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How do Canberrans celebrate Christmas? From Christmas Markets, Carols, St Nikolaus to Turkey on Christmas Day, discover traditions celebrated in Canberra?

Christmas in Canberra is often very hot. Whereas the northern hemisphere is in the middle of winter, we are baking in summer hea well into the mid 30 degrees. A traditional meal includes a turkey dinner, with ham, and pork. Some of us will have Christmas lunch at a beach on the South Coast. Others will enjoy their day by having a picnic, playing Cricket out the backyard, and other outdoor activities.

In Germany Christmas starts on December 6th with Nikolaustag, children leave out a shoe or boot outside the door Dec. 5 and the next morning they find presents (if you were a good kid) or sticks (if you were bad). Most cities host Christmas Markets with traditional gifts and food not available in the stores. 

Christmas in Ireland lasts from Christmas Eve to the feast of the Epiphany on January 6, which is referred to as Little Christmas. Ireland’s Christmas is more religious than a time of fun. Lighted red candles decorated with sprigs of Holly are placed in windows on Christmas Eve, as a guide that Joseph and Mary might be looking for shelter. After the Christmas evening meal, bread and milk are left out and the door unlatched as a symbol of hospitality. For children, the Wren Boys Procession is their big event. Boys go from door to door with a fake wren on a stick, singing, with violins, accordions, harmonicas and horns to accompany them. The reason for the ceremony is to ask for money ‘for the starving wren’, that is, for their own pockets.

Indian Christians decorate banana or mango trees, light small oil-burning lamps as Christmas decorations and fill their churches with red flowers. In India, the poinsettia is in flower and so the churches are decorated with this brilliant bloom for the Christmas Midnight Mass.

Visit Canberra Online’s Christmas 2007 website for more great ideas this Christmas in Canberra. For more Christmas Traditions click here. 

Merry Christmas from everyone at Canberra Scene and Canberra Online!!

Afrikaans: Geseënde Kersfees  African/ Eritrean/ Tigrinja: Rehus-Beal-Ledeats  Arabic: Milad Majid  Argentine: Feliz Navidad  Bahasa Malaysia: Selamat Hari Natal  Catalan: Bon Nadal i un Bon Any Nou!  Chinese: (Cantonese) Gun Tso Sun Tan’Gung Haw Sun  Croatian: Sretan Bozic  English: Merry Christmas  Ethiopian: (Amharic) Melkin Yelidet Beaal  Finnish: Hyvaa joulua  French: Joyeux Noel  German: Froehliche Weihnachten  Greek: Kala Christouyenna!  Hebrew: Mo’adim Lesimkha. Chena tova  Hindi: Shub Naya Baras  Irish: Nollaig Shona Dhuit, or Nodlaig mhaith chugnat  Italian: Buone Feste Natalizie  Japanese: Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto  Latin: Natale hilare et Annum Faustum!  Maori: Meri Kirihimete  Polish: Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia or Boze Narodzenie  Portuguese: Feliz Natal  Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom  Samoan: La Maunia Le Kilisimasi Ma Le Tausaga Fou  Serbian: Hristos se rodi  Scots Gaelic: Nollaig chridheil huibh  Spanish: Feliz Navidad  Tagalog: Maligayamg Pasko. Masaganang Bagong Taon  Thai: Sawadee Pee Mai or souksan wan Christmas  Turkish: Noeliniz Ve Yeni Yiliniz Kutlu Olsun  Urdu: Naya Saal Mubarak Ho  Vietnamese: Chung Mung Giang Sinh  Welsh: Nadolig Llawen 

Do you need to organise this year’s Christmas bash? We’ll help you decide with a healthy appetite of Holiday Cheer and good food to match.If al fresco dining is your scene try the Verve for its fresh and modern vibe. Always bustling with vitality your event will take central stage in Manuka on this prominent corner. The eclectic menu offers modern Australian cuisine with a fresh creative twist.  Perhaps you are looking for entertainment as well as meals at a great price? Kingston can serve up the Harem Turkish Restaurant which has been bringing Canberra great authentic Turkish cuisine for over 15 years. All dishes are made in a home made style with the freshest ingredients. You can sit back and enjoy performances from Belly Dancers or be entertained in the Tent Room for the authentic Ottoman style banquet.If you like it a little hotter then try Braddon’s Bollywood Dimensions Indian Restaurant. Enjoy the charming and distinctive atmosphere and warm hospitality and choose from the mouth watering authentic Indian menu including North Indian kormas, kebabs and biryanis with the signature dish - steak with spuds and broccoli.In the North they too have plenty to offer including the charming Green Herring Restaurant at Gold Creek Village. A unique restaurant housed in a 120 year old slab hut, serving modern Australian cuisine with pride and imagination.For something a little different the Phnom Penh Restaurant in Belconnen offers authentic Cambodian dishes unique in the ACT such as Amok, BBQ beef with Prahoc sauce, BBQ Kampot calamari and unique banana buds and chicken soup. The Restaurant has developed an interesting and extensive wine list that offers a wide range of wines matching perfectly Phnom Penh restaurant’s dishes.Tuggeranong has plenty to offer in the Vienna Restaurant and if it is a hearty big meal you are after it comes thoroughly recommended. What better way to celebrate the holidays than with a European dining experience with Austrian dishes like smoked pork loin served with sauerkraut, dumplings, gravy, goulash soup, bauernschmaus and a crisp apple strudel to finish.If somewhere more central is to your liking, Woden’s Peppered Prawn is sure to suit. Christmas is always the biggest time of the year for indulging in seafood and the Peppered Prawn’s Fresh & Innovative Cuisine with a Seafood emphasis will certainly wet your appetite. Offering a’la carte with non seafood, gluten free and vegeterian dishes including delicious creations fusing meat with seafood, this is a function venue not to be missed. Meals can be enjoyed in the outdoor area to take advantage of the summer weather or you can escape inside and sit beside the open kitchen and experience the Chefs prepare the meals in front of your eyes.For more ideas check out Canberra Online’s Restaurant listings or if your looking for Catering options see Canberra Online’s Business Directory. Good luck and Merry Christmas!!

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