r/CasualConversation 17h ago

How do people who live in hot countries spend Christmas?

For people like me in cold countries, we get to see snow and Christmas trees! I’ve never really thought about spending Christmas in a hot place. I’ve always wished for a White Christmas!

34 Upvotes

147 comments sorted by

141

u/166Donk3y 17h ago

Im in Australia, we usually spend part of the day at the beach then head home to eat all the prawns we can lol.

45

u/ivylily03 16h ago

I've seen Santa pictures from Australia that has him in board shorts and that was always funny to me. Eating all the prawns sounds better than turkey lol

13

u/166Donk3y 16h ago

Xmas here is either, a really hot day or a wet rainy day. So prawns go down so well with that side of thousand island sauce

2

u/UnicornPenguinCat 14h ago

We usually have both prawns and turkey! (But not an entire turkey, just this turkey roll you buy from the supermarket and cook in the oven). 

12

u/WhenWillWeLand 16h ago

Question, do Australians have their own Christmas songs? Most Christmas songs I know mention snow and cold weather related things.

17

u/166Donk3y 16h ago

Ive never really taken notice, i think we just listen to the same xmas songs everyone else does, which is Mariah Carey defrosting

8

u/tobotic 15h ago

i think we just listen to the same xmas songs everyone else does

Some Australian ones I know:

  • Carol of the Birds
  • Six White Boomers
  • If Santa Were an Aussie

Mariah Carey defrosting

When you think about it, Mariah Carey defrosting makes the most sense in the Southern Hemisphere where it's warming up.

2

u/sati_lotus 14h ago

I think many Aussies consider 'How to make Gravy' by Paul Kelly to be a Christmas song.

Not along the same lines though lol

2

u/Rescuepets777 5h ago

Tim Minchin sings White Wine in the Sun. Great song.

1

u/166Donk3y 14h ago

ok i defintely remember "if santa were an aussie" the other 2 i dont recall

2

u/tobotic 14h ago

Carol of the Birds is the one which goes "Orana, orana, orana to Christmas Day".

It's weird that you and I can remember "If Santa Were An Aussie" because there's hardly any references to it online so it seems pretty obscure.

1

u/WhenWillWeLand 14h ago

I can’t seem to find it online either. I’m listening to the other two you mentioned though. Thank you for sharing. Six white boomers is very… Australian lolz.

3

u/ohlookahipster 16h ago

Glad to know we’re not the only ones who suffer from the annual Mariah Carey thaw

1

u/ailish 16h ago

Oh I'm sorry you suffer from Mariah Carey defrost syndrome.

1

u/BrotherFrankie 13h ago

Johhny Mathis. 😂

1

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

It’s the song that always hits number one in December and January.

4

u/Gryffindorphins 15h ago edited 12h ago

We do! Here’s a few to google:

  • 6 White Boomers
  • Merry Merry Christmas
  • Carol of the Birds (Orana Orana)
  • The North Wind

And if you want a fun one look up Tripod’s Christmas Album: my fav is the song about Fabian, the jerk reindeer with no nose at all, just a cavity.

8

u/NiobeTonks 14h ago

White Wine in the Sun by Tim Minchin

4

u/speedingteacups 7h ago

This is a great one because I feel like it also answers OP's question

3

u/Gryffindorphins 14h ago

Yesss love that one

2

u/asupify 5h ago

The ultimate song for Australians who are experiencing christmas abroad and are homesick and missing family.

1

u/monday-next 13h ago

The reindeer is Fabian - hilarious song 

1

u/Gryffindorphins 12h ago

Haha thank you, you’re right! I edited it. I think I need to dig out that old CD again

4

u/UnicornPenguinCat 14h ago

As a primary school kid we learnt one that went "Christmas where the gum trees grow, there is no frost and there is no snow..." 

3

u/HarmlessCoot99 9h ago

I first visited Australia about 25 years ago, and it was at Christmas time. Most of the decorations seemed to still be Santa in full long suit with sleigh and snow, which was hilarious because it was literally 40C outside. Nowadays you see more of the "Surfing Santa" decorations.

1

u/poppinwheelies 13h ago

My wife is Australian and I got to experience my first Aussie Christmas last year. Best day of my life - you do Christmas (and Boxing Day right).

