So why is there also a Christmas celebration during July? Australia has British and European heritage, so there's a strong attachment to the tradition of celebrating Christmas in cold weather. That's why there's 'Christmas in July', which is also known as Yulefest or Yuletide in Australia.
But did you know that we Australians celebrate Christmas in July? It's pretty confusing if you really think about it, but Australians get to celebrate Christmas twice a year. Once on the traditional December 25th, and then once again in July.
While it's common to celebrate Christmas Eve in Europe, in Australia, it's more accepted to gather on Christmas Day (25 December).
This year Ukraine recognised December 25th as an official holiday, along with the traditional Orthodox Christmas on January 7th. It thus became the world's fifth country with two Christmases, joining Belarus, Eritrea, Lebanon and Moldova. The sources of this yuletide surplus lie deep in history.
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bhutan, North Korea, Libya, Mauritania, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Yemen do not recognize Christmas as a public holiday.
So the Orthodox Church rejected the Gregorian calendar and continued to rely on the Julian calendar. It stayed that way for centuries, and the calendar drift continued. By 1923, there was a 13-day difference between the two calendars, putting Orthodox Christmas 13 days after December 25.
What is Santa Claus called in Australia? These days most Australians call Atnas (his real name) “Santa”.
In traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture Christmas was not celebrated but coming together and celebrating as a mob was, and continues to be, an important aspect of culture.
As Christians developed the theological idea that Jesus was conceived and crucified on the same date, they set the date of his birth nine months later.” No matter what the official reason was, church officials ultimately settled on Dec. 25 at the end of the third century.
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.
In 2006, a snowstorm hit the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales and Victoria, arriving on Christmas morning and bringing nearly 12 in (30 cm) of snow in higher areas.
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.
Therefore, in some southern hemisphere countries, such as Australia, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, and New Zealand, Christmas in July or Midwinter Christmas events are undertaken in order to have Christmas with a winter feel in common with the northern hemisphere.
Today, in the 21st Century, the Julian calendar is 13 days 'behind' the Gregorian. Therefore, Christmas celebrations in Gregorian calendar churches and in Julian calendar churches are almost two weeks apart. Really, Christmas comes twice a year!
Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December). Though it originated as a holiday to give gifts to poor people, today Boxing Day forms part of Christmas celebrations, with many people choosing to take advantage of Boxing Day sales.
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.
From the 19th century onwards, the tradition of erecting Christmas trees, the sending of Christmas cards and the display of decorations spread throughout Australia. Since that time, Christmas in Australia has remained an official observer holiday and celebrates as a traditional summer-time occasion.
The phrase Christmas in July has been around since the early 1980s and many believe that a group of visiting Irish tourists saw the snowfall in the Blue Mountain region of New South Wales. They apparently were reminded of Christmases spent back home and started to feel homesick.
Father Christmas is the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas. Although now known as a Christmas gift-bringer, and typically considered to be synonymous with Santa Claus, he was originally part of a much older and unrelated English folkloric tradition.
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.
To stay ahead of the clock, Santa travels west, beginning in the South Pacific, then New Zealand and Australia. Next, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then on to Europe before crossing the Atlantic to Canada and the United States. Finally, he flies south to Mexico and Central and South America.
Christmas Day is a public holiday on January 7 in countries such as Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia, Russia, and Ukraine. Some countries, such as Armenia, observe Christmas Day on January 6.
Advertising: Content continues below ad. Many people in the Netherlands observe the second day of Christmas, which falls on December 26. It is a continuation of the Christmas holiday or a chance to spend time outdoors or with family or friends. It is also Saint Stephen's Day.
Boxing Day takes place on December 26th and is only celebrated in a few countries; mainly ones historically connected to the UK (such as Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand) and in some European countries.