MAIN Christmas Christmas in Australia

The holidays Down Under usually arrive at the height of summer swelter, and so instead of chestnuts over an open fire seasonal parties are customarily held around the backyard barbecue or a well-stocked cooler down at the beach.

Of course, a white Christmas is out of the question. But other joyous traditions usually center around the Australian version of the Christmas tree - the native Christmas Bush.

And on Christmas Day many families will happily gather for a ham or turkey dinner complete with Christmas pudding. As elsewhere, Australians are meanwhile shopping the popular holiday sales for everyone on their Christmas list.

Below, check out other reasons why Australia is so cool for the holidays with informaton on what's happening this year in Sydney and Canberra, with more on the iconic Christmas by Candlelight spectacular in Melbourne, and by far the biggest annual holiday street extravaganza in Australia, the Christmas pageant in Adelaide ...

Christmas in Australia - Featuring recipes, song lyrics, holiday lights photo gallery, listings of Sydney area Christmas services and events.

Martin Place Christmas Concert and Tree Lighting - Sydney's top Christmas event with details on the tree lighting, entertainment, and a downloadable map detailing the best places to celebrate the spirit of Christmas.

Melbourne - Christmas in the city - The tree lighting and other holiday happenings in Melbourne's City Square, with a related link to more information.

Christmas by Candlelight - The annual Christmas Eve event in Melbourne's Sidney Myer Music Bowl with the full schedule of entertainment, TV, radio broadcast and ticket information.

Credit Union Christmas Pageant - Giant floats, marching bands, dancing groups and a thousand participants join in as Adelaide hosts one of the world's biggest holiday extravaganzas, with this year's schedule, related photos, history.

Celebrating Canberra - Christmas in the City - Information on the annual lighting of the Canberra Christmas tree in Civic Square.

Christmas season celebrations in Australia - Information and color photos tell the story of an Australian Christmas with details on favorite holiday recipes, songs, holiday movies and children's stories, with links to more.

Christmas in Australia - Australian Christmas - One-stop browsing for links to Australian holiday recipes, popular song lyrics, how to track Santa over Australia, and related sites.

also see in Travel -> Australia Tourist Attractions