Well, the Christmas season is upon us, and here in the USA, and I'm sure in Canada and Europe, people are busily going around putting up Christmas trees, lights and decorations, and trudging through snow trying to get their holiday gifts for friends, family, and loved ones. We are also watching classic Christmas specials on TV like A Charlie Brown Christmas, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, It's A Wonderful Life, and such. In addition, we're also listening to and singing Christmas carols about dashing through snow, taking sleigh rides, and walking through winter wonderlands.

But in those Christian countries around the Equator and in the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas falls in the middle of summer. While us Northern Hemisphere celebrants are spending Christmas roasting chestnuts on an open fire indoors, the Southern Hemisphere bretheren are more likely to be out on the beach or having a huge barbecue. In Brazil, Santa is probably more likely to be doing the samba with some hot babes on Copacabana beach or the shores of Florianopolis, while in South Africa Santa Claus may have his trusted lions bringing Christmas gifts to good girls and boys.

I'm just speculating here; I don't know how exactly they celebrate the Christmas holday in the warm weather countries down south. Maybe ZombieKitten can help enlighten me about how they celebrate Christmas down under. Instead of a red-nosed reindeer, do you have a festive kangaroo or koala who brings toys to good kids? Are your Christmas carols home specific? Please let me know.

yep, it's always pretty hot on x-mas day in brazil! which doesn't make it feel like christmas to me. i do love the lights they display though.

nope, we battle on with the snowflakes and poinsettias and reindeer and santa suits just like the rest of the world

The rest of the world would probably love to imagine kangaroos and koalas and stuff, but most aussies would think that was lame

We don't have the real hot weather until late Jan/Feb

Today for example, is only 61°F

we usually have cold meats (turkey/ham/chicken) for xmas lunch, and hot vegies....

just in case its a scorcher, who wants to be stuck in a hot kitchen on xmas day.

thinking of a seafood lunch...next yr

here in Hobart (tasmania), the weather could be freezing cold, or stinking hot on xmas day.

side note, oprah fans in port arthur this week were surprised it was coolish this week.....thought the further south they went, the hotter it would be

We change the words to 12 days of christmas in New Zealand to native flora and fauna and what not,.

On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Twelve piupius swinging
Eleven haka lessons
Ten juicy fish heads
Nine sacks of pipis
Eight plants of puha
Seven eels a swimming
Six pois a twirling
Five - big - fat - pigs !
Four huhu grubs
Three flax kits
Two kumera
And a pukeko in a ponga tree

Lots of expat brits, get big turkeys and sweat in the kitchen to re create a winter christmas. The rest of us all sit in the back yard and play swing ball or cricket and drink loads of beer while the blokes stand around the bbq and the wowen tend to the younglings and make salad andshit.

http://www.tasgreetings.c...days2.html

could cut and paste grrrr!

prb said:

http://www.tasgreetings.c...days2.html

could cut and paste grrrr!

Oh shit balls, yours is better than ours.

You lot are always better at shit than us.. Even Russel Crowe became a bigger wanker when he moved to aussie.

At the school concert my kid's class sang this:

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:
OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

CHORUS

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS

ZombieKitten said:

At the school concert my kid's class sang this:

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:
OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

CHORUS

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS

that's terrific! um, who exactly is 'swaggy'? family dog maybe?

XxAxX said:

ZombieKitten said:

At the school concert my kid's class sang this:

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:
OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

CHORUS

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS

that's terrific! um, who exactly is 'swaggy'? family dog maybe?

A swagman (also called tussocker) is an old Australian and New Zealand term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag (waterproof bedroll). Also characteristic of swagman attire was a hat strung with corks to ward off flies.

Particularly during the Depression of the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s, unemployed men travelled the rural areas of Australia on foot, their few meagre possessions rolled up and carried in their swag. Typically, they would seek work in farms and towns they travelled through, and in many cases the farmers, if no permanent work was available, would provide food and shelter in return for some menial task.

do you know the song Waltzing Matilda?

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

....................

Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

.....................

Up rode the squatter mounted on his thorough-bred
Down came the troopers One Two Three
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

......................

