Christmas in Australia

How Australians celebrate Christmas

Australian Christmas customs came mostly from Britain and Ireland: the decorated tree, Christmas cards, crackers, carols, Father Christmas and the plum pudding. What changed them is the climate. December is the start of summer, and for many workers Christmas marks the beginning of the annual holiday, so the season has a relaxed, outdoor feel.

December brings work Christmas parties ("break-ups"), Christmas light trails in the suburbs, community carol concerts, and the last-minute rush to buy seafood. On Christmas Eve, many families attend carols or a candlelit church service, and Santa is said to arrive overnight; in Australia he is often shown in board shorts, and in popular songs his sleigh is pulled by kangaroos rather than reindeer.

Christmas Day begins with presents, then the main event: a long lunch with family and friends. Some families keep a hot roast with all the trimmings despite the heat; many more serve a cold spread of prawns, oysters, ham and salads, or fire up the barbecue. Afternoons are for backyard cricket, a swim, or a nap in the shade. Beaches such as Bondi in Sydney and Cottesloe in Perth are packed on Christmas Day, including with international visitors spending their first "orphans' Christmas" on the sand.

Boxing Day, 26 December, is a public holiday known for big sales, the Boxing Day Test cricket match and the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Many Australians also mark Christmas in July, a mid-winter celebration with roast dinners and open fires, popular in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

Australia's biggest Christmas events

Carols by Candlelight, Melbourne. First held in 1938 and staged at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Christmas Eve, it is broadcast nationally and raises money for Vision Australia. Thousands sing along with candles in the open air.

Carols in the Domain, Sydney. Held in the Domain on the Saturday before Christmas since 1983, it is the other great national carols broadcast.

Adelaide Christmas Pageant. First staged by the John Martin's department store on 18 November 1933, during the Great Depression, it is now one of the largest Christmas parades in the world and brings Father Christmas to Adelaide each November.

The Boxing Day Test. A Test cricket match beginning on 26 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been a fixture of the Australian summer since 1980 and draws some of the biggest crowds in world cricket.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Since 1945 a fleet of yachts has left Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day for the 628-nautical-mile race to Hobart, one of the toughest ocean races in the world.

Christmas in every Australian state and territory

New South Wales

Sydney's Christmas season peaks with Carols in the Domain, city lights and Christmas Day crowds at Bondi. In the final days before Christmas, the Sydney Fish Market's 36-Hour Seafood Marathon, open non-stop from early on 23 December to Christmas Eve, has become a Sydney ritual, with over 100,000 shoppers and about 120 tonnes of prawns sold. On Boxing Day the harbour fills with spectator boats for the start of the Sydney to Hobart. In the Blue Mountains, the cooler winter months bring Yulefest, a "Christmas in July" season of roast dinners and log fires.

Victoria

Melbourne is home to Carols by Candlelight on Christmas Eve, the animated Christmas windows at the Myer department store in Bourke Street, a Melbourne tradition since the 1950s, and the Boxing Day Test at the MCG. Melbourne's weather is famously changeable: Christmas Day can be cool and wet or scorching hot.

South Australia

The Adelaide Christmas Pageant, held since 1933, opens the season each November with floats, bands and the arrival of Father Christmas. In South Australia the 26 December holiday is officially called Proclamation Day, marking the proclamation of the colony on 28 December 1836, and it doubles as Boxing Day.

Queensland

Queensland Christmases are hot and humid, and December is the start of the storm season. Mangoes, lychees and seafood such as Moreton Bay bugs and prawns star on the table, and many families spend Christmas at the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast or holiday parks along the coast.

Western Australia

Western Australia has its own Christmas tree: Nuytsia floribunda, the WA Christmas tree, which bursts into bright orange flower around December. Perth's Christmas Day is usually hot and dry, and many locals spend it at the beach, with Cottesloe a favourite.

Tasmania

Tasmania has the mildest Christmas weather in the country, so a hot roast lunch is more common. Hobart's waterfront comes alive after Christmas as the yachts of the Sydney to Hobart race arrive, usually from 27 or 28 December, coinciding with Hobart's summer food and music festivities.

Northern Territory

In the Top End, Christmas falls in the wet season, with heat, humidity and monsoon storms. Darwin's Christmas carries a strong memory: Cyclone Tracy struck the city on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 1974, destroying most of its homes, and anniversaries are still marked each year.

Australian Capital Territory

Canberra is quieter at Christmas than the state capitals, as many residents travel to the coast or to family interstate. Warm days and cooler evenings make outdoor carols and Christmas markets pleasant, and the city empties into the New South Wales south coast for the summer break.

Traditional Australian Christmas food

The Australian Christmas table mixes British tradition with summer produce and the country's love of seafood.

Australian Christmas plants

Several native plants flower at Christmas and have taken on its name. The NSW Christmas bush (Ceratopetalum gummiferum) turns red in December and is used in vases and wreaths; Christmas bells (Blandfordia) have red and yellow bell-shaped flowers; and the WA Christmas tree (Nuytsia floribunda) blooms bright orange across south-western Australia. Many households also decorate with eucalyptus and native foliage alongside the imported pine.

Australian Christmas season dates 2026

Christmas in Australia: frequently asked questions

Christmas in nearby countries