For the majority of Australians, Christmas Down under has all the glitter, tinsel and razzmatazz of a Christmas in New York, London Paris or Vancouver. The major difference is one of WEATHER....Christmas Down Under is never White. Snow has rarely fallen if ever on this date, DownUnder. We have during past Christmases experienced all the seasonal variations of a Summer Down Under.....electrical storms, floods, hailstorms, cyclones and bushfires. But 80% of the time we are blessed with blue skies and depending on our Australian location, temperatures ranging from 25-38 degrees centigrade. Currently it is Summer Down Under and daily temperatures range from 30-40 degrees centigrade on the mainland. Tamania is always slightly cooler.
Christmas is special to the majority of Australians for it is our Summer Holiday season and students especially are "wrapping" up their school year. That means sitting for end of Semester tests or exams and waiting for their results, as well as getting ready for the Summer Holidays. For the majority of Australian students this means ...SUN....SURF....SHOPPING. For students it means an end to homework and school studies and the beginning of lots of time for family, relatives and "mates". Our neighbours, the "Kiwis" or New Zealanders are actually the first ones to really celebrate the joyous day of Christmas. New Zealand is the first country immediately west of the international date line. So we're sorry most of American friends have to wait an extra day for Christmas.
So how do we REALLY celebrate Christmas? You must remember that Australia, though huge in size, has a population of just over 18 million people. Our country is a harmonious mix of many ethnic groups. Our backgrounds are very varied....our people have connections with England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Europe, Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Middle East, Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand as well as North and South America. So you can imagine that each of these national groups brings the color ,customs and festive rituals of the Christmas celebrated in their respective homelands. As Australians we are able to appreciate culturally diverse Christmas celebrations.
However, up until 30 years ago, our Christmas celebrations were heavily influenced by our original Anglo-Celtic influences. The English style of Christmas served as our model for celebrating Christmas.......right down to the traditional roast turkey and steamed pudding in over 35 degree heat. Today with the huge influx of overseas migrants our Christmas celebrations are heavily influenced by the ethnicity of families involved. Common sense is prevailing today in terms of weather. Traditional dinners have been replaced with family gatherings in back yards, pic-nics in parks, gardens and on the beach. For many, it is the occasion to be with friends and relatives, to share love and friendship and not to forget, the exchange of gifts in the traditional manner. For many, it is of course a time to enjoy and consume massive quantities of food. A typical Christmas menu could include seafood, glazed ham, cold chicken, duck or turkey, cold deli meats, pasta, salads galore, desserts of all types, fruit salad, pavlovas, ice-cream plus Christmas edibles of all varieties such as mince pies, fruit cake, shortbread, chocolates etc.
There has been a suggestion that "Swag Man" take over Santa's franchise Down Under!!!There is a lot of concern about Santa Claus perhaps suffering heat stroke whilst Down Under ."Swag Man" wears a brown Akubra, a blue shirt and long baggy shorts. He spends all winter under Ultra with his merry dingoes and then at Christmas time, he gets in his huge four-wheel drive and sets off through the red dust to deliver his presents.
For those interested, the first official Christmas Down Under was celebrated on the 25th December,1788 at Sydney Cove by Reverend Johnson. After the service, Governor Arthur Phillips and his officers dined heartily, toasting the King of England and his family. But for the majority of the first white inhabitants...the convicts....there was no change to their regular menu. bread rations only. The only goodwill which seemed to have been displayed was to Michael Dennison. He was a convict who stole a pound of flour from Martha Pugh. He was sentenced to 200 lashes by the whip. But since it was Christmas, only 150 were delivered.
Currently everyone is beginning to get ready for the "silly season". Everyone is busily planning Christmas break-up parties. Children are writing letters to Santa Claus. Decorations are being bought and set up. Shopping centers and malls are experiencing record breaking crowds. In homes, many of the traditional Christmas rituals are being followed. Many children are helping to decorate the family Christmas tree. We have yet to follow the American ritual of getting "real" Christmas trees......though some do use gum tree branches. Children are learning Christmas Carols so that they may be sung at festive occasions such as public "Carols by Candlelight" and school concerts. Christmas stockings are being hung in homes....though fireplaces are in short supply. Cards galore are being written and posted. Everyone awaits.......the anticipation is high!
