The country of Australia is still heavily influenced from their British colonial past. Australians do all of the usual Christmas activities that are practised around the Christian world. They deck the halls with evergreen plants, sing Christmas carols, and prepare a sumptuous holiday meal. The biggest difference between Christmas in Australia and that of most countries is that Australians can do it all outside. Most Australian Christmas traditions revolve around the warm weather of December. To the rest of the world it is like a super holiday, with summer vacation, Christmas time and a hugely popular national sporting event all at once. If you happen to be Down Under for Christmas and you want to do something fun there are a lot of famous festivals and well-known events to choose from.

Santa Visits Lake Macquarie

Every December Santa Claus cruises around Lake Macquarie on the Wangi Queen Show Boat to deliver lollies to children at the docks. Located north of Sydney, the massive salt water lake is the largest one in the Southern Hemisphere. The lake itself is surrounded by many towns including Lake Macquarie, Belmont, Cardiff, Charlestown, Glendale, Morisset, Mount Hutton, Swansea, Toronto and Warner's Bay. There are plenty of other activities to accomplish in the summertime at Lake Macquarie, be it recreational sailing, waterfront dining, or hiking down the many walking tracks in the nature preserves.

Carols By Candlelight

Carols By Candlelight is a national custom that originated in the south of Australia. In the early 1900s people would sometimes gather at night during the month of December to sing Christmas Carols. They would carry candles to light the way, electric lanterns not being widely available at the time. The first official Carols By Candlelight was held in Melbourne during 1938 by a local radio announcer named Norman Banks. Thousands of people gathered at Melbourne's King Domain Gardens to sing Christmas songs. The Melbourne ceremony is televised every year, and there are similar Carols By Candlelight celebrations in almost every city in Australia.

Christmas-ing at Bondi Beach

The population of Sydney has been gathering together at Bondi Beach every Christmas since the 1800s. Today the area is a trendy beach neighbourhood abuzz with hotels, boutiques and cafes. Many foreign tourists visiting from all over the world join in the celebration each Christmas. There all sorts of festivals and vendors to commemorate the occasion, with musical performances, beauty pageants, volleyball tournaments and lots of barbeque. They decorate palm trees and driftwood to look like Christmas trees, and everyone wears their bathing suit, oftentimes with a jaunty Santa cap.

Boxing Day Test Match

The day after Christmas is also considered an important public holiday in Australia. The 26th of December is called Boxing Day. In Australia, Boxing Day is marked by two professional sporting events, the opening day of the Australian cricket team, and a yacht race from Sydney to Hobart. Everything is shut down so people can watch the game, go to the harbor to wave off the yachts, play sports and eat left over Christmas dinner. Boxing Day is another holdover from Christmas in England. Traditionally it was a bank holiday when workers received gifts from their superiors. The holiday is also celebrated in Hong Kong, Malaysia and New Zealand.

New Year's Eve on Sydney Harbor

Thanks to the time zone differences, no other place in the world experiences New Year's Eve before New Zealand and Australia. If you think about it, this makes it the truest New Year's Eve experience available on the planet because the new year starts there before heading west. One of the most spectacular firework shows and New Year's Eve parties happens each year at the world famous Sydney Harbor. Every year an excess of four million dollars-worth of fireworks are exploded over the picturesque bay.  Plan ahead because making reservations to dine in one of Sydney's waterfront restaurants on New Years can get quite expensive.

 


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