6 to celebrate the end of Christmas and the start of the new year. Oceania Australia In Australia, as with all of the Southern Hemisphere, Christmas occurs during the height of the summer season. Christmas Day and Boxing Day (December 25–26) are recognized as national public holidays in Australia, and workers are therefore entitled to a day off with pay. The Australian traditions and decorations are quite similar to those of the United Kingdom and North America, and similar wintry iconography is commonplace. This means a red fur-coated Santa Claus riding a sleigh, carols such as "Jingle Bells", and various snow-covered Christmas scenes on Christmas cards and decorations appear in the middle of summer. There have also been depictions of Christmas traditions tailored to Australian iconography, such as Santa partaking in activities such as surfing (in 2015, a world record was set on Bondi Beach for the world's largest surf lesson, featuring 320 participants in Santa suits), parodies of traditional carols, and original songs such as Rolf Harris's Six White Boomers (which depicts Santa Claus as using a ute pulled by kangaroos instead of reindeer and a sleigh). A notable Christmas event in Australia is Carols by Candlelight—an annual concert and charity appeal benefiting the charity Vision Australia. New Zealand Christmas Day and Boxing Day are both statutory holidays in New Zealand. While Boxing Day is a standard statutory holiday, Christmas Day is one of the three-and-a-half days of the year where all but the most essential businesses and services must close. Many of New Zealand's Christmas traditions are similar to those of Australia in that they are a mix of United Kingdom and North American traditions conducted in summer. New Zealand celebrates Christmas with very little traditional Northern Hemisphere winter imagery. The pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), which produces large crimson flowers in December, is an often used symbol for Christmas in New Zealand, and subsequently the pohutukawa has become known as the New Zealand Christmas tree. References Further reading Rae, Simon (1996) The Faber Book of Christmas. London: Faber & Faber Restad, Penne L. (1995) Christmas in America: a history. New York: Oxford University Press Tabori, Lena, ed. (1999) The Little Big Book of Christmas. New York: William Morrow Thomas M Landy, "Feasts", Catholics & Cultures updated May 12, 2016 External links Jennifer Eremeeva, "And so, is this Christmas?" Russia Now, December 15, 2010. Human geography