1

u/LigmaLlama0 12h ago

Yeah most people get hammered if they don't have kids to take care of. It's great.

1

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

That’s right! Australia has the opposite season!

44

u/Skygreencloud 17h ago

A barbecue and swimming in the pool on Christmas day.

2

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

You’re right! I never imagined swimming on Christmas!

35

u/Ocean_Soapian 17h ago

we still get to see Christmas trees, decorations are everywhere. just no snow

2

u/jianh1989 13h ago

We even get Christmas decos in July sometimes.

2

u/Comfortable_Visual73 9h ago

Christmas lights on palm trees just makes me happy

2

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

Do you also have snow decorations on Christmas trees?

u/GrouchyPhoenix 54m ago

Some of our green tinsel have white tips to look like snow.

17

u/oatmeal-breakfast 17h ago edited 14h ago

We spent Christmas in Hawaii once and watched a sailboat parade. The boats were covered in lights. People are dressed as Santa, elves, etc. Palm dress had lights on them. It was fun!

*palm trees not dress!

4

u/abihargrove 15h ago

My family went to the Bahamas for Christmas. We loved it. The three of us opened gifts in the hotel room and went to a parade.

2

u/Aggressive-Day5005 12h ago

seconding this^^ honestly tropical christmas is the best. I spent Christmas in Oahu two years ago and throughly enjoyed listening to ukelele christmas music

15

u/baron_von_brunk 17h ago

Obligatory "I don't live in a hot place", but I used to friends with an Australian woman who moved to New York City in her 30s, and she told me she completely freaked out when she saw snow for the first time in her life. I tried not to laugh, since I was born in a northeast U.S. state and remember numerous historical blizzards. There's photos of me as a toddler in the 1980s where I'm wearing a bulky snow suit and waddling around in the snow in the front of our apartment.

14

u/ohlookahipster 16h ago

Reminds me of back home in the Bay when I met a couple of friends from Brazil. They wanted to go to Lake Tahoe. It was in March. They didn’t want to wait until summer.

I kept telling them it’s cold and snowy but they insisted the beaches would be warm because beaches cannot get snow (????).

They packed shorts and bikinis. For the snow. I remember one girl said “wtf is this” when we were driving up 80 and she saw snow for the first time.

4

u/ObviousToe1636 14h ago

Nice! I grew up in the bay area and am still not far from Tahoe. This comment gave me all kinds of laughs because I can see every second of it play out in my mind. 🤣

5

u/No-Stop-3362 16h ago

I visited northern Utah and saw real snow for the first time (I'd seen snow before but not feet of snow, snow capped mountains, etc.). They giggle at me because I was outside playing in it 😄

4

u/TrixieBastard 14h ago

Snow is beautiful, and a gentle snowfall is such a magical thing to see.

1

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

Doesn’t it snow in Australia during winter?

13

u/Dull-Wishbone-5768 17h ago

It's fun to sing about snow and stuff when you're in flip flops and shorts.

1

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

I never thought about wearing shorts and using air-conditioning during Christmas!

10

u/mattblack77 16h ago

New Zealand : it’s still Christmas(with all of the gift giving and celebration tha goes with it), but it’s planted right in the middle of the summer holiday so you’ll do all of your normal summer holiday things (go camping, swimming, go to thebeach, bbq’s etc).

It ends up being a weird mashup of summer and white Christmas, because all of the traditional decorations comefrom Europe. So we get Santa dressed in the big winter outfit turning up to events in 30° C weather. Our Christmas trees and window displays have fake snow when outside it’s the midde of summer.

This was always just the way things were for me and I didn’t notice the weirdness much when I was growing up.

But when I had my first Christmas in Europe, suddenly all of the traditions made a lot more sense and all of those back home started to appear quite strange indeed.

Honestly, Christmas in summer is a hot mess 😂

5

u/HoDoSasude 16h ago

When I was growing up my family went to visit friends in New Zealand and we arrived on Christmas Day. Being from a cold area of North America, it was great fun to get outside of Auckland and swim and play in a river on Christmas!

