There are no YA or NA Christmas stories set in the Southern Hemisphere.

I have racked Goodreads, Google, and Literal to find any Christmas fiction (that’s a genre by itself, by the way) that’s not set in the US, England, or some place with snow.

I found exactly none.

(And no, the amount of childrens’ books I found does not compromise.)

Now before I start to sound too typical: I love snow. Don’t get me wrong. I lived in Belgium for 12 years where every year my dream was to have snow for my birthday and Christmas. Snow is goals.

Also, snowy Christmas stories are great. They’re cozy, heart-warming, sometimes cheesy, and there is nothing wrong with the classic Christmas & Santa vibe.

However, I want to encourage you to look around. I am a curious person, eager to understand the world we live in. I would that writers like you and me ask questions. I would that we follow our curiosity, and delve deeper into what that which is given us, that which lies at hand.

So many writers I know are from non-traditional Christmas countries. So why not write a Brazilian Christmas story? What about a traditional Hungarian Christmas tale? Or an Ethiopian Christmas? What does that look like?

We are a generation of mixed backgrounds, bloods, and cultures. We come from all over a world of differences. We have so many unorthodox Christmases inside of us. The opportunity to delve in is itching me - as bad as waiting to open that gift with your name on it.

In this blog post, I’m going to whet my curiosity and explore what a Christmas story in the Southern Hemisphere could look like. It’s an attempt to inspire you to be curious; an encouragement to delve into your heritage, language, and cultures, whether yours by birth or experience. And to write about it.

Let’s turn this trope upside down (literally).

P.S. Keep an eye out for your Scavenger Hunt clue and link to the next blog, both which you’ll find at the end of this post.

Common Christmas Story Elements

In this section we’ll look at what a traditional Christmas story looks like, and adapt each element to fit an unorthodox location for an example story. If you’re a writer, you’re welcome to use the following part as a starting point for your own story!

Occasion

Starting with the holiday itself, Christmas stories are, naturally, about Christmas. But I grew up in a household where we simply didn’t celebrate Christmas. And I know of a number of countries that also don’t traditionally celebrate this holiday.

How do we go about that? I could instead of Christmas choose a culturally specific holiday as occasion (like Hanukkah or Kwanzaa). Or, since I want to write a Christmas story, I can have the characters not celebrate Christmas at first. Their take on Christmas could make for an interesting plot or conflict.

Setting

Traditional Christmas stories tend to have snowy settings. It creates a strong atmosphere, but can also create problems for the characters. Both are essential to a good story, but I will need to replicate the effect and replace the cold weather. I can’t have snow in the middle of Southern Hemisphere summer.

What I can do is make use of the heat of summer for this story. There are many options and perks depending on where I set the location exactly. I can have it be dry desert hot, wet subtropical hot, humid grassland hot, or windy beach hot. Any of these settings have a strong atmosphere, and great potential problems. Heatstroke, sunburn, drought, wildfires…

Plot

Christmas stories are known for a number of tropes. So many, in fact, that I won’t discuss them in detail here but will link through to a handy dandy list I found. One thing to remember when picking your plot or trope is that the characters will drive the plot, and vice versa. They’ll shape each other, and in turn shape the Christmas story you’re writing.

For my example Christmas story I’m going with the classic “what does Christmas mean” trope. What is Christmas really about when you have no snow, Christmas trees, or hot chocolate weather? I want to explore this question through the story, through the eyes of my characters.

Characters

People, whether you like them or not, are the cornerstones of Christmas stories and what brings them to life. We connect to a story better if it has interesting, relatable characters.

Classic Christmas personages vary as much as the tropes, but again, you don’t have to avoid the classics like the plague. Adding a fresh twist on a classic often makes for a good story.

And remember, characters don’t have to be human. They could be fruits or leafy greens and still be loved. It wouldn’t be the same if Rudolf wasn’t the Red-Nosed Reindeer. But you need to choose carefully and creatively.

For my story, I want someone who will provide an interesting perspective on the subject (holidays), setting (South Africa) and the classic trope I picked earlier (the meaning of Christmas). What about an old grandma who has seen many Christmases of different kinds? Or a young man who is spending his first December away from home? These characters will both push the plot and pick at the thematic question of “what Christmas means”, especially if one of them doesn’t celebrate it.

Events

Every Classic Christmas story has some traditional Christmasy activity going on - even if it isn’t a happy moment. Snowball fights, Christmas dinner, opening gifts, picking trees… It provides atmosphere and indulges in the typical holiday experience. Perhaps that’s what holidays are about?

Whatever holiday you choose and whichever stance you take on Christmas, consider a few typical or character-specific holiday activities to add. For this South African Christmas story, it could be a braai, Carols by Candlelight, a day at the beach, a Christmas church service, making a traditional dish. Perhaps one of my characters could have a unique Christmas activity, like picking strawberries or going surfing at midnight.

Theme

Lastly, not every Christmas story has to be about just ‘family' or ‘love’. You can choose a lesser used theme, or focus on one specific aspect of a bigger themes. ‘Family’ and ‘love’ are in fact excellent choices because these themes are so broad. What does family mean in your culture? What interesting aspect of family do you relate to? How does it come together (or fall apart) in the holidays? There is much to explore here.

For this example story, I believe a fitting theme would be ‘holidays’ - what they mean, how they shape us, what part they play in a culture, and what they tell us about humanity and the things we have in common across cultures. This theme might change or expand as I discover the story. That’s perfectly normal and part of the fun for me, but I will keep it to ‘holidays’ in this article .

Karoo Christmas - a novella

Now that we have our basics down, let’s compile them all into one coherent storyboard.

Occasion: Christmas.

Setting: South Africa, Cape Town and somewhere in the Karoo desert.

Plot: a young man just moved out and is now living by himself in a small town in the Karoo. He questions the meaning of Christmas during his first December from home.

Characters: young man who never celebrated Christmas (main character); old lady who’s been through a lot (supporting character).

Events: preparing a traditional holiday feast with the old lady, swimming in the pool at night with friends, a festive braai.

Theme: holidays - what they mean, why we celebrate them.

Summary

Not all Christmas fiction needs to be about snow. This popular genre can be a wonderful way to give voice to some hidden, unorthodox holidays and Christmases.

I hope this post inspires you to craft your own unique Christmas story, which I’m positive you have one inside you.

Me? I have a non-snow YA Christmas story I will have to write now…

Keep well this season!

xx Marsh