People are mindblown by Australian food and drink traditions over Christmas

When we think of Christmas, it’s usually all snow, mulled wine, and carols around a crackling fire. 

But we often forget that our friends Down Under are living a very different reality…

Because the seasons are, of course, reversed in the southern hemisphere, rather than a white Christmas on December 25th, Australians are basking in their summer time. Naturally, this means it’s more beaches and barbecues on the big day than frosty mornings and winter walks.

It may seem obvious, but Aussies are telling the world about their summery Christmas food and drink traditions on the other side of the world via a thread on Reddit, and everyone seems truly fascinated.

So, what do Australians eat at Christmas? They’re giving us the DL…

Aussies have been sharing their Christmas traditions online. (Credit: Alamy)

Scanning the comments, it seems that seafood is a running theme in an Aussie Christmas, with one person writing that the queue for the fishmonger would sometimes be a mile long by 6am.

Asked what their go-to was, one user wrote, “Prawns. So many damn prawns and the smelly festering post-Xmas bin of prawn heads.” Yum. 

Meanwhile, another said oysters were their Christmas pick of choice. We can get behind that – but what about roasties?

Prawns in the sun? We’re listening (Credit: Alamy)

Just like in the UK, if you’re vegan or vegetarian, it sounds like the you may have to stray a little from the typically carnivorous traditions. 

“Well we might cater to vegoes as well but yes there is a lot of meat available prolly (sic),” someone wrote. 

Moving onto desser, another Aussie Christmas wasn’t complete without a pavlova and mangos. We’d swap a Christmas pud for those any day, tbh.

Despite the many differences Down Under, there was one similarity that can’t be disputed.

Australian Christmas food also includes pavlova (Credit: Alamy)

“Australian Christmas is basically American 4th July. We just get pissed at 10am and eat a fuck load of meat, and around dark, something is on fire,” said somebody. 

Another account reiterated their comments. “You know what, hearing, ‘We get pissed at 10am’ is completely accurate, but I’ve never thought of it that way, I just thought of it as Christmas,” they said. “So this is absolutely a part of the culture lol.” 

As Australia has a large expat community, plenty of families do still follow a more recognisable route. 

“Some of us with an English family background still do traditional stuff even if it is hot with no snow in sight,” one wrote.

Meanwhile another added: “[It’s] basically like an English Christmas – with the same carols – except there’s also probably a BBQ…along with an afternoon nap.” 

While some opt for a barbecue, others go a more traditional route. (Credit: Alamy)

Sounds idyllic, right? Still, what’s good to know is that no matter where you are in the world, some things just never change. 

“I think the annual drunken fight with the relatives happens everywhere, but here we are also boiling hot, so that adds to the levels of aggression,” someone else wrote. candidly. 

Ah, that’s Christmas alright…