This is usually before the Christmas lunch. In the Māori language, Santa Claus is called Hana Kōkō! One popular present for Christmas in New Zealand are 'jandals'.
“Mere Kirihimete” is a common greeting used in New Zealand, especially when celebrating a Māori Christmas, and is an adaptation of the English greeting, "Merry Christmas".
Christmas (Māori: Kirihimete) became widely celebrated by Christians in the late 19th century. Today, Christmas Day and Boxing Day are both statutory holidays in New Zealand, and Christmas is celebrated by both Christians and non-Christians.
The Maori Christmas is really a traditional Kiwi celebration, with many enjoying the Christian festival while adding Maori customs such as a hangi.
Santa Claus made his commercial debut in New Zealand in 1894 when he took his place, complete with tree and toys, among the furniture in the Wellington DIC store on Lambton Quay. These days, children have the option of sending Santa an email with suggestions about preferred presents.
If you want to make sure you're on the good list and get plenty of great gifts from Santa, make sure to leave a treat for him. In New Zealand, it's traditional to leave Santa some pineapple chunks and his reindeer carrots. Probably a healthier choice than cookies and milk!
Children in New Zealand leave out carrots for Santa's reindeer and Santa might be left a beer and some pineapple chunks! In the main cities like Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Hamilton, there are big Christmas light shows and displays.
Although of course Christmas was not a traditional celebration, many Aboriginal people now celebrate either the Christian or non-Christian aspects of Christmas.
Because December is at the beginning of the Southern Hemisphere summer, white Christmases there are extremely rare, except in Antarctica (uninhabited), in the Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island, and in parts of the Andes in South America as well as the southern tip of the continent, in places like Ushuaia, ...
Plants that flower with bold red blooms in early summer are often bestowed with the title of Christmas bush. As far as being red, bold and definitely summer flowering goes, Metrosideros excelsa ticks all the boxes and definitely earns the name of New Zealand Christmas bush.
The hangi is served in the afternoon or evening; after the delicious meal, people often sit around and sing Christmas carols. Some New Zealanders can't get enough of Christmas–they celebrate it twice each year: on 25 December and in July, which is mid-winter in the country.
In England and Australia, you'll often hear Happy Christmas, but in the US and Canada, Merry is the star of the show.
“Mere Kirihimete” is a common greeting used in New Zealand, especially when celebrating a Māori Christmas. It's an adaptation of the English greeting, "Merry Christmas". The consonants have been changed to use similar Māori consonants, hence the replacement of /st/ with /h/.
So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America.
Send the letter to Santa Claus, c/o Santa's Workshop, North Pole 0001. Make sure the kids name and address is written clearly on the back of the envelope, so Santa knows where to send a reply. Post the letter in a post box or at a NZ Post retail outlet. Letters to Santa don't require a postage stamp.
Australia. Australian children set out cookies for Santa, but instead of milk, they leave him an ice-cold glass of beer. After all, December is summer in the land Down Under. The children leave carrots for Santa's reindeer to munch on, too.
Like in Australia and Ireland, children in Britain leave Santa alcohol. Families believe Santa needs some sherry to warm up on Christmas night.
To help him achieve this Christmas delivery goal, Santa uses a truly unique form of transport: a flying sleigh that is guided by a troop of flying reindeers.
Chinese children don't normally leave out cookies and milk for Santa or write a letter detailing their wish list of toys. Colorful, cellophane-wrapped “Christmas apples” are a popular gift. The word “apple” apparently sounds like “peace” or “Christmas eve” in Mandarin.
Santa Claus goes by lots of names, depending on where you are in the world. In Australia and other English-speaking countries, he's usually called Father Christmas, Santa Claus, or sometimes just “Santa” for short.
The Santa Claus emoji 🎅 portrays the face of Santa Claus, the legendary Christmas figure.
5) Japanese
In Japan they call him 'Santa-San', which is Mr Santa. In Japan Christmas is known as a time to spread happiness rather than a religious celebration.