Once in Australia, where Christmas lands in the summer months, there's no snowmen, sleigh rides or hot chocolate. In fact, Santa, despite his round belly, can often be spotted wearing little more than red bathing trunks and sandals, or "thongs" as the Aussies call them.
Don't expect to see reindeer pulling his sleigh either. Instead, the big man is known to surf and water ski, enjoying the canal holiday. "He also wears one of those corked hats to keep away the flies," says Lee Beijer of Perth, Australia. But when Adam Bryer understands the difference in cultural holidays more than most. He spent a few years of his childhood in the United States before returning to his native London, England, where Christmas is not so different.
Bryer says that Santa, otherwise known as Father Christmas, looks much like his American counterpart and comes complete with all his reindeer.
The big difference is in the British take on cookies and milk and the typical snack left for Santa and his horned friends. "People write letters to Santa and put them on burning fires to send to him, and people often leave out 'mince pies' and sherry for Santa on Christmas Eve," says Bryer. Mince pies are little pastries filled with beef suet, covered in sugar and normally accompanied best with sherry.
The rest of the holiday is similar to America's, complete with gifts, carols and large meals with family and friends. Parents take children to visit Santa, and recently, says Bryer, "The extreme has become a fascination with going to Lapland to visit a so-called real Santa Claus."
