Middle Eastern Food & Culture Society (MESoc)

Shahd Hassabalnaby (Bachelor of Advanced Science/Bachelor of Commerce) is a member of Middle Eastern Food & Culture Society. Her family is originally from Egypt and are Muslim, meaning that they do not specifically celebrate Christmas. Another holiday that is important to them is Eid, which they celebrate throughout the year.

“When celebrating Eid, we start the day with a special Eid prayer. After, we give gifts to each other and enjoy a big feast together. For the feast, we always have a special dish called Fattah, which is made up of a layer of broken up traditional Arabic bread covered din rice and lamb and then topped with garlicy tomato sauce – it is delicious!”. 

For the upcoming holidays, she is looking forward to spending time with her family and friends by the beach or enjoy a BBQ in the sun, but also to enjoy the excitement that she thinks Christmas brings.  

“Living in Australia, Christmas decorations, songs and movies are everywhere! I really enjoy the excitement around it, and I especially love seeing houses decorated with lots of Christmas lights and watch my favourite Christmas movie, Love Actually”. 

Shahd celebrate New Year’s Eve watching the Sydney Harbour fireworks with her family. They always try to find a spot close to the center and bring a picnic and play cards all day until it is time for fireworks.

Hellenic Society of UNSW (Hellsoc)

Panayioti Kapodistrias (Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (Hons)/Advanced Science (Chemistry)) is a member of the Hellenic Society of UNSW (Hellsoc). He says the Greek community celebrates Christmas Day by attending church in the morning and gathering the extended family in the afternoon to celebrate together with gifts and a massive feast.

“I’m always excited for this time of year, as I get to see my extended family, which usually only happens a couple of times a year. Also, we get to eat so much delicious food, including lamb on the spit, chicken and pork souvlakia, cheese triangles called triopites, pastitsio which is like lasagne but better, just to name a few”. 

New Year’s Day is also common to celebrate in the Greek community.  

“Being a part of the Greek Orthodox faith, we celebrate St. Basil on New Year’s Day. To honour him, we have a special cake called Vasilopita that has a coin in it. We all have a piece each, and the person who gets the coin is deemed to be given good luck”.

Vietnamese Student Association at UNSW (VSA)

From the Vietnamese Student Association at UNSW, we spoke to Selina Aitran Le Khac (Commerce and Information Systems) who celebrates Christmas with her family every year. With cousins, aunts and uncles, in-laws and more, they gather as many family members as possible and go to a local restaurant to eat a meal together rather than cooking at home. 

“There are so many of us, and so it is easier to go to a restaurant. Also, it is one of the few times a year when my family all have time off at the same time and so we want to make sure to do the most out of it and just enjoy ourselves!” 

Selina celebrates not only one but two New Year’s. On New Year’s Eve she is usually on a beach at the Central Coast watching the fireworks with her family and friends. Like many other people with Vietnamese roots, she also celebrates the Lunar New Year. 

“Lunar New Year is very different to New Year’s Eve. It is on a different date each year because the lunar calendar goes by the cycle of the moon. It is also very symbolic, as the calendar has a 12-year cycle with a different animal every year. I personally prefer it, as I really enjoy the fables and stories”.