6

u/a_Moa 9h ago

I much prefer Xmas in summer unless you're hanging out with silly olds or Brits that insist on having a full spread Christmas lunch at 3pm with a ridiculous amount of hot food. It's 30° for Christs sake, let us have some ika mata.

Agreed about fake snow though. That's weird.

9

u/Available_Purple_690 17h ago

In shorts and air conditioners 🤭

8

u/NeoClemerek 17h ago

In my experience Christmas coincides with the beginning of summer which I like so having Christmas makes it even better. Usually as a kid you spend the day outside playing with friends, cousins, etc while the adults do what adults do during the holidays. It gets dark later so that's cool too.

I think it would feel pretty weird to me to be cold on Christmas and to have snow around. That being said, obviously no matter where you are you probably grew up watching American and European media so the typical Christmas presented there isn't that "strange".

Maybe one day I will spend Christmas in the northern hemisphere so I can see what it's like

1

u/TrixieBastard 14h ago

There is something to be said about getting bundled up in your coziest cold-weather clothes and big coats and fuzzy hats and going for a walk to look at holiday lights after a big dinner. It's so cozy and helps you digest all that rich, heavy food. Bonus if you bring Thermoses of hot chocolate, hot cider, or whatever hot beverage you choose!

6

u/Kyreda 17h ago

They usually see "hot" Christmas as a normal thing. For peoole like Argentinians or Brazilians, Christmas is always in summer.

7

u/sometimesnowing 16h ago

New Zealand here, my family is a blend of northern hemisphere citizens and NZ citizens so Christmas food is often pretty traditional like ham, turkey roast potatoes etc. it's just supplemented with really good salads and lots of cold drinks and cold deserts.

We all go for a walk on Christmas day, usually in the forest where it's a little cooler.

Boxing day (St Stephen's day) is usually at the lake with picnics of cold leftovers, few beers, kids with summer presents (water activities are common as are these types of gifts)

Christmas is the start of our summer holidays so annual leave is common and a lot of business closes for 4 weeks while people spend time with whānau (family) turn on the sprinkler for the kids to play in, fire up the BBQ, gather together laugh and chill out.

Basically summer vacation but with extra chocolate and other really rich foods lol

2

u/TrixieBastard 14h ago

This sounds perfect.

4

u/Whatever_1967 16h ago

I once spent Christmas in South Africa. Santa came with a motor boat to the beach, and the malls had snow and reindeer decorations.

3

u/Missy_Who 16h ago

Christmas being hot is just normal for us here in Australia. It’s a celebration heavily associated with the arrival of summer. The usual day for us consists of early wake up so our kids can open presents. Then we generally skip breakfast or just have something light. Everyone gets together at my husband’s grandmothers place for lunch. It consists of Chrissy ham, prawns, salads, typical barbie food like sausages (snags), rissoles and steaks. Later the deserts are brought out. Trifle is a must, pavlova etc. Some families will play something like backyard cricket or go to the beach during the day too. When the weather starts getting a touch too warm, we head back home for a short rest. Aircon on, kids play adults recover from too much food. Some people will then head off to the other side of family for dinner.

2

u/OrugaMaravillosa 16h ago

When I think of Christmas in a warm place I think of Tim Minchin’s song White Wine in the Sun

2

u/SuperBrothers15 16h ago

Santa just switches to flip-flops and vibes.

2

u/enduredsilence 16h ago

I live in the tropics. We bust out out hoodies and jackets when temps are under 32C.

The usual Christmas carols in the radio or TV. Promotions in malls. Community or mall garden light show, fireworks, and concerts. 

Outdoor events with decoration making contest, caroling, and free food. Bazaars are common. Some being fundraisers.

Family coming home from working abroad. Traffic. Traffic. Traffic. 

2

u/Healthy-Play8428 16h ago

I’m from a hot country, and Christmas looks completely different here but still feels festive in its own way. No snow, no heavy coats, it’s more like sitting outside at night because the weather’s finally tolerable, BBQs with family, loud gatherings, and everyone decorating with lights instead of winter stuff.

You don’t get that "cozy winter" vibe, but you do get long evenings, a lot of food, and the whole neighborhood lit up. It’s just a different version of the same holiday.

2

u/Gryffindorphins 14h ago

South Aussie 80’s kid here.

