Christmas is a Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th. And while it's still observed as a religious holiday by many, many other Australians don't observe the religious aspect of the holiday and rather see it as a way to get together with family and friends, exchange presents and feast.
Christmas Morning in Australia (Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
Christmas lunch
In Australia, Christmas celebrations usually happen on the 25th of December around lunch. For a lot of people, it's a casual affair.
managing editor Farah Celjo says there are : “Things like Christmas ham, snacking boards, plenty of seafood, Christmas pudding, tiramisu, trifle, pavlova. And then you also eat plenty of fresh fruits so obviously you think about cherries, mangoes, peaches and other stone fruits."
But she also says that since Australia is so multicultural, there's not only one way to do Christmas and it's possible to .
“I would be open to have a Malaysian laksa on Christmas day, with an abundance of seafood, all the way to an ice cream cake or something like panettone. I would definitely do a panettone. In Serbia and the Balkan countries, they would do a seafood soup so I'd happily serve a seafood soup," she suggests.
You’ll also find it’s common for the host to ask guests to bring a dish. Celjo recommends bringing something that you're comfortable making. While she didn't grow up celebrating Christmas in her family, she would often join her friends' families and bring her favourite Bosnian dessert.
Christmas lunch (Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
“I would always spend Christmas day with my really good girlfriends and their families, their Greek or Italian families, so that was pretty amazing and full of feasting. I would always bring a dessert. I would always make a typical Bosnian dessert. I'd usually do a jam shortbread, like a scone shortbread, which is basically like a scone dough, plum jam-filled and then rolled in icing sugar."
Spending time outdoors
Christmas Day on Brighton Beach near Melbourne (Getty Images) Source: Getty Images
“Last year, we went to the park, which was amazing because no one needed to host Christmas at their place. I love that because it's summer, it's very casual, everyone is in a good mood," says Mexico-born Pamela López Arriaga.
Boxing Day
After presents are exchanged and lunch is eaten on the 25th, many people spend the following day barbecuing and watching the Boxing Day Test match between the Australian national cricket team and an opposing foreign team.
Brisbane-born Luke Barbagallo says he never misses the Boxing Day Test match: “Cricket really loomed large growing up. And growing up through the 90s and early 2000, Australia had a really dominant cricket team so Christmas always felt like a really celebratory time of the year and then you'd have the Boxing Day Cricket Test. There was always this sense that Australia was going to win so there was a lot of positivity around that. The Boxing Day Test is the one game of cricket I really watch every year."
خانوادهای در حال باز کردن کراکرهای کریسمس Source: Getty Images
Make your own Christmas traditions
You'll find a lot more different traditions depending associated with Christmas; from advent calendar and midnight mass to carols and Christmas trees.
There are many ways to celebrate Christmas, religiously and not, so you can pick the existing traditions that suit you and mix them with your own.
