How to celebrate Christmas in Australia - Christmas on the beach of Australia
Every year, Christmas Australians are greeted with a hot summer. At the same time, they all together dream of a wonderful snow-white Christmas holiday. Until recently, beautiful winter motifs were reflected on Australian Christmas cards, and children at schools enjoyed learning songs about frost, snowmen and snowflakes. But to their great chagrin, traditional European Christmas remains a pipe dream. Merry Santa Claus in winter wool clothes does not fit into the heat of Australia, so resourceful Australians had to come up with their summer version of the celebration of Christmas. Very curious to know how to celebrate Christmas in Australia?
Today, publishers on Christmas cards print not an elegant Christmas tree, drifts and snowflakes, but images of Australian animals or landscapes of Australia. On Christmas days, children on the beach are happy to skate on the surfboards, which were donated to them on holiday, and build fortresses from sand, and not from snow. The most popular gift for Christmas in sunny Australia is a beach towel.
In the middle of November, the official opening of the Christmas season takes place, which is marked by the Christmas Parade. It was during these days that the good Santa solemnly enters the capital Adelaide. The parade has become a good tradition and has gained immense popularity among the population of the city. In the spirit of the Brazilian carnival, along the streets that cross the center of the capital, there is a fantastic march of seventy moving, thematically decorated, fabulous platforms and twenty brass bands. All this is accompanied by several hundred clowns, pirates, wooden soldiers and a huge number of different fairy-tale characters. Of course, thousands of Australians and tourists come to see this bright faerie procession. The pre-Christmas parade ends with a huge cart. At its top is a traditional reindeer team, in whose sleigh Santa Claus sits solemnly. A colorful procession makes a stop at the largest shopping center, where, under the musical accompaniment of the Santa Orchestra, descends from the cart and departs to the Magic Cave, which will already be inhabited until Christmas. During this time, anyone can go to him for a light and be photographed for memory. All this performance is just the beginning of Christmas in Australia.
In addition to Santa Claus in Australia, there is another significant Christmas character, called the Australian Swag Man - translated "Grandfather with a bag".Unlike Santa, he is dressed in a blue sweatshirt and spacious long shorts, his head is adorned with a brown headdress. According to legend, Grandfather with a bag with his faithful dog Dingo dwells on the sacred island-rock Uluru. And on Christmas days Swag Man sits down in his giant wagon and rushes to give gifts( surrounded by a red cloud of dust).
December 24, late in the evening, Australia peacefully subsides for four whole days. Closed offices and shops. All Australians go to their homes to happily meet Christmas in a cozy family circle. Sometimes, to celebrate Christmas with a close family, people have to come from all over the continent and even from other countries.
Everyone loves Christmas dinner in the open air in the courtyard or organize a holiday picnic in the park. In Australia, on the eve of Christmas, they traditionally cook turkey and delicious steamed pudding. But in addition to the table, Australian dishes are also served: seafood, chilled baked chicken, a variety of vegetable salads, and ice cream, fruit and a Christmas cake for dessert.
As a rule, people in Australia are very fond of giving presents for Christmas. And December 26 they are even called the Day of Gifts. If the received Christmas gift is not liked, it is neatly packed and carefully carried back to the store - Australians never throw out checks for such cases.