# Southern Hemisphere Dopers: Seasonal songs that are solely associated with Christmas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530 "2009-12-25T06:03:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/1 "2009-12-25T06:03:45Z")
Here in the U.S., there are a bunch of songs that are only played at Christmas but have nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas. Mostly, they’re songs with some sort of winter theme. Some examples are “Jingle Bells,” “Walking in a Winter Wonderland,” “Let it Snow,” and “Sleigh Ride.” Are there seasonal songs about summer that are only played at Christmas in your neck of the woods? Or does “Jingle Bells” have as much a place in your Christmas music as traditional carols like “In the Bleak Midwinter”? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/2 "2009-12-25T06:07:14Z")
[Six White Boomers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlSsffF2xhA&feature=related), by Rolf Harris ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/3 "2009-12-25T06:58:07Z")
I grew up in Australia, and i now live in the United States. In terms of the songs you hear on TV, or piping through the speakers at the mall and in the stores, there is essentially no difference between the two countries. I grew up watching Frosty the Snowman and all the other Christmas cartoons, and singing all the same carols as Americans do. Despite **Johnny L.A.** ‘s reference, i really don’t recall any specifically Australian or summer-themed songs. While i had heard of Rolf Harris’ _Six White Boomers_, no-one ever actually sang or played it IME. ---
**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:** [December 25, 2009, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/4 "2009-12-25T08:48:22Z")
Yep, it’s all snow and sleigh-bells here (South Africa). Hell, I even made eggnog for our Yule party. Only thing we don’t have is _It’s a Wonderful Life_ on TV, ever. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/5 "2009-12-25T10:19:55Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Six White Boomers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlSsffF2xhA&feature=related), by Rolf Harris It’s regularly quoted as some sort of Australian ‘classic’. But I agree with **mhendo**. I’ve never heard it performed by any ordinary choir or group. On the other hand, the Christmas carols of the Australian composer William James are a fixed part of the repertoire: _The Three Drovers_; _Christmas Day_; the _Carol of the Birds_. We sang a couple of them before Midnight Mass last night. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/6 "2009-12-25T13:54:08Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It’s regularly quoted as some sort of Australian ‘classic’. But I agree with **mhendo**. I’ve never heard it performed by any ordinary choir or group. Well, he did say ‘played’; not ‘performed’. 😛 Anyway, being in the Northern Hemisphere, that’s the only one I’ve heard of. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/7 "2009-12-25T17:17:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Well, he did say ‘played’; not ‘performed’. 😛 That’s _she_ to you, bub! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/8 "2009-12-25T17:32:26Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > It’s regularly quoted as some sort of Australian ‘classic’. But I agree with **mhendo**. I’ve never heard it performed by any ordinary choir or group. > > On the other hand, the Christmas carols of the Australian composer William James are a fixed part of the repertoire: _The Three Drovers_; _Christmas Day_; the _Carol of the Birds_. We sang a couple of them before Midnight Mass last night. Well, i guess it depends what sort of cultural events one is exposed to. I’ve never heard of any of those pieces either. But i may be an atypical example, as i hate Christmas music with a passion, and avoid it like the plague; i only hear what gets inflicted on me in the shops and in TV advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/9 "2009-12-25T17:47:22Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > That’s _she_ to you, bub! 😉 Whoops! My apple-oggies. :o ---
**Author:** ![madrabbitwoman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c37758/32.png) [@madrabbitwoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madrabbitwoman)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/10 "2009-12-26T02:01:32Z")
[http://www.squidoo.com/aussiechristmascarols](http://www.squidoo.com/aussiechristmascarols) [http://silver-mg.com/Xmas/Aussie\_Christmas.htm](http://silver-mg.com/Xmas/Aussie_Christmas.htm) Aussie Christmas songs probably didn’t get much airplay in the past but I’m quite certain that every kid from my generation onwards knows all the words to six white boomers and more recent generation know all the words to Aussie jingle bells (_dashing thu the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute etc…_) The less serious songs are probably more popular than the serious ones (ie carol of the birds, the north wind etc…) but they can still be heard at Carols by Candlelight, on the telly and on the radio (and most definitely in our car as we travel on Christmas morning) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/11 "2009-12-26T05:20:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > [Six White Boomers](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlSsffF2xhA&feature=related), by Rolf Harris By Rolf Harris? (clicking link but quickly closing the window.) I believe I can do perfectly well without that one, thenkyewverymuch. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/12 "2009-12-26T05:24:23Z")
Sorry, but there was a moment between “I know that name!” and “Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport.” ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Woodhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Miss\_Woodhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Woodhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/southern-hemisphere-dopers-seasonal-songs-that-are-solely-associated-with-christmas/522530/13 "2009-12-26T18:10:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Only thing we don’t have is It’s a Wonderful Life on TV, ever. Lucky.