# Is it "Summer" in Australia right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2011, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467 "2011-01-13T16:15:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/81 "2022-06-12T13:13:52Z")
Not sure we disagree here, but I find ALL locutions involving time and the word “next” to be ambiguous. If I tell you to check this thread next December, are you 100% certain that I mean December of 2023, or December of 2022? I’m not. I’d probably wait to clarify: “Wait, are you saying in six months or in 18 months?” Likewise, it’s often the case with days and weeks. “I’ll meet you for lunch next Monday” should get a clarifying question: “Is that in three days or in ten days?” Seems to me there’s some built in ambiguity. To some folks, “next” denotes one thing, and to others it denotes another. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/82 "2022-06-12T15:34:44Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Australians call the hot season the summer, and the cold season the winter, just as northern hemisphereans do. Unsurprising, since the Australians you are talking about are descended from northern hemisphereans. I wonder what names the Aboriginals have for the seasons - if they even do name them? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/83 "2022-06-12T16:04:52Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > I don’t agree. I don’t have a clue what season it would be in America right now. Or what it is in the UK, or what it is in South Africa. This is trivially easy. You’re in NZ, right? So the seasons are the same as yours in South Africa, and the opposite in America and the UK. I don’t understand your confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/84 "2022-06-12T21:08:22Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > This is trivially easy. …I’m not sure what part of: > [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > I barely know what season it is where I am right now. I literally had to ask my brother earlier today what season we were in right now. was unclear. If I don’t know what season it is where I am at the moment, how would I know what season it is in South Africa? We just don’t tend to think of seasons in terms of date or month here. I know it’s common in America because that is reflected all the time in conversation that we see on TV. But that doesn’t tend to happen here. We don’t have “summer breaks.” I often barely notice the difference between autumn and winter. Its just a different paradigm. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/85 "2022-06-12T21:38:33Z")
One common notion among Americans is that there are official dates when the seasons change (usually assumed to be the equinoxes and solstices). Of course, there aren’t, even in the US: It’s just as valid to say “it’s summer starting with Memorial Day”, or “it’s summer as soon as school is out for the year”, or “it’s summer as soon as it’s warm enough to wear shorts”, or whatever your own personal standard is. That said, while right this moment is perhaps a bit ambiguous, being after some definitions of “the start of summer” but before others, there is a significant span of the calendar, in any given season, when it’s unambiguous. And Americans won’t, for the most part, be confused by one person calling today “late spring” and another calling it “early summer” (though we would be confused by anyone around here calling it autumn or winter). ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/86 "2022-06-12T22:02:42Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Unsurprising, since the Australians you are talking about are descended from northern hemisphereans. I wonder what names the Aboriginals have for the seasons - if they even do name them? Yes, the four season pattern does not work well for most of Australia, which is either tropical with wet and dry cycles or temperate with often little difference except in the hottest and coldest peaks. Our summer starts officially on 1 December, and each season gets 3 full calendar months. While there are calendar events like the ‘Autumn Racing Carnival’ I can’t think of anything that is actually changed with the clickover from one season to the next [in Japan there is, or was, a date where kids changed from their winter to summer uniforms, and this was observed whether the weather was still bitterly cold] Indigenous seasonal cycles reflect the life cycles of animal and plant species, and are triggered by when specific events happen. [Those of the Tharawal people who occupied the southern margins of Sydney are a good example](http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/dharawal.shtml). Needless to say they fit what I experience far better than our northern hemispherical imported seasons. PS - its winter in Australia right now and Burrugin sounds exactly right. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/87 "2022-06-12T22:05:35Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > If I don’t know what season it is where I am at the moment, how would I know what season it is in South Africa? I’m sorry for your trouble. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/88 "2022-06-12T22:16:04Z")
I have been to places where the difference between December–January and the rest of the year was, that was when you get over 12 inches of rain per month. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/89 "2022-06-13T04:54:35Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > I wonder what names the Aboriginals have for the seasons - if they even do name them? There are hundreds of mutually unintelligible Aboriginal languages; between that and the vastly different climates in, say, Victoria, the tropical north, and the mediterranean-climate south there’s no simple answer to that question except to say yes, they do name them. [Six in Victoria](http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/gariwerd.shtml). [Five in the tropical north](http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/jawoyn.shtml). [Six in the SW corner of Western Australia](http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/nyoongar.shtml). ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/90 "2022-06-13T05:05:35Z")
here in the CA high desert we have 2 seasons hot as hell or cold as hell often in the same day ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/91 "2022-06-13T06:23:43Z")
We having a bit of a cold snap here at the moment. Every time I see this thread title I want to come in here and say: “_No it is not fuckin’ Summer here right now_” But that seems unduly rude so I’m not going to say it. ---
**Author:** ![Ynnad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/4491bb/32.png) [@Ynnad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ynnad)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/92 "2022-06-13T11:48:18Z")
So I think I understand this now. The people in Australia celebrate Christmas in June. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/93 "2022-06-13T11:51:21Z")
I know you meant this as a joke, but I’ll use it as an opportunity to mention that, although Christmas time falls into summer on the Southern hemisphere, a cultural association with winter and snow is still there, and shopping malls will play _Jingle Bells_. Must be strong cultural influence from the North. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/94 "2022-06-13T12:30:03Z")
We do have the decorated evergreen trees and fake snow … but we also go to the beach on Boxing Day and have a pavlova\* right next to our Christmas pud. \* Yes, New Zealanders, we have appropriated this great dessert of Kiwi origin. Sorry, Australians, I can’t hear what you’re yelling about over the sound of me chewing these lamingtons 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/95 "2022-06-13T12:56:20Z")
My BIL is from Perth, and every Christmas growing up they’d have a big roast or some other heavy meal best suited for a cold environment, when it was bloody hot out. One year they decided to switch things up and have salads, cold cuts, etc, and it turned out to be a raw, chilly day. The next year they went back to the roast. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/96 "2022-06-13T15:21:21Z")
> [@Schnitte](#): > > I know you meant this as a joke, but I’ll use it as an opportunity to mention that, although Christmas time falls into summer on the Southern hemisphere, a cultural association with winter and snow is still there, and shopping malls will play _Jingle Bells_ . Same in Santa Barbara where it usually isn’t very cold and it’s never snowed. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/97 "2022-06-13T17:25:52Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > There are hundreds of mutually unintelligible Aboriginal languages; between that and the vastly different climates in, say, Victoria, the tropical north, and the mediterranean-climate south there’s no simple answer to that question except to say yes, they do name them. Next thing you’re going to tell me is that all the Native American groups don’t use the exact same names for the full moons of the year. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/98 "2022-06-13T18:38:10Z")
And it’s just a short drive to [Santa Claus Lane](https://www.kcrw.com/news/shows/kcrw-features/the-rise-and-demise-of-carpinterias-santa-claus-lane). ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2022, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/99 "2022-06-14T12:35:10Z")
We tend to have a roast with veg _and_ salads and cold cuts. It’s usually hot at Christmas, but I don’t associate a roast gammon or bird with “cold weather” the way I do hot soups and stews. Possibly because I grew up having a Sunday roast every week, year-round (usually roast chicken or leg-of-lamb) ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2022, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467/100 "2022-06-14T13:32:20Z")
Do southern hemisphere Christians sing a lot of traditional Christmas songs around December 25th, all about delightfully frosty wintry weather, Jack Frost’s nose, riding through the snow etc, or are they all “What Northern hemisphere bullshit is that?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-summer-in-australia-right-now/567467.md?page=6)