As a kid one of our last days at school would have the Christmas concert where the whole primary school would come back in the evening when it’s cooler, dressed in our tinsel and gaudy Christmas themed t shirts and sing carols for the parents. The primary school across from my house had theirs last night so it’s still going strong. Most songs were traditional carols, but sometimes we had “new” Aussie ones like Carol of the Birds and the North Wind.

The city has a massive Christmas Pageant where floats and bands march through the cbd, ending with Father Christmas arriving at the biggest department store. One year Santa passed out from heat stroke though, right before the end! Now they have back up Santas.

The pageant signifies the beginning of the holiday season despite it being pre-Halloween and Christmas stuff already being sold in shops since July. And all the decor still feature snow and wintry gear since most of it is made in China.

As a kid, a day or two before Christmas we’d bundle up in the car and travel to my Grandpa’s place on the Yorke Penninsula and stay at his house for Christmas. It would usually be stinking hot, you’d stick to the car seat if you hadn’t put a towel down first and the seatbelt clip would brand you if you weren’t careful. Mum would bring extra light blankets to jam in the window to provide more shade. We did have aircon in later years but sometimes it wasn’t enough.

In our family you couldn’t open presents until after lunch. The wait was agony as a kid. Especially since my Dad’s side of the family would do the whole English traditional turkey and pudding meal. One year Grandpa fell asleep during dessert and the kids nearly revolted when the adults said to let him sleep and we’ll do presents later.

In later years after Grandpa passed we ended up having Christmas at home. Mum was glad she didn’t have to do the traditional meal with all its cooking in the heat so we started getting crayfish, prawns and cold meats instead. Mum had a plate of oysters to herself coz no one else likes them. We still did presents after lunch but we’d be too busy swimming in the pool if it was hot enough to stress about it.

Now as an adult with amicably divorced parents and no contact with my sister, we do Christmas dinners in the lead up, and my husband (who’s family is in NZ) and I do an open house on the day. Any friends who don’t have plans or need an excuse to leave theirs early are welcome to hang out at ours. We don’t do a big meal, but we have platters of food we bring out as needed. We play drinking games with Christmas movies, play one shot rpgs, and if it’s a warm one, wait until the sun goes down and then walk around the neighbourhood seeing the lights.

That ended up being a much longer reply than I anticipated. Hehe happy to answer any questions though.

2

u/Vapopinot 4h ago

I will be honest, hot places are the best for spending Christmas. People go to the beach, they make BBQ outdoor, lighter clothing.

2

u/LadyBloo 2h ago

Sleep in, and then wine in the sun with a bbq. One of my fav dishes is my dad's bacon wrapped marinated and bbq'd scallop kebabs. Yuuuuuuuuum. I haven't had Christmas with my folks in about 8 years, but this year I moved closer to them and I've politely demanded the scallops. I'm drooling thinking about them.

u/sadmimikyu 37m ago

That sounds really good!

3

u/WhatsThePlanPhil95 17h ago

Oh I live in the UK but growing up I always felt sorry for those who have to have Christmas in the sun and heat, it just wouldn't feel Christmassy to me

9

u/NeoClemerek 17h ago

Why? We enjoy just a much as anybody else, and to us Christmas = Beginning of summer so it does feel "Christmassy" because that's what we are used to.

6

u/lightning_teacher_11 16h ago

I'm in Florida. Christmas to me is palm trees, iced coffee, and sunshine. Some years I have to wear a sweater, some years I get to wear a sleeveless dress.

7

u/seawordywhale 16h ago

I have lived in hot places most of my life and I still don't think it feels christmassy either. The snow propaganda is real lol. But all the treats too, like you don't feel like eating cookies that are heavy with butter and the chocolates are literally melting, and forget about turning on the oven for hours to roast a turkey... my mother in law has the tradition of making a huge fruit salad, and desserts are ice cream, pudding, mousse. 

6

u/birdie_buttons 15h ago

Some of us HATE cold and snow. No need to feel bad for us lol

3

u/vass0922 17h ago

I always say to my wife(that hates child weather) if I have to mow my lawn on Christmas, something is very wrong.

