The Christmas holidays in Australia always seem weather-challenged to anyone who has grown up in the cold of North America. Here in Australia, the summer holiday blends the traditions of European cousins and colder climates but with some significant differences.

There are the artificial Christmas trees with tiered branches covered in metallic leaves and artful scatterings of a white shiny powder meant to imitate snow. These artificial trees keep Mother Nature at bay and where it needs to be—outside. I won’t ever forget the Christmas when we bought a real tree (there is only one type of spindly pine tree for sale here and it doesn’t have the beauty or shape of the conifers of North America) and a black Huntsman spider the size of a large hand crawled out of it!

What else is missing? There is no bracing pine aroma and like a human that has received radical plastic surgery—these trees will never show their age or experience. They are permanently young and won’t follow the time-honored tradition of real trees with real branches that begin to shed thin dry needles to announce that we are reaching the weary end of our Christmas celebrations. It is time to do the holiday vacuum. And then there is the uncomfortable process to dismantle the tree and fold it like an swollen beach umbrella into a box waiting to be exhumed for the following year.

There are the images of jolly, rotund Santa figures wearing thick red clothes and bulky black boots meant for a blizzard. We all know that is too warm here to wear this costume but the alternative image of Santa wearing a Hawaiian shirt and surfing hasn’t quite caught on. It is a nice twist but it relies on the imported tradition for its humor. And instead of reindeer in the sky, Santa’s sled is being pulled by kangaroos. The North Pole has become some kind of tropical island resort and a native animal sanctuary.

Adding to this confusion, is our yearning for the traditional Christmas dinner of lukewarm turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, peas and plum pudding despite the temperature being in the 70s (Fahrenheit). Fortunately, this has changed to lighter fare including cold seafood and salads.

So for those of us who can remember a frosty Christmas, the hush of a thick snowfall, and starry nights with lights twinkling on the frozen white surface of the snow, the holiday here feels very different. But it isn’t a new holiday just one that has been tempered by different weather conditions.

For me, the Australian Christmas feels less pious with cosmetic changes. But beneath the imitation trees, the sporty Saint Nick and a menu that is influenced by the Mediterranean diet, the balmy holiday still brings with it the hope that there will be peace on the planet regardless of the temperature.