Special Sub-Topic: The Australian Twelve Days of Christmas Click Here To Play: The Australian Twelve Days of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, an . . . up a gum tree!

Emu. You wouldn't generally find an emu up a gum tree - but the 'silly season' being what it is, watch out, one could certainly 'kick your dunny down'! Seriously though, the second largest flightless bird in the world would have a hard time climbing a gum tree.

On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to me, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Galahs. Lovely parrots, Galahs, with their pink and grey plumage, known in the US as the 'Rosy-headed Cockatoo' or 'Rose-breasted Cockatoo' they are found all over Australia. They can be kept as pets in aviaries in Australia and will learn to 'talk' as they are good mimics.

On the third day of Christmas my true love sent to me, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Kookaburras. The 'Laughing Kookaburra' is famous for its call, somewhere between a laugh and a screech - usually heard early morning or late afternoon, it's the Kookaburras way of warning other Kookaburras away from their territory.

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Koalas. Koala is Aboriginal for 'no drink' and they lead an almost 'somnambulent' life, sleeping up to 18 hours out of every 24. They're most active after dusk, two hours of solid eating, then it's back to sleep! What a life!

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Kangaroos. One of Australia's national emblems the Kangaroo holds up the Australian Coat of Arms along with the Emu. Australia's largest Kangaroo is the Red Kangaroo, which is not always red - females can be a bluish grey colour!

On the sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, six . . . . . . . dancing, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Brolgas. My favourite Aussie bird - Brolgas are famous for their dancing - with wings outspread, a pair will face each other and jump, prance, pirouette and do a lot of head shaking whilst making loud trumpeting calls.

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me, seven . . . . . . . playing, six . . . . . . . dancing, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Possums. Well, possums are social animals and could 'play' - more than likely though they'd be 'screaming' and fighting at 3am in your roof space and that is very unnerving! When this happens, you need to get onto the National Parks and Wildlife Service to come and trap the possums and remove them to the nearest National Park!

On the eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, eight . . . . . . . digging, seven . . . . . . . playing, six . . . . . . . dancing, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Dingoes. The native Australian dog, the Dingo does not bark at all, it only howls, and like any other wild dog, it can dig and will make a den for its pups! Dingoes mate for life with both the male and female raising the pups that are, at about four months old, able to begin hunting for themselves.

On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, nine . . . . . . . working, eight . . . . . . . digging, seven . . . . . . . playing, six . . . . . . . dancing, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Wombats. Digging is one of the many talents the Australian Wombat has, along with biting, if you get too close, or scratching if you hold them too tight! I don't know about working, they always appear to be a pretty lazy type. There are three species in Australia and they exist nowhere else in the world!

On the tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, ten . . . . . . . leaping, nine . . . . . . . working, eight . . . . . . . digging, seven . . . . . . . playing, six . . . . . . . dancing, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Frilled Neck Lizards. There are over 70 species of 'dragon' (sub-species of lizards) in Australia, the most well known is probably the Frilled Neck Lizard - it uses its 'frill' to intimidate and can run very quickly on its two hind legs, loves the sun (it's cold blooded) and was depicted on the Australian two-cent coin (now defunct)!

On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me, eleven . . . . . . . nagging, ten . . . . . . . leaping, nine . . . . . . . working, eight . . . . . . . digging, seven . . . . . . . playing, six . . . . . . . dancing, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Numbats. Numbats, 'Banded Anteaters', eat 'white ants' (termites), preferably and I honestly don't know if they 'nag', but they're usually found snuffling around amongst debris on forest and woodland floors picking up their favourite treats with their very long sticky tongues!

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me, twelve . . . . . . . prattling, eleven . . . . . . . nagging, ten . . . . . . . leaping, nine . . . . . . . working, eight . . . . . . . digging, seven . . . . . . . playing, six . . . . . . . dancing, five . . . . . . . . . , four . . . . . . cuddling, three . . . . . . . . . . . laughing, two pink . . . . . . and an . . . up a gum tree!

Parrots. Australian parrots are some of the most beautiful in the world. Too numerous to mention but some of my personal favourites include the Galah, the Pale-headed Rosella, the Cockatiel, the Paradise Parrot, the Rainbow Lorikeet etc, etc, etc!

Is Christmas Day in Australia the longest day of the year?

n. No, if you're a parent of small children, it only seems that way! Seriously though, Christmas Day in Australia is pretty close to being the longest day of the year with more daylight hours than most of the other 360 odd days of the year!

Can you have a 'traditional white Christmas' in Australia?

y. To have a 'traditional white Christmas' in Australia you must be atop the highest mountain in Tasmania and be very patient because, once about every ten years, you can actually experience a light snowfall! But, an Aussie Quizzylander experienced a 'white' Christmas at Thredbo, in the Snowy Mountains, it was blowing a gale and the wind chill was -6 degrees, even though the day before it had been 40 degrees celsius!

What two major sporting events commence on Boxing Day in Australia?

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and the Boxing Day Test. We love our sport in Australia and the silly season would not be the same without our sporting traditions including the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the start of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.