The day was marked with traditional gift giving and lunches with loved ones as most of the country basked in the sun and temperatures sat above 30C in several capitals.
By late afternoon, few clouds were in the sky with just a spattering of showers in Western Australia's southwest and storms in the Top End.
Many Australians started their Christmas by attending church. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach sparkled throughout the morning with beachgoers flocking to the crystal clear waters for a pre-lunch dip.
Families and friends packed onto the sand, with many donning Santa hats and Yuletide attire despite temperatures in the high 20s.
More raucous scenes played out at nearby Bronte Beach with police patrolling on horseback to ensure crowds behaved as thousands tried to beat the heat.
At St Mary's Catholic Cathedral hundreds filled the pews as Archbishop Anthony Fisher led the morning mass, imparting those gathered with a message of hope.
"The celebration of Christ's birth breaks through the challenges of climate, war and pandemic in our world," he said in a Christmas address.
Worshippers heard messages of hope at celebrations across the nation. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
And across the city, about 800 people experiencing homelessness and social isolation celebrated alongside others doing it tough at Wayside Chapel's annual Christmas street party.
Four times that amount were treated to a free lunch across town with Reverend Bill Crews at his charity's headquarters complete with a whopping 120kg of turkey, 120kg of ham and 80kg of peeled prawns.
It was a welcome relief for many in the face of rising rates of homelessness across the country.
"People are doing it tougher than ever, and we are seeing people present with increasingly complex mental health needs," Wayside Chapel pastor and CEO Reverend Jon Owen said.
Similar scenes played out in Adelaide where hundreds of people experiencing homelessness were treated to a two-course lunch at the Hutt St Centre in the city.
Around 800 people from all walks of life enjoyed lunch at Wayside Chapel in Sydney's Kings Cross. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)
While celebration has certainly been in the air, the day was also marked by reflection, particularly for those remembering those missing around the table.
That includes the 70 Palestinian Christian families in Australia, including a 28-year-old refugee whose wife and two daughters were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a church in 2023.
He's among those granted refugee status in Australia after Israel invaded Gaza as retaliation to the October 7 Hamas attack.
"There's so much trauma, the families are suffering the trauma from the war because it is ongoing and a lot of their families are still in Gaza," Palestinian Christians Association President Suzan Wahhab told AAP.
"I would say it's bittersweet.
"The shadow of the war, the shadow of losing loved ones and thinking about them during this time is overpowering."
The war and the ripple effect of hatred also cast a shadow over the Jewish Festival of Lights, which begins on Christmas Day for only the fourth time since 1900.
But the leader of Sydney's Great Synagogue said the message for Hannukah was one of community strength and unity after a spate of anti-Semitic attacks across the country.
"It's always better when any community - Jews or otherwise - think about their own traditions and celebrations and what they enjoy about their culture," Rabbi Benjamin Elton told AAP.
Thank you to all our extraordinary Australian Defence Force personnel serving at home and overseas this Christmas. — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) pic.twitter.com/L3nQeTP6YLDecember 25, 2024
"That is more sustaining than thinking about attitudes of hostile outsiders."
Christmas Day was also a time of reflection for Australia's northern capital as it marked 50 years since Cyclone Tracey tore Darwin to shreds, killing at least 66 people.
"This will be a difficult period where people will remember lost loved ones and remember as well the traumatic experience that they had," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters in Darwin.
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