One of the most fascinating things about models is that they come from all over the world, from countries large and small, each with unique holiday traditions.
Australia
While those of us in the Northern Hemisphere pack on the pounds and pile on clothes to combat winter’s biting chill, our Aussie friends strip down and bask in early summer heat, spending the holidays outdoors. Australian families celebrate with relays in swimming pools, water gun fights, or backyard cricket. Santa Claus is usually pictured in a bathing suit and, in lieu of the standard milk and cookies, children leave out a cool drink for him at night. Plus, the holidays are extra special for the kiddies as school is let out for summer break a week prior to Christmas and resumes after Australia Day on January 26.
With such favorable conditions, it’s easy to understand the cheerful, laid-back attitudes of models like Miranda Kerr, Gemma Ward, Catherine McNeil, and Abbey Lee Kershaw, who all hail from Down Under.
Brazil
For a country that’s given us some of the best bikini bodies in the business (Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, and Gisele Bündchen to name just a few), it comes as no shock that the holidays in Brazil also arrive at the beginning of summer. Since Brazilians are a mix of people from many parts of the world, their holiday customs are an amalgam of a culturally rich heritage. And the balmy weather of the South American country requires Santa Claus (known there as Papai Noel) to change into a lighter suit to deliver his gifts: one made out of silk.
Holiday celebrations typically run from December 25th to January 6th, Three Kings’ Day. On this day, children put their shoes beside their window or outside their door, hoping to find them filled with treats the next morning, supposedly by the three wise men. What did cat walkers like Caroline Trentini, Fernanda Motta, and Isabeli Fontana wish for as little girls? If we had to guess, we’d say a modeling contract!
Sweden
In Sweden, holiday celebrations begin on the first Sunday of Advent (four Sundays before Christmas), but the Christmas season officially begins on December 13, which is St. Lucia Day. The patron saint of light is highly venerated in Scandinavian countries, whose winters are marked by icy weather and long days of darkness. To commemorate Lucia, a girl from each household dresses in a long white robe with a red sash and wears a halo of lit candles and evergreen boughs. She moves from room to room singing and serving a breakfast of coffee and cakes to each member of the family. We can only imagine what a beautiful Lucia models like Caroline Winberg, Elsa Sylvan, and Frida Gustavsson made when they were younger… ~Tim Mitchell