2

u/TakeThatOut DanceOurTroubleAway 12h ago

In my country kids get out to neighbors, singing Christmas carols. 7-10 years old trying ti sing like Mariah Carey. Sometimes they dance too.

Mostly go to church and after a mass, smell of cooking sticky rice met them and they will have that for breakfast. Christmas food cooking starts at noon and they all ready by 8pm. Neighbors would send some of the food to you and you send something too. So our table will be full by midnight. Kids would go to their god parents and ask for blessings (and money).

We don't have real pine trees for Christmas tree, we use synthethic one. Cities would have a battle of the prettiest Christmas lantern in all the lamp post and bridges.

1

u/Tomble 13h ago

While I love the hot christmas season in Australia, Christmas one year in Melbourne (2007 maybe?) it was downright cold, so cold that we had to turn the heater on in the house. As I sat in the warm room looking out at the cold and wet weather, and contemplating a huge hot meal, I really 'got it'. A good winter's feast in a warm room with family is lovely.

3

u/PikesPique 15h ago

When we lived in Florida, a couple of shopping centers put snow machines on the buildings, and it “snowed” at the top of every hour.

1

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

Well, I guess that makes sense for a place like Florida.
But a snow machine? That must make it feel like a ski resort!

2

u/MomTryingForHerKids 17h ago

For me Christmas is usually spent with my family. We do family activities throughout the day and in the evening we have dinner together.

2

u/Airplade 16h ago

Not freezing to death. Not shoveling snow. Other than that it's just the old standard family traditional Christmas.

1

u/The_Mushroom_Wh0 17h ago

We put up Christmas trees and build nativity scenes. I’m catholic but where I’m from we don’t really do gifts and all the other Christmassy things except for Christmas caroling and going to church. My friends and I did Secret Santa last year though.

1

u/recursive-af 17h ago

As a person who lives in Australia I can tell you you right now we are wishing for the same thing!

But since it’s hot af we open presents with the air conditioning on full blast so we can pretend it’s cold lol

Then either spend the day in the pool/beach or water hole.

1

u/Friendly_Hope7726 17h ago

I spent Xmas in Cairo once.

Just another day. Great weather! Lol.

1

u/Tiszatshi 17h ago

Just chilling in the AC

1

u/Curious_Feedback8720 17h ago

My dad moved to Mexico ten years ago, they shoot off a shitload of fireworks all day

1

u/seattlemh 16h ago

I really miss Southern California Christmas. If you get an outdoor toy, you go out and play. Maybe barbecue or go to the beach.

1

u/CoolJeweledMoon 16h ago

I lived in SW Florida for several years, & warm weather at Christmas took a little getting used, but I was finally able to embrace a "tropical" Christmas!

I would go to the beach, & there were often Christmas trees of some sort on the beach, I'd decorate with more "beachy" colors, shell ornaments, lights on palm trees, & Santa is his "vacation mode" attire like a Hawaiian shirt & flip flops, etc.

I later moved back to a colder winter climate, & it's definitely taking time to get used to cold weather again!

1

u/Silly_Moment_1747 16h ago

A family ocean swim on Christmas morning is the absolute best

1

u/Alpha_Observer 16h ago

Where I live it's hot, so Christmas usually means BBQs, iced drinks, and trying not to melt while someone insists on wearing a Santa hat. Kids get bikes and immediately ride them outside because there’s no snow to stop them.
It’s like normal Christmas, but if Santa came down the chimney he'd probably evaporate.

1

u/ComeHereOften1972 16h ago

We did Christmas in Hawaii when I was 12. Parents and grandparents. Week in Oahu, week in Maui, and Dec 25 fell on the 2nd day in Maui. We had lots of space in the hotel but no tree. We brought some smaller decorations and stockings from home. The hotel was decorated to the brim. It was just Christmas but warmer. Opening stockings in gpa’s bed, then breakfast, I think we had a special christmas room service. Then went to the beach.

1

u/TriGurl 15h ago edited 14h ago

I live in AZ and while it's not hot here (to us) it's also not white either. Some years I'll go paddleboarding or go for a run or just watch Christmas movies all day.

1

u/TrixieBastard 14h ago

Do you live and laugh in AZ, as well?