It must also be mentioned that with all the glitter, tinsel and razzmatazz.......Australians consider Christmas a time for remembering the true meaning of Christmas.........a time for remembering the birth of Jesus and the spiritual meaning of Christmas . For many, Christmas will begin with families attending a mid-night mass. 70% of Australians are either Catholic, Anglican or Lutheran. After the mid-night Mass, a little sleep is attempted. For many, the children in various households, wake up the family at dawn. Gifts are unwrapped and the joy of Christmas begins. For many with relatives and friends overseas, it is a mad scramble to get an early phone call to relatives worldwide.
The Danish Christmas is the most important event on the calendar, like the American Christmas and Thanksgiving rolled into one. The streets and shops are elaborately decorated and on the Fridays up to Christmas, companies close early while their staff participate in Christmas lunches lasting well into the night.
The most important symbol of the Danish Christmas is the red-and-white hearts, which are hanging in windows of homes and shops, as festoons above the streets, on Christmas trees, and many other places.
People who live in houses often have a small pine tree in their front yard, which they decorate with electrical lights throughout December. They are usually left on to about New years Day. Apartment dwellers with a balcony sometimes have a little pine in a pot, or wraps the lights around the railing. It can be quite a sight on a tall apartment building.
Indoors, red and white candles are placed on the dinner table, and often in little displays. The displays are traditionally smaller raw pieces of wood (1/2-1 foot long), where small pieces of pine, straw and candles are attached with clay.
Red Christmas hearts are hung everywhere, on doors, windows, kitchen cabinets, etc.
To make the house smell like Christmas, people take an orange and stick whole dried cloves into it, before hanging it up with a red ribbon. The whole cloves can be found in the spice section of a supermarket. This setup smells good, and is better than the toxic potpourri stuff that is a problem for many people with asthma and allergies. Just make sure to throw the orange out when it starts to get mold spots.
The nisse is a mythological person, who lives in the attic or the barn, and is friendly with the animals. He is very short, only a foot or so tall, and wears a red cap. He has magical powers, and can make things go wrong if not appeased, so farmers in the old days would put a bowl of food up in the attic before Christmas to ensure the peace. It would be a bowl of rice porridge, which is the favorite of the nisse. In reality, mice would eat the porridge, so it would seem that the nisse had enjoyed the food.
A tradition from the southern part of the Jutland peninsula is for kids to put a shoe in the window at night. The next morning, the nisse will have put a small piece of chocolate there - if you have been a good kid. If you have been bad, he left a lump of coal!
One of the Fridays in December, every company closes at noon, and everybody sits down around a decorated table and eats and drinks. This is the time of the year where all ranks are ignored, and everybody joins in the festivities. The lunch goers usually eat and drink quite a lot, and stories from these parties are heard throughout the year.
Since most people get quite drunk, the Danish police are out in full force with checkpoints to catch anyone foolish enough to try to drive home. The public transportation system have all their busses on the road that night, to get people home safely. Riding a bus or train home on this night is very entertaining, as everyone is in a great mood.
Several dishes are associated with Christmas, though are often eaten through the winter. Many types of cookies are made, as well as a bounty of food and deserts.
Danish dough balls are served warm as a snack throughout December, often together with a glass of Swedish glogg (red wine with spices).
The Scandinavian Christmas is celebrated on the evening of December 24th, while celebrating on the 25th is a British custom.
The Danish Christmas tree is put up during the 24th of December. The picture shows a detail of a traditional tree, with Danish flags, candles and glass bulbs. Today, most people use electrical lights on the tree.
Meanwhile, the nisse has found another present beneath the tree, which is then handed to the next happy receiver. This process takes several hours, and is accompanied by stories, and enjoyment of sweets and desert wines. Some also serve a tray with nuts, that are opened with a nutcracker. In some families, more than one nisse hands out gifts, by taking turns, but presents are still opened one at a time. (This method would not work so well in more materialistic countries, where kids get enormous amounts of gifts).
This day is often used for visiting friends and family, and having a large lunch for the whole family. This is often the traditional Danish lunch table (called smorgasbord in Swedish), where a range of dishes are served and people pick on and choose. A great way to take care of the leftovers.
Ireland
Preparations for an Irish Christmas begin well before December 25th. Plum pudding, the traditional rich Christmas Day desert, is made in October! This allows the flavors to mature and integrate. It has also not been unheard of to have the traditional Christmas fruit cake baked in the summer!
