Over four in five Australians (85%) prefer the traditional greeting of “Merry Christmas” compared to more neutral salutations like “Season's Greetings” (8%) and “Happy Holidays” (7%).
Then when July finally rolls around, this is when Australians celebrate Christmas in the traditional sense since it's colder. Although we know it as Christmas in July, Australians call this second celebration Yuletide or Yulefest.
The most common verbal greeting is a simple “Hey”, “Hello”, or “Hi”. Some people may use Australian slang and say “G'day” or “G'day mate”.
“How ya goin'?” is the ultimate Aussie greeting.
"Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi" is a cheer or chant often performed at Australian sport events.
Ahead of December 25, Australians revealed the most bogan Christmas habits. These include putting reindeer antlers on your car and white Christmas trees. Drinking Crown lager and serving cut-up cheese cubes is deemed tacky by many.
Santa Claus goes by lots of names, depending on where you are in the world. In Australia and other English-speaking countries, he's usually called Father Christmas, Santa Claus, or sometimes just “Santa” for short.
In England and Australia, you'll often hear Happy Christmas, but in the US and Canada, Merry is the star of the show.
Given that atheists and non-Christians make up about half the Australian population, wishing your interlocutor “Merry Christmas” may well be meaningless or even objectionable to them. "Therefore, wishing them “Happy Holidays” is a neutral and inclusive way to extend your good wishes."
In general, “Happy Holidays” is accepted as the broadest and most inclusive greeting at this time of year. If you know someone celebrates Christmas you can go with “Merry Christmas,” but 'tis the season for interacting with strangers (selling to them, buying from them, bumping into them on your way out of Target).
Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas In Australia
These days most Australians call Atnas (his real name) “Santa”. At “Australia Post” he is officially called “Santa”.
The shoe known in Australia as a "thong" is one of the oldest styles of footwear in the world. Worn with small variations across Egypt, Rome, Greece, sub-Saharan Africa, India, China, Korea, Japan and some Latin American cultures, the shoe was designed to protect the sole while keeping the top of the foot cool.
Santa Claus is the most popular name in these regions, with Father Christmas also being used in New Zealand and Australia. Père Noël is used by French speakers in Canada, and Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, or Saint Nick might also be heard in the United States.
White Christmas is an Australian dessert made from dried fruit such as sultanas, glacé cherries, desiccated coconut, icing sugar, milk powder and Rice Bubbles, with hydrogenated coconut oil (such as the brand Copha) as the binding ingredient. The hydrogenated oil is melted and combined with the dry ingredients.
Most Aussies choose to swap the traditional roast turkey for a Christmas ham, and fresh seafood (specifically prawns) takes pride of place on many festive banquets. It makes sense that Australians opt for a light and refreshing dessert option to end their Christmas feast.
Here in Australia, however, McDonald's most prevalent nickname is “Macca's”.
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It is commonly used to refer to Santa Claus specifically, or Christmas and the Christmas holiday season.
Santa is known as 'Sheng dan Lao ren' in Mandarin, which translates as 'Christmas Old Man', and he is seen as a non-religious figure who lives in a fairytale Arctic Christmas Village in China's North Pole.
The song, popular with school-aged kids, explains that Santa's reindeer get a rest while six white boomers (boomer is Aussie slang for a male kangaroo) lead Santa's sleigh through Australia! After all the toys are delivered, they even help a little joey (a baby kangaroo) find his mommy.
Does anyone say "Happy Christmas"? Yes! For starters, it's important to note that "Happy Christmas" hasn't faded completely—it's still widely used in England. This is believed to be because "happy" took on a higher class connotation than "merry," which was associated with the rowdiness of the lower classes.
We say Merry Christmas on December 25. December 24 is a night before Christmas known as Christmas eve.