Up jumped the swagman sprang in to the billabong
You'll never catch me alive said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

ZombieKitten said:

At the school concert my kid's class sang this:

Dashing through the bush
In a rusty Holden Ute
Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It's summer time and I am in
My singlet, shorts & thongs

CHORUS:
OH, JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
JINGLE ALL THE WAY
CHRISTMAS IN AUSTRALIA
ON A SCORCHING SUMMER'S DAY
JINGLE BELLS, JINGLE BELLS
CHRISTMAS TIME IS BEAUT
OH WHAT FUN IT IS TO RIDE
IN A RUSTY HOLDEN UTE

Engine's getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggy climbs aboard
He is welcome too
All the family is there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas day, the Aussie way
By the barbecue!

CHORUS

Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up

CHORUS

aussie jingle bells!!!!

i learnt to play jingle bells on the last nite

it is common to c Santa sun baking in his red g string on the beach

except it seems to put Rudolf's nose out of joint when the elves forget to pack his sunnies

[Edited 12/12/10 4:15am]

well, there's this bloke:

ZombieKitten said:

XxAxX said:

that's terrific! um, who exactly is 'swaggy'? family dog maybe?

A swagman (also called tussocker) is an old Australian and New Zealand term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag (waterproof bedroll). Also characteristic of swagman attire was a hat strung with corks to ward off flies.

Particularly during the Depression of the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s, unemployed men travelled the rural areas of Australia on foot, their few meagre possessions rolled up and carried in their swag. Typically, they would seek work in farms and towns they travelled through, and in many cases the farmers, if no permanent work was available, would provide food and shelter in return for some menial task.

do you know the song Waltzing Matilda?

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

....................

Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

.....................

Up rode the squatter mounted on his thorough-bred
Down came the troopers One Two Three
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

......................

Up jumped the swagman sprang in to the billabong
You'll never catch me alive said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

swagman! of course

XxAxX said:

ZombieKitten said:

A swagman (also called tussocker) is an old Australian and New Zealand term describing an underclass of transient temporary workers, who travelled by foot from farm to farm carrying the traditional swag (waterproof bedroll). Also characteristic of swagman attire was a hat strung with corks to ward off flies.

Particularly during the Depression of the 1890s and the Great Depression of the 1930s, unemployed men travelled the rural areas of Australia on foot, their few meagre possessions rolled up and carried in their swag. Typically, they would seek work in farms and towns they travelled through, and in many cases the farmers, if no permanent work was available, would provide food and shelter in return for some menial task.

do you know the song Waltzing Matilda?

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Coolibah tree,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he watched and waited till his billy boil
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

....................

Down came a jumbuck to drink at that billabong
Up jumped the swagman and grabbed him with glee,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda,
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me,
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck in his tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

.....................

Up rode the squatter mounted on his thorough-bred
Down came the troopers One Two Three
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
Whose that jolly jumbuck you've got in your tucker-bag
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

......................

Up jumped the swagman sprang in to the billabong
You'll never catch me alive said he,
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

Waltzing Matilda Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong
You'll come a Waltzing Matilda with me.

swagman! of course I want one of my own!!

sometimes...you just say the most incredible things.

BlackAdder7 said:

XxAxX said:

swagman! of course I want one of my own!!

i already got you a jumbuck instead

what a strange coincidence! i got you a tucker bag. merry christmas/hanukkah/kwanzaa/festivus/solstice/holiday season

whistle said:

well, there's this bloke:

the cricketer formerly known as captain....

well, its on the cards

Tassie boy!!!!

The pohutukawa tree is a big one here all right.

Lusts poem sums Xmas up here quite well.

Rather than stodgy food, Christmas is more a drinking time here, and it dosen't get dark until 9pm in the North and 10 in the south. We have an extended summer holiday period up to mid January (School holidays go to the last week of January, start of February)

Good times really

forgot to mention

Christmas Bush!!!!

there is plenty of beautiful Christmas bush here!!!!

i stuck some in a vase... lasts 4 ever 2

physco185 said:

forgot to mention

Christmas Bush!!!!

there is plenty of beautiful Christmas bush here!!!!

well, that photo was a let-down.

whistle said:

physco185 said:

forgot to mention

Christmas Bush!!!!

there is plenty of beautiful Christmas bush here!!!!

well, that photo was a let-down.

Happy now!!!!

physco185 said:

whistle said:

well, that photo was a let-down.

Happy now!!!!

blimey! does your gyno know about this?

whistle said:

physco185 said:

Happy now!!!!

blimey! does your gyno know about this?

lets just say he planted the seeds