# Christmas songs Down Undah **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 4, 2005, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859 "2005-06-04T11:04:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/1 "2005-06-04T11:04:39Z")
Since Australia lies south of the Equator, December occurs in summer there. “Jingle Bells” and other winter themed songs are out of place there. What Christmas songs are played there? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/2 "2005-06-04T11:36:35Z")
> [@Enola Straight](#): > > “Jingle Bells” and other winter themed songs are out of place there _Hell’s Bells_ perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Gerome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Gerome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gerome)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/3 "2005-06-04T12:00:12Z")
We still sing basically the same ones. They just tend to be wildly inaccurate. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/4 "2005-06-04T12:05:43Z")
Paul Kelly’s _How To Make Gravy_. You can read about it [here](http://citypaper.com/music/story.asp?id=8557). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2005, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/5 "2005-06-04T13:18:19Z")
The whole theme of Christmas being about snow and reindeer and fir trees just doesn’t fit in with anywhere in the southern hemisphere and never has. Why we don’t come up with a more summery theme I don’t know, other than the overpowering influence of US and UK pop culture. There are attempts made to have a less winter-oriented stylistic flourish by some citiy councils or retail outlets, but it doesn’t manage to make much of a lasting impact, and most of the time it’s still all robins and snowflakes and frosted windows. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/6 "2005-06-05T00:16:48Z")
There are plenty of good Australian Christmas carols that stress the summer theme: [The Three Drovers](http://users.tpg.com.au/sharenet/c/drove.html) [The Carol of the Birds](http://www.geocities.com/cigneto/thctxt/en/outonthep1.html) There’s a whole CD [here](http://shop.abc.net.au/browse/product.asp?productid=346357) that my choir recorded. They’re not as well known as the more traditional northern hemisphere wintry ones because they don’t get as much exposure. It’s cheaper and easier, for example, for department stores to buy recordings of the older carols (usually recorded with hideously cheesy American accents). ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/7 "2005-06-05T01:01:07Z")
> [@Gerome](#): > > We still sing basically the same ones. They just tend to be wildly inaccurate. You should learn _Mele Kalikimaka_ beacuse “Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright. The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night.” In fact if you could switch out the Hawaiian word with an appropriate Aboriginal word you could make it quite appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/8 "2005-06-05T01:31:23Z")
Six White Boomers - Rolf Harris The Little Drummer Boy - The Hoodoo Gurus ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/9 "2005-06-05T01:53:59Z")
[I had that same question 'round Christmas time…](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=293567) ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/10 "2005-06-05T02:02:00Z")
Well, most genuine Christmas songs (“Silent Night,” “Joy to the World,” “The First Noel,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” et al) are religious songs that have nothing at all to do with snowmen or frost or cold weather. Obviously, Australians, New Zealanders. South Africans (or , for that matter, Floridians and Southern Californians) can sing all the religious hymns without worrying about what season it is). Of course, if you go to Miami at Christmas time, you’ll see all kinds of snow-related decorations, and you’ll hear “Winter Wonderland” playing on the mall stereos, even though there’s no chance of snow. I’d hope Australians would be a bit more sane and level-headed than that, but who knows? In theory, of course, there’s no reason Australians couldn’t sing “Jingle Bells” in July or August when it’s actually cold… but do they? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/11 "2005-06-05T02:37:53Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > In theory, of course, there’s no reason Australians couldn’t sing “Jingle Bells” in July or August when it’s actually cold… but do they? We can do it in December, simply by making [a few changes to the lyrics](http://users.tpg.com.au/sharenet/c/jinglebells.html) > [@](#): > > Dashing through the bush, > in a rusty Holden Ute, > Kicking up the dust, > esky in the boot, > Kelpie by my side, > singing Christmas songs, > It’s Summer time and I am in > my singlet, shorts and thongs. (Linked site has translations of some of that, don’t worry… 😃 And thongs are flip flop sandals, before you ask… ) ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/12 "2005-06-05T02:38:11Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > There are plenty of good Australian Christmas carols that stress the summer theme: Course, most people have never heard of them, including me! Having spent most of my early childhood in Canada I don’t feel Christmassy without cold weather so I mostly go through the motions here. It makes it easy to accept work on Xmas day though, and the penalty rates are great! ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/13 "2005-06-05T07:40:39Z")
No less odd then hearing those songs in December in Las Vegas while getting into your car in the parking lot and having to turn on your airconditioner. By the way, last year they started selling Christmas decorations in the local Walmart on August 30th. A little hard to get in the mood of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” when you are wearing shorts and still applying sun screen on your face when you go into the backyard. Jack Frost ain’t exactly nippin’ at your nose. ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/christmas-songs-down-undah/306859/14 "2005-06-05T16:33:38Z")
[Kevin “Bloody” Wilson](http://www.kevinbloodywilson.com) has a Christmas album, although it’s not exactly for the whole family. 😃 > [@](#): > > Track Listing: > Hey Santa Claus > Kristmas Without Snow > He Only Comes Once a Year > Ho Ho Fucking Ho > Santa’s Fuckin’ Roadies > Kristmas on the Piss > Tattoo of Santa > Roo Dog > Santa was Stoned > Grandad’s Finger > Amazing Grass > What About Poor Old Santa Claus