How many days until Christmas?

Christmas in Australia falls in the middle of summer, which throws a lot of visitors and even some locals used to Northern Hemisphere imagery for a loop. Forget snow and log fires — the more typical scene is prawns on the barbecue, a swim before lunch, and Santa occasionally spotted in board shorts. This countdown tracks the exact time left until 25 December, whatever the weather's doing where you are.

Because it lands right at the start of the summer school holidays, Christmas Day often blends straight into weeks of family time, cricket on TV, and long, light evenings that stretch past 8 pm in most states. Shops wind down for a public holiday, and many families head to the coast either just before or just after the day itself.

The lead-up is its own season here too — Carols by Candlelight events, decorations that somehow work alongside 35-degree heat, and a Boxing Day that's as much about the sales and the cricket Test match as it is about recovering from lunch the day before.