Australians have a love affair with Christmas

However, it's not just the longing for transcendence, but a longing for stronger family relationships that is making Christmas so popular in Australia. Don't listen to our modern media and our leading politicians in their derogation of the importance of family.

The media elite and political ruling class are not expressing the desire of the average Australian in their continued trashing of Judeo-Christian ethics and family values.

In the annual Mission Australia Youth Survey Family Relationships ranked right up there with friendships outside the family for young people aged between 15 – 19 both sitting around 94% in varying degrees of importance with family relationships wining the "extremely Important" race overall.

Australians love outsiders and outcasts. That's one of the many reasons they love the Christmas story. You see Joseph and Mary were rank outsiders. Mary was having a baby 'out of wedlock'. The angel story was always going to be hard to explain to the relatives.

By Jewish law Joseph, who was engaged to Mary, should have divorced her on the spot, but an angel spoke to him and he had the courage to defend her despite the condemnation from his own family.

Imagine walking for 110 kilometres with your wife who is 9 months pregnant to visit your relatives who really don't want to be seen with you because of the scandal of the pending illegitimate birth.

Joseph was a man of courage and compassion, who acted according to his convictions. Yes, he was laughed at and Mary was too, but the ostracised outsiders became the ultimate heroes. This was even truer for Mary's boy child, Jesus.

Hated and rejected by the media elite and political ruling class of his day, they nailed him to a cross, but they couldn't keep a good man down.

Aussies love stories like this. That is just one of the many reasons why Christmas is so popular in this country. The story of Mary and Joseph is a story of true love, the importance of family and the rank outsider coming good. This story resonates profoundly in the Aussie psyche.

Australia began as a convict nation, who now for the greater part, would join with Mick Dundee to say, "me and God are mates".

Australians love those who are outsiders and outcasts. People who help others and get the job done without fuss or fanfare, 'the mate of the dying' as Henry Lawson said in his poem, 'Christ of the Never'.

The Christmas story of the ultimate outsider born in a manger and then saving the world resonates deeply with the Australian spirit.

What If God was One of Us was a number one hit in Australia in the mid-nineties but its end of year rating in our country was higher than the rest of the world.Christmas is the story of God becoming one of us.

That's one of the many reasons why Australians have a love affair with Christmas.