The majority of people live in the Northern Hemisphere and celebrate Christmas in winter. This is the main reason why people are amazed when taking part in celebrating this holiday in South America or Australia, where it's summer in December. A lot of people can't think about this winter holiday without snow and a warm jumper with a reindeer picture on it, but for others, Christmastime is lying on a sandy beach and eating seafood or having a picnic on the green grass in a park.
Australians are likely to have really hot days in December and January because of their geographical location. It explains why it may seem odd to imagine someone cooking a variety of hot dishes in the kitchen. Instead, be ready to have refreshing drinks, cold salads, seafood and cold meat. Certainly, you can see some families who follow the national traditions from their native countries. It's commonly known that many Australians come from different corners of the planet, so they can eat the same dishes as they used to when they lived in Europe, North America or somewhere else. My neighbour's family, who have Italian roots, still have pasta and a roast for Christmas lunch.
As I'm a native to the land down under, my family follows our national traditions. Last Christmas, we had a barbecue with steaks and seafood in our backyard. The dining table was served with salads, cold turkey, desserts, champaign and soft drinks.
You're really lucky to see a real fresh Christmas tree in Australia, compared to Europe, for instance. It's against the law to cut down a real forest pine tree here. Of course, there are some people who grow these trees and sell them at Christmas time. Australians prefer to buy artificial ones. As for decorations, you'll be amazed by their variety! Enormous crowds of people enjoy their evening walks along the streets to see the colourful lights outside the houses.
You will hardly see such decorations as snowflakes, snowmen or reindeer sleighs. What you are for sure to see are images with kangaroos, paradise birds, national plants and beaches.
You won't see any people going from door to door singing Christmas carols. But you will see crowds of Santa Clauses everywhere: in malls, police cars and fire engines. They throw sweets to children and come to Christmas parties in boats.
The most common leisure activities are playing footy or beach cricket at Christmas. A simple game can turn into a real competition with a crowd of spectators cheering on the teams. A lot of people go to church, and after the service, they just socialise and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
For winter Christmas lovers, Tasmania, which is an island state of Australia, might be a suitable place. Hobart is a place where the temperature can drop to minus 2°C in December. You can get the chance to smell wood fires burning in the villages. So, this is a place where you can experience a Northern Hemisphere Christmas, despite the fact that you are in the far south. The explanation is that Antarctica is not far from Tasmania.
That's it. Maybe, after reading this article, you'll add a Christmas holiday to Australia to your bucket list if you want to experience Christmas but in summer.
