In Australia, Santa Claus doesn't ride a sleigh with reindeers, because kangaroos work holidays. Christmas means summertime, or going down to the beach for a melting ice-cream. Cold ham. Chunky potato-and-mayonnaise salads. Suntan oil. Mosquitoes without borders. And, in some cases, drinking a good beer with your Santa cap on in board shorts.

 It sounds attractive, right?

But there's one thing wrong with this picture-postcard image. And it's this: working-class Australians are sick to death of politically correct "Season's Greetings" cards and sterile secular symbols.

And as defenders might well argue, if tree-worshippers can call Earth Day, Earth Day, then what's wrong with Christians calling Christmas Christmas? And furthermore:  if Sydney's sexual minorities are comfortable mocking religious traditions in public, then what's wrong with celebrating Christianity in public?

There's a reason for the season, of course. From Sydney's Daily Telegraph (21 December, 2009):

COUNCILS have turned their backs on political correctness, reinstating the "Merry Christmas" greeting to its rightful place.

Parramatta Council, in Sydney's west, has taken down its "season's greetings" banners in favour of posters wishing "Merry Christmas". The move came after the council produced Christmas cards and 50 banners for five years without mentioning Christmas once.

Councillors believe the politically correct banners reflected "a secular view of Christmas" instead of the "traditional Australian view of Christmas".

"Our community is fed up with this erosion of the true meaning and essence of Christmas through this ridiculous pre-emptive surrender of the real Christmas on the basis it may offend someone," councillor Michael McDermott said.

"All we do is offend the great majority of our residents by this politically correct nonsense and watering down of the historically accurate view of Christmas.