Question about seasons for all you "down under" scrappers... - SBB Digital Scrapbooking Forums | Scrapbook-Bytes

katehill2003 · #1 (**permalink**) 09-26-2005

I've never had the opportunity to ask this because I've never known anyone from Australia... and it probably sounds like a weird question, but I want to know ...

Our winter here in Western New York goes from November to March and is very cold and snowy, spring is March to May and is when our trees gets leaves and flowers start to grow, summer is June to September and is hot and we can swim and fall is late September to early November and is when our leaves change and it gets cool. It's always snowy and cold here at Christmas. Our kids are off school for July and August.

Now here are my question(s):

When is your winter? Is it around Christmas? What is the weather like? What about your summer, fall and spring? When are your kids off school? When do they start and end? Is your winter the same time as ours? Do you ski in the summer and swim in the winter?

I think living in the U.S. a lot of us don't think about what goes on in other parts of the world. I live close to Canada and spend a lot of time there. I spent a week in northern Ontario with a group of firemen from the U.S. and Canada. We had a little ceremony where we sang both anthems. I felt really self-centered because they all sang with us when we sang the Star Spangled Banner, but none of us knew the words to O Canada. They all know who our president is, but I didn't know the name of their leader (I didn't even know if it was a president or prime minister). So, I've made it a point to learn about other places. That's why I'm asking. I do not want to be an ignorant American.

Synthea · #2 (**permalink**) 09-26-2005

I'm not down under but I can answer that in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite ours - Christmas is still December 25th, but that is right at the beginning of summer for them. July is wintertime there. I'm pretty sure with respect to how the seasons chang, it's the same as ours

scrappy1994 · #3 (**permalink**) 09-26-2005

Summer runs from Dec 1 - end February & is pretty much HOT HOT HOT everywhere... LOL..
Christmas is HOT HOT HOT.... POOR SANTA in his thick warm suit... LOL
Autumn March 1 - 31 May - (pretty warm to start with then quite temperate in most areas)
Winter June 1 - 31 August (cold, wet, miserable except for the top half of Australia where they get beautiful weather year round... snows only in a small lower section of New South Wales & upper section of Victoria).
Spring September 1 - 30 November... coolish to start with and then nice, sunny clear and beautiful days...

Kids & Holidays (OMG) don't even start me on that LOL - slight variations from one state to another, but not much...
Summer vacation (mid December through the whole of January - so 6-7 weeks a bit more for upper high schoolers)
Then 1st term (2 week break) occurs around Easter
Then mid year break (2 week) mid winter (july)
Then spring term break (2 week) generally late september/early october...
PLUS public holidays (of which there are about 4-6)
PLUS what has become oh too common - the Pupil FREE days - and there are one of those each term (so 4 in total)..

katehill2003 · #4 (**permalink**) 09-27-2005

So, what do your Christmas cards look like? I would assume no horse-drawn sleighs going down the snow-covered roads.... no snowmen ...? Is Santa on the beach?

kindarana · #5 (**permalink**) 09-27-2005

Kate, I just wanted to say that I think it's awesome you're trying to become more educated about the rest of the world. Maybe we should try to do a "Where I'm From" challenge and give the non-American scrappers an extra push?

p.s. Congrats on your 500th post!

kimlizzy · #6 (**permalink**) 09-27-2005

Our xmas cards are assorted. We get Santa on the beach, Santa at a BBQ, Kangaroos with santa hats on as well as the usual Santa in the snow, Angels, Religious cards, reindeers, xmas trees etc.

deb f · #7 (**permalink**) 09-27-2005

another thing to remember is that Australia has a strong anglo-saxon heritage, and for the first 150 years or so, England was still "home" to many of the people who came out here, so a lot of our traditions (especially Christmas) are still influenced by the English ones.
so
in our families (dh and mine) we are only now managing to convert Christmas lunch into a bbq or cold meats and salad affair, rather than the full baked ham and hot pudding affair LOL Can you imagine cooking and serving (and eating) all that baked food in 90 degree heat? LOL
we still have pine christmas trees, with angels or stars on top, but Santa's sled is drawn by kangaroos in some places

and lots of people spend New Year at the coastal towns - nothing like the beach on New Year's Eve!
Our winter rarely gets cold enough for snow in most parts of Australia, just a few of the highest mountains get snow for skiiing - mid-June is the start of the ski season.
Our Prime Minister is John Howard.
Our National Anthem is Advance Australia Fair.
hth

katehill2003 · #8 (**permalink**) 09-28-2005

I think it's sad that so many of us here in the states think that Australia is all kangaroos and koala bears and get our knowledge from Crocodile Dundee and Kangaroo Jack. You all live in the "outback" and wear funny hats. I had no idea that there is a beautiful desert in Australia until I watched The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. And, I thought your national anthem was Waltzing Matilda. I feel so ignorant!!!

I guess what I don't understand is that, for example, the latitude of Melbourne is 47S. Now, Montreal is 45N, so I would expect the climates to be similar since they're pretty much the same distance from the equator, but from what I understand, it doesn't get as cold and snowy. Is it because of the ocean?