Celebrating an antipodean Christmas

It’s a long time since I wrote one of these posts, but with the prospect of only my second Christmas spent at home, and the first ‘normal’ one, I thought it would be fun to share what it’s like to celebrate Christmas Down Under! I must caveat this post by saying that mine is very much a secular Christmas – a cultural one rather than a religious one. My thoughts and experiences will thus reflect this. I’m sure Christmas would be quite different if you’re a member of one of Australia’s many Christian denominations. I’m also celebrating in Melbourne, where the weather isn’t usually quite so scorching as in other parts of the country, but can still get into the mid- to high-thirties!

The main thing that strikes me about Christmas in Australia is just how European it looks. It’s completely incongruous, but people are still really into the cold aesthetic: ‘pine’ trees, snow, wreaths of holly and ivy on the doors. It feels totally weird when it’s nearly 30 degrees and you’re wearing shorts and summer dresses. Father Christmas/Santa is also just as popular – with his big beard and warm jackets, it must be punishing dressing up as him down here! To get around the fact that it’s so hot, and there are hardly any pine trees here anyway, people go for faux trees, full on plastic trees (like the one at Fed Square) or trees made of lights.

I can’t say these quite do it for me – I think it’s nicer to embrace the Australian natives and go for a green and red theme picked from the abundant flowers and trees available at this time of year. Some people do go for this, with the woolly bush being a popular choice for native Christmas tree. We’ve had several of these, but unfortunately haven’t ever managed to get them to survive long after Christmas!

It’s not just the aesthetics that are European – the food is very much traditional European too, even British. While the supermarkets are full of panettones to cater to the flourishing Italian population, the large hams, turkeys and so on that make up a British Christmas dinner are equally if not more prominent. Arguably the panettone has become a British festive staple anyway. These culinary choices are quite baffling to me – I can’t imagine wanting to eat a roast dinner on a hot summer day (no matter how much I love roast potatoes!). Admittedly I don’t eat meat, so I’m perhaps not the best person to judge this.

Their penchant for British doesn’t mean that there aren’t any Australian Christmas culinary traditions though. The barbecue is just as likely to come out on Christmas Day as it is on every other sunny day of the year. But it is in the dessert course that the Australian side takes over the most. They have wisely decided to mostly cast aside British stodge like Christmas pudding (which I have to say I do really like) and go for something more fun, with the pavlova I think taking pride of place. It is debated whether ‘pav’ is more Kiwi or Australian, but that doesn’t seem to bother people, as they’re incredibly popular. You can read about my attempt to make a vegan version here; spoiler alert: it didn’t quite go to plan!

One other difference is that Christmas crackers don’t seem to be as much of a thing here. They are available, but they don’t seem to be quite so popular. Thankfully my mother always ensures we have some, sent over from the UK!

Our first Christmas here was completely overshadowed by the devastating loss of my father. The second Christmas we spent away from home, taking a trip to the lovely Sorrento. This felt quite Australian, getting away to the seaside and being able to spend the day on the beach. It was absolutely baking hot, so, perhaps more typically British, we spent much of the day seeking the shade, but it was still a wonderful experience, and just what I needed. We also indulged in our own take on a more summer appropriate Christmas lunch.

For our second Christmas since moving here we actually returned home (where I got into the Christmas spirit by documenting some of the many beautiful wreaths I saw). So this coming Christmas will actually be our first proper Christmas at home in Australia. And of course this time it will be three of us, as our daughter celebrates her very first Christmas. At time of writing we haven’t quite decided on things like what we’ll have to eat for Christmas (I’m gunning for a side of salmon!), but needless to say, I’m looking forward to embracing some Australian traditions, bringing some from home, and creating our very own ones for our new little family.

Whatever and wherever you are celebrating this December, I wish you and yours all the very best!