編按：聖誕節是與家人朋友團聚的日子，雖然聖誕節在台灣不是主要節慶，但在海外求學的學子們應該能感受到強烈的佳節氣氛。
遠在他鄉的學子們該如何度過這個聖誕假期呢？讓我們來看看來自瑞典、現任職知名澳洲語言學校「Langports」、曾經也是小留學生的Lena有什麼好建議~~

How To Celebrate Christmas Away From Home

Hi! My name is Lena and I’m the receptionist at Langports, Brisbane.

Some of you might know that I’m not originally from Australia. I come from Sweden, a small country in Northern Europe, and I have only been in Australia for a little over three years. To me, Christmas is still all about the snow and the cold, which makes Australian Christmas a little bit weird.

Today, I thought I’d give you some thoughts for celebrating Christmas away from your home country.

I know that this is the one time of year that I tend to get a bit homesick, and I know that this is the case for a lot of people. Normally, Christmas is a time to get together with your family, maybe enjoy some of your favourite foods and, of course, Christmas presents.

The way I see it, you have two options. One, you can be thinking about all the things you’re missing out on at home, and feeling sad. Or, two, you can see this as a great opportunity to spend some time with your new family; your wonderful friends from all over the world, who are in the same situation as you!

Maybe you could all meet in someone’s house, or in the park; everyone can bring some nice food, listen to some Christmas music and maybe do a “Secret Santa” (buying a present for a set price and then exchanging them, ask your teacher and they will explain it to you!).