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Upside Down Christmas
Soft bells replaced by the shimmer of the beach,
Snowballs and snowmen — that’s what the carols say,
But cricket balls, beaches, and sunburn rule the day.
Wait what, it’s hot down here,
Santa swaps his hat for SPF 30 clear.
Plastic pine trees, fake snow inside,
Santa surfs the waves, takes the sleigh for a ride.
Cocoa and beer — that can’t be true,
It’s probably not, just an Aussie prank or two.
But shrimps on the barbie, that’s the real thing,
Pudding still gets a run, pavlova joins in.
Yep, even Christmas is upside down — down under.
Sunshine blazing where the snow should fall.
Yep, even Christmas is upside down — down under.
But the love and the laughter are the same for all.
Men in thongs on the beach — flip-flop kind,
Families gathered, spirits aligned.
Champagne chilled, cricket on the lawn,
It’s Christmas Aussie-style from dusk till dawn.
Weird but it works, this summer cheer,
Different traditions, but the heart’s sincere.
Yep, even Christmas is upside down — down under.
Sunshine blazing where the snow should fall.
Yep, even Christmas is upside down — down under.
But the love and the laughter are the same for all.
God’s snow, God’s cold, God’s beaches and warmth,
All His creations, just dressed in different forms.
The same Lord shining in the southern sky,
Grace in the heat, His love never runs dry.
Yep, even Christmas is upside down — down under.
Sunshine blazing where the snow should fall.
Yep, even Christmas is upside down — down under.
But the love and the laughter are the same for all.
ABOUT THIS SONG
Written and produced by Tasmanian songwriter Jason Bresnehan, Upside Down Christmas is a musical arrangement in the pop genre with a male vocal. The song takes the familiar northern hemisphere imagery of Christmas and turns it upside down through an Australian summer, where snowmen, mittens and sleigh rides give way to beaches, cricket, sunshine, cold drinks and Christmas lunch outdoors.
The lyrics play with the contrast between the Christmas imagery Australians grow up seeing and the Christmas Australians actually experience. Santa needs sunscreen, fake snow sits beside summer heat, families head to the beach, cricket appears on the lawn and prawns share the table with Christmas pudding and pavlova. Beneath the humour is a simple point: Christmas traditions may look completely different depending on where people live, but the love, family, faith and celebration underneath them can remain remarkably similar. The bridge carries that idea into Jason’s Christian faith by recognising snow, warmth, beaches and the southern sky as different parts of the same Creation under God.
The artwork takes the Australian inversion literally, depicting Santa travelling along a sunny beach on a surfboard while carrying Christmas presents and a cricket bat. Palm trees, breaking waves, sand, summer clothing and the absence of any winter landscape deliberately collide with the traditional visual language of Christmas. The image reflects the central joke of the song: from an Australian perspective, much of the Christmas imagery inherited from the northern hemisphere really is upside down.
This song forms part of the Merry Christmas Collection by Seventh Ribbon Music.
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Jason Bresnehan is a Songwriter, Author and Consultant: Business & Recovery