Christmas in New Zealand

As New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere, the holiday falls during the summer months, so it is often celebrated outdoors with barbeques, picnics, and trips to the beach.

New Zealand Christmas dishes include summer fruits and vegetables, a variety of locally-produced meats and seafood, and pavlova dessert.

Native plants, ferns, and flaxes are displayed alongside traditional Christmas flowers such as mistletoe, and biblical stars and angels.

Displays range from the modest to elaborate, sometimes with hundreds of lights and decorations depicting seasonal motifs such as Christmas trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, or nativity scenes.

[9][10] Particular regions have a tradition for elaborate displays, and attract a great amount of pedestrian and vehicular traffic during the Christmas season.

[5][18] Traditional Northern Hemisphere Christmas foods, such as turkey and brussels sprouts, were common in the past and continue to be eaten by a minority.

[32][33][31] In December 2009 a billboard put up by St Matthew's, Auckland showing Mary and Joseph in bed together drew global media attention as well as criticism from other churches.

[34][35] In 2022, Taranaki Cathedral displayed a large artwork with the words 'Cast Down The Mighty, Send The Rich Away' and 'Lift the Lowly, Fill the Hungry' from the King James Version of Luke 1:52-53.

[36] In 2022, Auckland City Mission was expected to provide 10,000 parcels of food and tens of thousands of presents to people in need of support at Christmas time.

Paymark, who provides EFTPOS services to 70 percent of retailers, recorded a total spend of $8.6 billion of transactions through its network in the six weeks leading up to Christmas 2019.

In 2015, major retailers such as The Warehouse, Noel Leeming and Harvey Norman offered Black Friday sales,[41] and by 2018 were joined by Farmers, JB Hi-Fi, Briscoes and Rebel Sport.

No advertising is allowed on New Zealand television or radio on Christmas Day, a rule that also applies on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.