Australian Holiday Traditions
If there is one thing that Australians like it is celebrating
. Whether it is horse races or yacht races, Australians have a celebration for everything. It is a national pastime.Many of the holiday traditions revolve around Christmas. It is a time of the year that family and friends get together and because it is summer holidays, there are no excuses for this not happening. In fact but for the shops, most of the country shuts down during this time.
On Christmas Eve, people go together for Carols by Candlelight. In Melbourne, the big one is in the Myer Music Bowl and in Sydney it is the Domain. But all across the country, there are thousands of other smaller ones. People get there hours in advance to get a good spot. They take dinner with them as well as games like bingo and Pictionary with which to pass the time.
The next day is Christmas and it's all about opening the presents and Christmas lunch which usually extends into dinner. In the northern hemisphere, it may be freezing and snowing but in Australia it's hot. Many people eat lunch outside and then follow it up with a swim. Instead of heavy foods many prefer seafood and salads.
One of the big traditions is that everyone assembles for a game of backyard cricket. It can also happen in the front-yard depending on what your place is like. Everyone has their own rules for backyard cricket and many of the variations revolve around how you can get out and how can you score runs. What is universal is that if you are a female you can bat and bowl any way you like. If you don't like cricket then you can be inside and play games such as bingo or risk.
Boxing Day is also well known for two big sporting traditions. There is the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Here boats leave Sydney Harbour to make their way down to Tasmania. Meanwhile in Melbourne, the Boxing Day Test match is happening. Thousands flock to the MCG to see Australia take on the opposition. It is particularly exciting when the English are around.
A week later it is New Year's Eve. Again people assemble to watch the fireworks. The big fireworks happen in Sydney Harbour and these are the ones the rest of the world sees when it comes to seeing how Australia celebrated New Year's Eve. Hundreds of thousands of people gather by the foreshore to watch these.
Sydney also has the New Year's Test match. This starts on the second of January and thousands of people from all over New South Wales converge to Sydney for the Test match. The Sydney Cricket Ground is one of the world's most iconic and it is always a pleasure to watch cricket here. Previous memorable moments include Steve Waugh's century which he scored from the last ball of the day and Shane Warne taking eight wickets in an innings against South Africa.
Summary: Australia has many holiday traditions. Not surprisingly many of them revolve around sport, but they also heavily feature the family.
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