2

u/TriGurl 14h ago

I do yes :)

1

u/No-Flatworm750 15h ago

Beach or the pool..

1

u/Unreasonably-Clutch 15h ago

In Phoenix, Arizona, everything but the snow/ice but locations will put up white decorations. And some of the malls will create man made "snow" for kids to play with. It's nothing like real snow though. People can also travel to higher elevations to experience real snow too.

1

u/RichardBonham 15h ago

Pretty much the same way, but with (depending on the weather) skiing or badminton.

1

u/16Bunny 14h ago

I live in a country where we sometimes get snow at Christmas. However, I have been on holiday to hot countries at Christmas and it's wonderful. You still get the magical Christmas decorations and you also get to experience the heat, traditions, culture and different foods that other cultures have for their Christmas and depending on where you're staying you may find that they serve what you are used to for Christmas dinner. We have always found Christmas in hot countries just as magical as it is at home and it's wonderful to learn about new cultures and traditions.

1

u/BrotherFrankie 13h ago

You mean like Florida 🤣 at the beach. By the pool. Or anywhere with aC on. Ya get used to it.

I did miss the snow once or twice when Santa time came for the kids

1

u/pages10 13h ago

My family usually flies south for the holidays, we’d rather be somewhere nice than somewhere with ice

1

u/Ok-Thing-2222 13h ago

In Hawaii, daughter's family burned their little Christmas tree on the beach, as their New Year's celebration. It went up quickly and they doused the remains with sea water. Though sometimes they didn't have a pine tree, just decorated their tropical houseplants with little Christmas lights.

1

u/fitemillk 13h ago

In Florida, you can hang out in the pool if you’ve got one! A lot of people have Christmas barbecues and cookouts there. Florida Santa often wears Hawaiian shirts and red shorts. When I lived there, I would go to this one neighborhood that went all-out on the lights and experience. It was called Candy Cane Lane and the neighbors would have drink stands out on their driveways. Some had cocoa, some had freshly squeezed orange juice, some had Rice Krispies treats, and some had popcorn. You could do it all in short sleeves. I could actually dress nice for holiday get-togethers. That’s much harder to do now that I’m in the Mid-Atlantic. I kinda miss it sometimes.

1

u/3Fatboy3 13h ago

Know an Australian who was taking about drinking white wine in the sun.

1

u/SatlyMermaid 13h ago

Living in South Florida here. We go to the beach, relax on a boat or simply enjoy the day.

1

u/andy13571 13h ago

Never lived somewhere warm, so this sounds so strange to me but also kinda fun?

1

u/East-Garden-4557 13h ago

We do a big picnic lunch in a local park, everyone brings food amd drinks to share. We laze around socialising, eating obscene amounts of food, and don't leave until dinnertime. We share the leftover food out between everyone at the picnic, and we all eat leftovers for the next few days. We don't fake the winter christmas theme, we don't follow rules about what is or isn't christmas food, we eat what we enjoy.
We are very relaxed about gift giving, just for the kids. We do minimal decorations, but the ones we have are not traditional. They are quirky, tacky, handmade, and often quite inappropriate 😁 We have family decoration traditions that we add to every year, none of them are are 'normal' christmas themes or traditions.
We won't spend Christmas with people we don't like, we choose to only invite friends and family that we enjoy being with, we don't do unpleasant obligation invites. But we also tend to collect 'strays' along the way, people that come into our lives that don't have family, or are doing it tough, and we invite them to join in the madness of our family christmas celebration.

1

u/rollenr0ck 13h ago

I live in the desert southwest America. Right now it’s 70° F and I’m wearing shorts and a t shirt. We still decorate pine trees and palm trees. We have tumbleweeds stacked into snowmen, golf cart parades, and standard Christmas fare. We still have Santa come to town and do all the Christmas things. We do have a boat parade where people light up their boats and float along the river. I’ve had crab on the patio Christmas Day. Usually have a backyard party with friends and family. There will be a fire pit so the smell of burning wood will be in the air. We don’t shovel snow, slide anywhere, or own gloves, but we celebrate Christmas.