Christmas in Ireland is very much a family and community occasion. Families attend Midnight Mass together on Christmas Eve and place a lit candle in one of the windows of their home to signify symbolic hospitality for the Holy Family. Friends meet up on Christmas Eve in the local pub, as everyone celebrates the return of emigrated friends and the arrival of new guests and family members
Wreaths of holly are hung on front doors, a crib with figures representing the nativity is placed in a prominent corner and tinsel-clad Christmas trees are placed where they can be best viewed from the street. People buy presents for their family and friends and place them under the tree. Children hang stockings over the fireplace or from the end of their bed for Santa Claus to fill. To help him on what is his busiest night of the year, a slice of Christmas cake and a glass of whiskey is traditionally left out for Santa. It seems to be appreciated because both have usually disappeared by morning!
Presents and stockings are opened on Christmas morning. Expect it
to be rather early if children reside in the house! As well as toys and
presents, children traditionally receive an orange in the heel of their
stocking. This tradition dates from a time when oranges were exotic and
hard to get hold of in Ireland. The Irish Christmas dinner is served any
time between noon and 4pm and usually consists of a large stuffed turkey
with cranberry sauce, a ham, roasted potatoes and vegetables, Christmas
pudding served with brandy butter or cream and, if it can be possibly
managed, mince pies! The Christmas cake is generally not cut until late
in the evening and is served with cups of tea.
The day after Christmas is known as St. Stephen's Day and is a day
for working off the excesses of the previous day by taking a brisk walk.
Christmas pantomimes begin on St. Stephens Day and are held in most
large towns and cities. Children show off their Christmas gifts while
the adults make the most of the holiday with friends and family, often
ending up in the pub! The Wren Boys also come out on St. Stephen s Day.
Legend has it that the wren betrayed St. Stephen and became a despised
creature in Ireland. The tradition of hunting the wren was undertaken by
young men and boys dressed in cheerful costumes and with their faces
blackened or hidden by masks. After hunting and killing a wren, they
would put it on top of a holly-decorated pole and visit each of the
houses in their neighborhood. Today the wren is no longer killed but
young men still dress up in traditional costumes and call from house to
house singing as they go.
The Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th brings the Christmas holiday season to an end. This day is also known as Little Christmas or Women's Christmas. The last festive dinner is served and decorations are taken down the next day. Have a very merry Irish Christmas!
Sweden
The height of the celebration is Christmas Eve, the 24:th of December, followed by the two holidays Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Christmas festivities involves numerous traditional activities and attributes, the most important of which are the Christmas tree, the Christmas meal and the visit of the tomte (Christmas gnome).
Introduced in Sweden from Germany, the Christmas tree has been a part of Christmas in Sweden since the 1700:s. It was not until the present century that the custom became general, however. Nearly every Swedish household now brings in a tree one or two days before Christmas and decorates it with sparkling objects, gaily wrapped candies, glass bulbs and so on.
The tree is kept watered and many households keep their tree until the very end of the holiday, which falls on the twentieth day after Christmas, Knuts day in the Swedish calendar.
Christmas Eve, then is the height of the festivities. Traditionally it is a day when no work should be done other than seeing to one's livestock. This is the day of the Christmas feast, which comprises a smorgasbord including a few traditional dishes such as ham, jellied pigs feet, lutfisk and rice porridge. Lutfisk (literally: lye-fish) is most likely a throwback to a period of fasting from pre Reformation times. It is a dish prepared of ling that is dried and then boiled. The Christmas feast also includes a tradition called "dipping in the kettle" (dopp i grytan), in which the assembled family and guests dip bits of bread in the broth left over after boiling the ham. Both lutfisk and "dipping in the kettle" are actually a poor mans fare from olden days, but they live on thanks to their role in holiday festivities.
After the meal, it is time for a visit from the tomte. He was believed to live under the the floor boards of the house or the barn. The tomte was credited with looking after the family and their livestock. Toward the turn of the past century Swedish artist began producing greeting cards illustrated with gnomes. Her figures were a tremendous success and soon the tomte had assumed a role comparable to that of the various Santa Claus figures in other countries. He is believed to come with presents. In many households nowadays, someone disguised as a gnome comes on Christmas Eve with a large sack of presents.
By tradition Swedes attend church in the small hours (about 7 o clock in the morning, much to early for my taste...) Christmas morning. In olden days it was a custom to have a race to the church in sleds or wagons home from the services. The winner of the race was believed to have the best harvest the coming year. Otherwise, the day is spent quietly within the family circle, with Christmas parties and get-togethers the following day and on throughout the holidays until Knut's day a week after Twelfth Night.
Can you write a good tradition about your country? If so please send it to us for inclusion here.
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