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Australia

Australia is a large country lying between the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Australia is an island, like Britain, but unlike Britain, it is vast. It is, in fact, nearly twenty-five times as large as the British Isles. Its area is about 8,000,000 square km. The population of Australia is about 18 mln. Most of Australia is semi-desert. People cannot live where there is no water, and so most of people in Australia live in the richer south-east. The first Australian people were dark-skinned Aborigines, and though the coming of the white settlers destroyed their tribal lives, some sixty thousand still survive in Australia today. Their account for about 1 percent of the population.

Australian seasons are the antithesis of those in Europe and North America (because Australia is south of the Equator): summer starts in December (ends in February),autumn in March (ends in May), winter in June (ends in August) and spring in September (ends in November).

Seasonal variations are not extreme and its rare for temperatures to drop below zero on the mainland except in the mountains.

The country occupies the whole continent, so the climate is different in different regions of the country.

Darwin, in the far north, is in the monsoon belt, where there are just two seasons: hot and wet, and hot and dry.

The southern states are popular during the summer months, but the best time to visit is probably the seasons of spring or autumn when the weather in the south is mild. Spring in the outback can be spectacular if rains encourage wildflowers.

Average annual temperatures vary from about 27 °C in the north of the continent to 13 °C in the south. Floods and cyclones are rather common along the coast of the continent.


Christmas

Christmas is an annual Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. Most members of the Roman Catholic Church and followers of Protestantism celebrate Christmas on December 25, and many celebrate on the evening of December 24 as well. In addition to being a religious holiday, Christmas is a widely observed secular festival. For most people who celebrate Christmas, the holiday season is characterized by gatherings among family and friends, feasting, and gift giving.

Santa Claus has become one the most popular symbols of Christmas. The legend of Santa Claus had origins in Europe and was brought by Dutch settlers to New York in the early 18^th century. Traditionally, Santa Claus—from the Dutch Sinter Klaas—was pictured as a tall, dignified, religious man riding a white horse through the air. Known as Saint Nicholas in Germany, he was usually accompanied by Black Peter, an elf who punished disobedient children. In North America he eventually developed into a fat, jolly old gentleman who rode on a sleigh pulled by reindeer and gave gifts on Christmas Eve.

Most people who celebrate Christmas in America participate in special holiday traditions in their homes. Families often decorate evergreen trees and place colorfully wrapped presents beneath them. A family member might give a reading of “A Visit from Saint Nicholas” or read passages from the Bible. On Christmas Eve, children often hang stockings; they awake in the morning to find the stockings filled with gifts from Santa Claus.

Christmas in France is called Noлl. Celebrations reach their peak on Christmas Eve. The festival meal is the rйveillon, a midnight supper that may consist of oysters, sausages, baked ham, fowl, fruit, pastries, and wine. Children put their shoes in front of the fireplace on Christmas Eve for Pere Noлl (Father Christmas) to fill with gifts, but the traditional day for exchanging gifts is New Year’s day.