It’s that time of the year again, summer’s here, and with it comes the usual sweltering heat wave. You won’t find any egg nog here! The champers is on ice, cooling down as we speak.
The shops are full of Christmas displays and decorations; with everyone rushing around for last minute buys (we Aussies always seem to leave it all to the last minute).
David Jones stores have their usual Christmas Window displays lined up in each storefront window – this year’s theme features Australian animals – a bit of an “outback” touch.
November and December mark the official start of the Festive Season on the social scene with everyone starting to organise their work Christmas functions – with restaurants fully booked, people dancing up a storm in the clubs, beaches packed solid with families, and BBQ’s all fired up & ready to go!
What Christmas Party would be complete without Santa Claus? Although, our Santa looks somewhat more relaxed, and whilst still rather jolly, he has ditched that awfully hot red suit for a pair of board shorts, a singlet, thongs and traded in the sleigh for a surfboard!
Christmas Eve sees families attending “Carols by Candlelight” – these are outdoor concerts that have been a tradition since 1937, when an Australian radio announcer (Norman Banks) walking home one night, noticed a lone woman sitting by her window, her face lit up by candlelight, singing along to Christmas songs on the radio. Now, families all around Australia bring candles, blankets, sometimes food, and sit in the park singing Christmas Carols.
Families follow this tradition up with another – the annual “Christmas Lights” show. Families travel in cars (there are now buses that do guided tours) through the streets of their local town, admiring the displays their neighbours have put together to compete in the town’s Christmas Lights Competition.
By the time this has completed, any over-active children have become increasingly sleepy… and are only too willing to go to sleep before Santa arrives.
Christmas Day has finally come! This normally starts rather early – children all across the world seem to know when Santa has come… dragging sleepy parents into the lounge room as they oooh and ahhh over the presents left under the tree.
Visits from Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and Grandparents alike result in more present exchanges, mountains of wrapping paper and excited kids running about the place as relatives come and go.
Due to the excessive heat we encounter during summer, it’s rare to have a “hot” Christmas Dinner. Instead, you’ll find cold meats like turkey, ham and seafood, along with cold or warm salads.
This is followed by Pavlova (a meringue that is crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside) or traditional Plum Pudding served with custard, ice cream or cream or Trifle and Brandy Sauce.
After lunch, we normally indulge in playing “Backyard Cricket” and other outside sports and swimming in the pool – such is the Aussie attitude.
The festivities continue into the night, indulging in leftovers, indulging in some more champers or beer, dancing away as the children play with their toys. Christmas in Australia is always a laid back affair with minimum fuss and lots of emphasis on “fun”!
