How do Australians celebrate Australia Day?

Answer 1

Australia's national day is Australia Day, which is celebrated on 26 January every year. Traditionally, a barbecue is set up, while a trip to the beach is also popular. A game of cricket on the beach or in the local park is popular, as are other sports. As it is often a long weekend, many families go camping. Others spend the day in front of their television watching whatever sport is being televised on that day.

Answer 2

Australians usually celebrate Australia Day with a barbeque. Large-scale picnics are sometimes organised in cities and towns, but generally Australians celebrate Australia Day with gatherings of friends and family around the barbeque, somewhere near a pool or the beach. Australia Day falls in the summer, and often just before school returns for the year, so it is a casual public holiday and a last opportunity for many to throw a party.

It is also becoming popular to hold citizenship ceremonies on the day, which is an apt way of celebrating a new way of life for those involved.

Answer 3

Australians celebrate Christmas in a variety of ways, given that the country has become very multicultural. Some of the traditional customs from England remain, and Christmas trees, Christmas carols, and fancy Christmas dinners are all very popular. "Carols by Candlelight" services are held at churches and in communities all around the country in the lead-up to Christmas.

Due to the fact that Christmas falls during summer and so many parts of Australia can be very hot during Christmas, Australians often seek alternatives to hot Christmas dinners. Barbequed meats are very popular, along with cold salads and cold desserts. Outdoor entertaining is very popular, and many families celebrate Christmas on beaches, in parks, or outdoors at home.

Many attend Christmas Eve or Morning church services. Increasingly, towns and suburbs are lit with coloured lights, and people vie with each other to have the biggest or most spectacular display. Touring the Christmas lights displays is becoming an increasingly popular evening activity just before Christmas.

Gift-giving is high on the list. It is something of an anachronism to see Father Christmas aka Santa Claus in his thick, red suit in shopping centres when it can be sweltering hot outside. Some families open their gifts on Christmas Eve; most open them in the morning.

Outdoors displays of nativity scenes, besides having the traditional figures, often feature Australian native animals, particularly kangaroos and koalas. Similarly, Christmas plays often follow a uniquely Australian storyline involving the "babe in the bush".