Celebrating an Aussie Christmas

Celebrating an Aussie Christmas In the land “Down Under,” the beginning of the holiday season entails a long, irritating ride to the beach. On the radio, even news of raging wildfires across the country are a welcome break from the horrendous lyrics of “Aussie Jingle Bells,” which describe Santa (referred to as “Swaggie”) dodging kangaroos as he drives to a barbecue with a dog named “Kelpie” riding shotgun. In the back seat, my brother rehearses his two lines in the church’s nativity play, where he plays the crucial role of “wombat number 3,” while my sisters complain loudly about the heat. When we finally arrive at the beach, my mom distributes bucket hats and desperately sprays us with an excessive amount of SPF 70 sunscreen, all in vain — within the hour, the scorching sun will have burned us to a crisp. December 25 in Australia is by no means a “white christmas.” Along the endless stretches of beach, children build sand men and dress them with seaweed scarves and sunglasses. Teens will walk through the streets chucking rugby balls, wearing nothing but swimsuits. Along Pacific Highway, thousands of high school seniors uphold the annual tradition of dressing up as Santa Claus and weaving through traffic on scooters. When my family first arrived in Sydney over 11 years ago, we anticipated a culture shock. I was especially upset by the absence of bagels and abhorrent taste of vegemite, and for weeks, my mom refused to drive us to school for fear of accidentally drifting to the wrong side of the road. Many distinctions in holiday festivities were as a result of the seasons in Australia being opposite to those of the northern hemisphere. November no longer consisted of pumpkin picking, warm drinks, and autumn leaves, but rather spring flowers and stress regarding end-of-year exams. Consequently, by the time December rolled around, tunes such as “Baby It’s Cold Outside” didn’t exactly compliment the 100-degree weather. My family’s first Christmas in Australia was especially frustrating. Christmas turkeys were hard to come by and could cost as much as $80. Cutting down Christmas trees was frowned upon, so my dad spent hours searching for a fake one that wasn’t bright pink or resembled a rainbow glitter explosion. Our tradition of making gingerbread houses quite literally collapsed from the humidity, and the concept of sledding, making hot chocolate, or sitting by the fireplace was irrelevant. However, rather than despairing over our inability to celebrate Christmas as we did in New Jersey, my family decided to celebrate the holidays in the same way we would commemorate the fourth of July, with barbecues, swimming, and other outdoor activities, which allowed us retain a bit of our American culture in our new home. Despite the challenges that celebrating overseas imposed, I found that adapting to Christmas in Australia actually altered my perception of what the holidays represented. Commercialism and materialism isn’t as prominent in Australia as it is in the United States with Black Friday Celebrating an Aussie Christmas and holiday sales. Also, family members traveling across the world from America just to see us on Christmas Day greatly emphasized the importance of spending time with loved ones during the holidays. With the holiday season came the opportunity for me to spend quality time with aunts, uncles, grandparents, and family friends that I had only seen through Skype calls. Further, embracing the traditions of other cultures also allowed me to appreciate those of my own while being more accepting of others. Celebrations in Australia were much less elaborate, so I was proud to be “that American family” that lit up every square inch of their house on December 1, yet I also enjoyed many Australian traditions such as baking meat pies and watching the Boxing Day test cricket match with friends every December 26. It doesn’t matter whether one celebrates the holidays in the blazing heat of the Outback or while shoveling snow from a driveway. The holidays are not defined by an ability to maintain unique traditions, but rather the valuable time spent with loved ones..

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