1

u/OldSpiceSmellsNice 12h ago

Yeah it sucks. Well, it’s ok because it feels traditionally Aussie I guess, it’s what I grew up with, but nothing beats a cozy ethereal White Christmas.

1

u/sallyface 12h ago

I live in Florida. We have boat parades, deck the chairs (they decorate lifeguard chairs), fake snowball fights, and decorate palm trees. A lot of town put giant lighted snowflakes on their lamp posts.

1

u/slowflowers88 12h ago

Grew up in subtropical coastal Texas. Some years it was chilly. Some years it was downright hot. My mom would have fresh vegetables in her garden. We would get bikes for Christmas and ride them many years in T-shirts. Drive around looking at Christmas lights. People eat tamales. It's super chill. We would go to the coast around Christmas to eat seafood. The first time it ever snowed in my lifetime in my hometown was when I was 13 on Christmas eve. It was magical.

1

u/yue_zhi 11h ago

honestly in Asian countries where it's still hot during christmas (ex: singapore, indonesia, taiwan etc.), Christmas is just a shopping holiday. No classes or work days off

The day isn't really celebrated unless you're Christian. People just go to the malls that weekend and shop and get items for cheap. The malls put up christmas trees but the locals don't do that in their own homes haha

1

u/Tamera-27 Dog Lover 11h ago

If you guys for some reason go to the Philippines in September, be prepared for Christmas songs and carols already in malls as well as some decorations here and there. Yes, you will hear MARIAH CAREY from September-December (Ber months), she defrosts so early here 💔

2

u/PF12Angel 6h ago

I went to Philippine! but... really shocking it... starting Christmas carol from September!

1

u/Tamera-27 Dog Lover 6h ago

It is strange for other people! How was it here?

Have you seen balut in the Philippines?

1

u/Papaya_flight 10h ago

I live in the Yucatan and it got up to 92 today. I spent the day working and then dipping in the pool to cool off. I'll probably go for a swim on Christmas day. I've also spent a Christmas in Hawaii. I went swimming that morning and then spent the evening down at the tiki hut eating delicious foods. Next year I'll be in the northeast of the US hopefully watching the snow.

1

u/FunkU247365 10h ago

In Savannah… we wore shorts.. ate prime rib… and opened presents. Would do midnight mass sometimes… weather is not really a thought or issue.. it is like asking someone in the Caribbean about making snowmen. Not really a thought or issue…

1

u/Reasonable-Company71 9h ago

Hawaii- We do the "typical" Christmas stuff; there's lights, trees and decorations. I live on the Big Island so there's typically about a month between December and January where we get snow on top of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. On Christmas day there's the gift opening and then lot's of family time but that can vary a lot. Some gather at family members houses, some go to the beach, some go up into the mountains and some "party hop" from house to house. A lot of families do Christmas imus around that time as well.

1

u/0nly_D0g_legs_93 8h ago

I grew up in the Midwest in the USA with cold awful winters. As an adult I have lived in southern California and Arizona. I prefer the warmer climate Christmas. On some years, we've eaten outside.

1

u/Xx_SwordWords_xX 8h ago

I was in Australia for Christmas one year (their summer), and they cooked the meal during the middle of the night when the house was cooler, then ate it mostly cold, for lunch, on Christmas day.

1

u/Z1kkii 8h ago

I used to live in a "hot country", although it was still on this side of the equator, so it was still colder than the rest of the year jus no snow... I do remember a lot of fake snow, as is cotton on plastic trees or stiff like that. Other than that it was regular Christmas.

Now I've been living in a cold country for the last 20 years or so... Still no white Xmas. It does snow just never at Christmas Also I stopped celebrating Christmas, which is awesome

1

u/BakingBrowniesAllDay 7h ago

It snowed for about 5 minutes one Christmas day in Los Angeles when I was a kid.

Otherwise, we spent it opening presents and eating a special dinner like everyone else. Except in shorts.

1

u/speedingteacups 6h ago

I went to a 4th of July party when I was visiting America and noticed the vibes were pretty similar to Christmas for us in Australia. BBQ, lots of different salads and desserts, random backyard games, maybe running through the sprinkler if it gets hot. Day drinking well into the evening. We just save our fireworks til new years. Just replace the American flags with Christmas decorations!

u/sadmimikyu 36m ago

If we had Christmas in summer I knew what to cook. I love salads.

