Traditional Santas wear bright red fleecy suits, lined with white fur and big black boots to fight off the northern winter. In Australia, it's summer at Christmas time so you're much more likely to see a boardshort wearing Santa on a surfboard.
Because of the seasonal changes in December in Australia compared to other parts of the country, Christmas is celebrated differently. So instead of being huddled by the fire, drinking hot chocolate, Australians head to the beach or have a day outside in the sun.
Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas In Australia
What is Santa Claus called in Australia? These days most Australians call Atnas (his real name) “Santa”.
1. Christmas in Australia falls during the summer. This is an interesting fact for kids because in the Northern hemisphere, Christmas falls during the winter.
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.
Some Australians celebrate Christmas on the beach. People decorate their homes with lights, trees, and ornaments. Australians decorate with Christmas Bush, a native Australian tree. On Christmas Eve, there are many “Carols by Candlelight” services where people get together and sing while holding candles.
Australia. Australian children set out cookies for Santa, but instead of milk, they leave him an ice-cold glass of beer. After all, December is summer in the land Down Under. The children leave carrots for Santa's reindeer to munch on, too.
In Australia a common Christmas song is 'Six White Boomers' which depicts Santa Claus giving his reindeers a rest when he gets to Australia and instead uses six white kangaroos! In the song, Santa also changes into some cooler clothes to cope with the much warmer climate down under.
A Christmas tree, either real or artificial, is set up in the home and decorated with ornaments, candy canes, and tinsel. It's common for presents to be placed under the tree in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Victoria. Carols by Candlelight is a tradition that started in Melbourne in 1938 and has since spread around Australia and the world. At the event people gather on Christmas Eve, usually outdoors, to sing carols by candlelight in a large-scale concert style event.
This is because of the tilt of the earth. Australia is situated in the southern hemisphere and during the month of December, there will be the summer season in the southern hemisphere and the winter season in the northern hemisphere.
In England and Australia, you'll often hear Happy Christmas, but in the US and Canada, Merry is the star of the show.
The Tradition of Secret Santa
Secret Santa in Australia and other Western cultures has its origins in the Scandinavian tradition Julklapp, or “Christmas knock”.
As Christmas approaches each year, Santa Claus sends his army of elves into the homes of kids all across the world. Including here in Australia. The idea is that they report back to Santa about whether each child is being 'naughty or nice' this year.
The legend of Santa Claus can be traced back hundreds of years to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around A.D. 280 in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St.
Kids from outside the U.S. can dial Santa's phone number in one of the 13 countries below: Australia: +61 (0) 3 8672 0121.
First stop on Santa's route is the Pacific Islands, Ms Mckenna revealed. "He will be departing from the North Pole and heading down through the international date line, he will head through the Pacific islands, and then on to New Zealand.
He will visit the Pacific Islands first and then onto New Zealand, leaving from the South Island. Santa will zig zag his way up and down Australia, making sure to visit every child's house before departing Australian airspace as he heads towards our northern neighbours.
Most Americans (67%) stopped expecting Santa to shimmy down their chimney by the time they entered seventh grade. Half (49%) of Americans say they stopped believing in Santa before the age of 10 – with a quarter (23%) reporting that they lost sight of him between the ages of seven (10%) and eight (13%).
Overall, the average age in the United States for no longer believing in Santa Claus is 8.4 years old. Mississippi has the oldest average age at 10.2 years old. Not far behind is Iowa where the average age is 9.9 years old.
We asked over 1,000 MFM mums and discovered that the average age at which your little ones grow out of the Santa story is eight and a half. By the age of nine, 62% of children no longer believe and by ten, when they're in the last stages of primary school, more than 4 in 5 children know the truth.
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 small number of Christians in China call Christmas Sheng Dan Jieh, which means Holy Birth Festival. They decorate their homes with evergreens, posters, and bright paper chains.