parents tried to create some festive spirit but they were missing the rest of the family members. In those days we made a land line phone call to my grandmothers house on Christmas morning everyone getting a turn to speak but it was brief as calls were expensive back then. As a family we felt all alone in a strange land.

The days leading up to Christmas in Australia are always steaming hot, today was a typical pre-Christmas day, the temperature soared to about 38 degrees, the air coming in my car window as I drove along was hot. People flock to the shopping centres to take advantage of the air conditioning, it’s impossible to find a parking spot, the stores are super crowded with shoppers buying gifts and food for the coming holiday. I was amongst the shoppers today, having left my Christmas shopping until the last minute AGAIN! Every year I promise myself to do my gift shopping online during November, to save money and to avoid having to face the crowds, but another year passes and I am still doing it the hard way. I bought a bar of chocolate today which turned into a bag of liquid chocolate on the way home.

Aussie Christmas Day

No Christmas Sweaters in Oz. Board shorts and a singlet and thongs are what most people wear on Christmas Day. Aussie’s are big drinkers as you probably know, so there is always lots of alcohol , especially cold beer. Many Aussies will get quite drunk on Christmas Day as they have the next day to recover. BBQs are popular in Australia on Christmas Day, poolside for those who are lucky enough to have a swimming pool to cool off in. Hot turkey dinners are getting rarer and most people settle for a Christmas ham instead. Lots of fresh fruit especially mangoes and cherries are very popular.and instead of the traditional Christmas cake many Aussie families make the famous Christmas Pavolova topped with fresh fruit and some served with ice cream.

It’s customary to head to the beach after lunch so beaches can get very crowded. The Aussie version of a snowman made from beach sand can often be seen on the beach, and now with the popularity of sand sculptures you could be lucky enough to see a spectacular rendition of Santa.

Image source (https://www.melbournewithkidz.com/whats-on/santas-sand-land)

As I was raised in the UK it has been hard to get into the Christmas spirit in the sweltering heat, I miss the snow, open fireside gatherings with the children waiting for Santa to come down the chimney...

When Santa Claus Came Down Our Chimney

(Memories of an English Christmas)

Many years ago I visited my homeland for Christmas with my two eldest daughters. We were staying with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins in Somerset in a beautiful house made of stone with a thatched roof. We all went to the midnight church service on Christmas Eve and upon returning home my Uncle said goodnight and went off to bed and my Aunt served us some hot mulled wine and we gathered around their big stone fireplace. Suddenly there was a sound of a small bell coming from inside the fireplace and my children jumped up and down with glee, it must be Santa of course. Then from within the huge chimney in his red suit Santa appeared climbing out of the fireplace. Ho Ho Ho He was speaking in Russian and handing out presents to everyone from the sack he carried over his shoulder. We were all taken by surprise especially the children. They were about 5 and 7 years old at the time and were great believers in fairies, 🎅 and magic, so they had no doubt that this was the REAL Father Christmas. The event really made that Christmas a memorable one for my family and for years afterwards the girls would tell their friends about the time they got to meet the real 🎅in England and they knew he was the real one because he spoke Russian.

Happy Christmas to everyone on #Steemit