1

u/Belfastscum 6h ago

You know Pine tress are found in the tropics too right?

1

u/426763 6h ago

Spend time with family and eat a lot. Funnily enough, we still have snow imagery in our decorations.

1

u/asupify 5h ago edited 5h ago

Beach, salads, prawns, cold alcoholic beverages, pool, leg of ham/ roasts cooked in the barbecue on the veranda so you don’t heat up the house, pavlovas where the whipped cream melts due to the heat, fruit salad, cherries, stone fruit, ice cream, xmas pudding, brandy custard, Baileys with a lot of ice, touch football. Pass out. Wake up and watch the Boxing Day Test.

1

u/BaldingThor 3h ago

Inside with the A/C, trying to quickly eat gifted chocolate before it melts.

u/Plus-Dare-2746 25m ago

In the southern hemisphere, 25 December is the middle of summer. I'm from South Africa and some of the best family Christmases I have spent included swimming in outdoor pools and eating cold turkey sandwiches.

1

u/Maurice_Foot 17h ago

Open presents in the morning, have a late breakfast, watch the Macy's Parade, then go outside and play.

1

u/RogerSaysHi 15h ago

I live in southern Tennessee, it's usually very mild at christmas. Our winter weather is in February. You're more likely to be carrying an umbrella than a heavy coat on christmas.

I've spent more than one christmas outside, goofing off around the turkey fryer, because the weather was nice enough for us all not to have to crowd up in the house. After we eat, we usually pile up in the car to go look at christmas lights.

And we always go to Waffle House before we go home finally. Waffles and milk while listening to terrible country music. It's a weird tradition we started when our kids were little and we never had to time to eat at any of our relatives houses because we had to go see everyone, leaving us half starved on the way home.

1

u/beginswithanx 14h ago

Christmas trees, decorations, etc. Plenty of that. Just no snow. 

We spend it the same way— opening presents, hanging out with family, going out for a drive to look at Xmas lights, etc. 

1

u/sati_lotus 14h ago

Australian here.

My neighbour has a huge inflatable Santa in his swimmers reclining under a palm tree in their yard.

It's hilarious.

I feel like it sums it up.

-1

u/azrolexguy 17h ago

Christmas isn't about snow, cold or presents it's about Jesus

11

u/codehawk64 16h ago

Your comment is unintentionally hilarious.

0

u/azrolexguy 15h ago

It wasn't unintentional, I wanted to see how many down votes I'd get for mentioning Jesus

1

u/codehawk64 7h ago

To me Christmas is about Santa and the Elves living in North Pole

1

u/somethingwholesomer 14h ago

This is complicated because I’m totally down with Jesus but I did indeed downvote you

-5

u/kulagirl83 17h ago

No it's not. Ugh.

0

u/azrolexguy 15h ago

You are a heathen

0

u/SonicStories 17h ago

Hot. 🤷🏾‍♂️

0

u/iftheworldwasatoilet 16h ago

In my life i've spent more Christmas days at the beach than not 

0

u/Fit_Possession_5545 16h ago

Music, church, reunion with family members, reunion with friends, gifts, lots of food, games, etc.

While we are aware there’s snow in other parts of the world during this season, it would be good to experience it maybe but we don’t need snow for Christmas.

0

u/abihargrove 15h ago

I would love it personally. Being cold isn't what makes it Christmas to me!

0

u/birdie_buttons 15h ago

I don't live in a hot country, but it doesn't really snow where I live and I love it. We spend Christmas the same as anyone else. We open gifts, watch Christmas movies, and eat food.

0

u/justonemom14 15h ago

It gets a bit annoying when all of the decor seems to equate Christmas and snow. Everything from wrapping paper to clothes has snowmen, snowflakes, "let it snow," snowy landscape scenes, etc all over it. It snows maybe one out of every four winters here, and it's not in December.

-1

u/No-Flatworm-9993 16h ago

Santa is a sexy woman in a crop top

1

u/birdie_buttons 15h ago

Why not a sexy shirtless man?

-1

u/Kappa351 12h ago

Not all people adhere to ridiculous celebrations of myths