One of the most shocking discoveries I have made since coming to Sydney is realizing how unpopular Halloween is outside of the United States. Because Halloween is not as popular, the city does not have nearly as many decorations, costumes or haunted houses running throughout October, thus Australians very much start putting out Christmas decorations in stores starting in October. This early start was extremely jarring for me. In the United States, I'm used to a slower progression into the Christmas season through Halloween and Thanksgiving. The differences in the Christmas season go much deeper for Australians.
Australians celebrate Christmas with the same trees, gifts and music as families in the United States, but they have very distinctive differences when it comes to what is done, eaten and how homes are decorated. Many Australians have a Christmas lunch that has tons of seafood and group barbeques in place of honey glazed hams, roasts and turkeys. Similarly, many Aussies trade in Americans’ traditional heavy cakes, pies and cookies for pavlova or “pav”. These are sweet meringue-based desserts that are often topped with fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries and mangos.
