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Christmas Firsts #15 : Christmas in July



"Christmas in July"  has been recorded as isolated events in the 1930’s in USA , but  with the release of the comedy, Christmas in  July in 1940, the concept began to become popular. 
I understand a lot more why Christmas in July as a concept is popular  in Australia in the southern hemisphere rather than in the northern hemisphere. To capture some of the magic of ‘white” Christmas, mid-winter seems the perfect time to enjoy many of the traditional Christmas festivities.

 Christmas in July has become tradition down under. The story of the FIRST July Christmas in Australia is about some Irish visitors to the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. They saw a snowfall in July, 1977. That's not out of the ordinary for mountains in the Southern Hemisphere, but the tourists were reminded of Christmas out of season. They requested a traditional Christmas dinner from their hotel, which they enjoyed so much they returned the following July. The celebration of Christmas in July was repeated in the Blue Mountain region, NSW,  as a tourist draw card, but locals loved it, too. The practice has of course spread to the rest of Australia but the “Yulefest in the Blue Mountains “ in July is renowned or recreating a traditional Christmas of the northern hemisphere.
The magical winter time (June, July and August) is Yulefest in the Blue Mountains where many venues offer traditional Xmas style celebrations. While cold winds blow and the occasional snow falls, experience warm 'Mountains' hospitality, log fires, Xmas fare, singalongs and perhaps even Santa. The Blue Mountains is truly a 'Winter Wonderland'.

Christmas in July is not a holiday, and it would appear that the celebrations are generated by businesses mainly in the hospitality sector to  boost and create a new market for their services. The real Christmas is still celebrated on 25 December no matter what! 
I found it interesting that when we have had exchange students from European countries, they found the whole idea of Christmas in July bewildering and even quite unacceptable!  I must admit with a birthday at the same time, I quite like to celebrate it with a hot Christmas dinner! And if the goodwill and peace of Christmas can occur at other times of the year, can that be so bad? 



http://mentalfloss.com/article/29484/christmas-australia
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