Christmas Down Under

This year was the first time I've ever spent Christmas away from home. Not only was I away from my family in the UK, but I was spending it on the other side of the world where summer is winter, up is down and the toilets flush the other way (they don't really, I am disappoint).

But how different is the holiday season on this side of the globe?

Firstly, there's the time difference. While everyone back home was watching the new year eve showing of Terry Pratchett's Hogfather (man, I wish I watched it this year!), I was already waking up and opening my presents. Thanks to time travel, I got to experience Christmas almost a whole day earlier than last year, although that meant that it also ended before the majority of my facebook news feed.

The main difference has got to be the weather. When you think of Christmas, you think of the cold, snow, jack frost, the hideous thick woolly jumpers. Well, on this side of the equator, it's currently summertime - which means it's slightly warmer than winter at a toasty average 28 degrees. It actually rained for most of Christmas day this year in Australia, which sucked, but I still managed to get this picture on the beach.

Cloudy but warm - just before the heavens opened

The days directly before and after the 25th, however, were incredibly pleasant. To even think about putting a jumper on would have been suicide. I considered this change, and how it consequently didn't make me feel very "christmassy" in the lead up to christmas. I soon got over that because I'd take a warm, sunny beach day over the miserable, grey concrete jungles of the UK any day. It just means that rather than stay inside drinking on the cold, rainy December days, you can get out and go for a swim, a walk, explore... and THEN drink.

Carrot for Rudolf, mince pie and malibu for Santa

The weather isn't the only difference. Talking to Aussies leading up to Christmas, I tried to find out
how tradition has changed. Though largely influenced by the British and American traditions, Australia has a few of their own, and a few that I'd love to introduce to them.

- Dinner - Joe and I cooked a traiditional British Christmas dinner for our friends this year, with a turkey, cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, veg, yorkshire puddings, stuffing, pigs in blankets... but if you're in Australia you can forget those last 3. Stuffing took us and the supermarket staff a while to find, and the other two simply don't exist. We made our own pigs in blankets*, but couldn't find any pork cocktail sausages, so ended up with cows in blankets. They tasted pretty good! This year I found out that Aussie's prefer a barbie on Christmas. And with the wonderful weather, I can't blame them. Traditionally they'll have prawns on the bbq. Though if opting for the roast dinner, a roast ham is more popular than turkey, though both were available at the supermarket. Generally, everything traditionally meant for a cold day would be substitute for a warm-weather alternative:

Roast turkey dinner → Cold ham and salads
Christmas pudding → Ice cream
Mulled wine* → Cold beer
Mince pies → Oh wait, they still have these... phew!

Christmas dinner in the Happy House

- Lights - Christmas lights will light up every street in the UK, but are not so common in Australia due to the fact that the afternoons aren't so dark. When 4pm looks like midnight in England it's a perfect time to jazz up your houses with hundreds of pretty LEDs, but summertime here will get dark at around 8pm, and though many people do still brighten up the streets with christmas lights, I haven't seen nearly as many as I would back home. Instead, we have beautiful sunlight and stunning sunrises/sunsets. Cities will still light up their main areas. My favourite decoration that I spotted here came from the beachside pub hotel in Byron Bay that had lit-up surfboards hanging from the colossal tree in their beer garden. Unfortunately I never got to take a picture of these as they were taken down after a violent storm in early December.

- Dress - We Brits love those ugly Christmas jumpers that look like the kind of thing your granny buys you and you wear because she'll get upset if you say you hate it. These have become a fashion (disaster) around Christmas, with many parties dedicated to the wearing and comparing of them. A competition for the best (or ugliest) jumper is common. Luckily the Aussie's have a good excuse as to why they can't wear their Christmas jumpers from granny - it's just too hot! Joe and I donned our Christmas t-shirts instead, that we've carried in our backpacks for 9 months and finally been able to wear. But when it comes to Christmas clothing, I didn't see a whole lot from the Aussies, other than Santa hats. I guess they're just far too trendy. 

- Song singing - This is the first year I realised how bad Christmas songs actually are, but I still listened to them for hours in December because it gets you in the festive mood! Christmas songs can still be heard in Australia, but I wouldn't say I've heard them as much this year. This is probably due to the fact that most of them talk about snow and staying inside by the fire, which is something that most Aussie's could never relate to. Christmas carols are still popular, and in our little town of Byron Bay, you could partake in a pleasant song singing on the beachfront one friday evening, or at the church with a candlelit service.

Christmas has been a distinctive, yet awesome one this year. It's been perculiar being so far from friends and family, but Australia has made us feel warm and welcome... but mostly warm.

Have you ever been to a different country for Christmas and were surprised by their traditions? Let me know in the comments!

*Glossary of terms for Australian readers:
- Pigs in blankets - Pork cocktail sausage wrapped in bacon. Arguably the best part of christmas.
- Mulled wine - Red wine with orange juice and spices, served warm. Basically a christmas sangria.