IN THEIR homeland, an ox would be killed, or a pig. Christmas observations would extend for as long as a fortnight.
But for Melbourne's growing number of Burmese Christians, Christmas has become as much about learning new traditions as celebrating old ones.
''It can be hard for them,'' says Gin Do Dal, pastor of the Melbourne Burmese Community Church. ''In Burma the Christians are very dedicated, very conservative. They are really full on! They just focus on God.''
Christmas traditions have a special importance to Victoria's Burmese. Almost all of them have fled persecution, been chased from their homes, to be able to celebrate their faith.
Census figures show that, while the raw number of Victorians who call themselves Christians increased between 2006 and 2011, it did not increase as much as the state's population. As a proportion of all the people in the state, Christians decreased from about 60 per cent to 57 per cent.
Among the small Burmese community, however, the trend is flipped. The 2006 census recorded 1792 Burmese people in Victoria; 1076, or 60 per cent, of whom identified as Christian.
By 2011, there were 5607 Burmese, and the share of those claiming a Christian faith had increased to more than 70 per cent. Buddhism is Burma's most prominent religion, practised by about 90 per cent of the Burmese people, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency.
Just 4 per cent of Burmese people are Christian, and they tend to be collected among a few tribes where British missionaries had success in the 1800s. The most prominent of these in Melbourne are the Chin, who pastor Dal says make up most of the people in his congregation.
For years, their faith has made them a target of the military regime in Burma. Christian refugees regularly spill into India, Thailand and Malaysia.
Reverend Japheth Lian, of the Victorian Baptist Chin Fellowship, leads a congregation of more than 500 Burmese Christians - the largest in the state.
In his congregation, he says, ''everyone is a refugee''. And as a church, they continue in a kind of statelessness.
On Sundays, the congregation has a kind of home at the Mooroolbark Baptist Church. Special services for youth and women during the week need to be held elsewhere, to avoid scheduling clashes. Friday's choir practice takes place at a private home.
For the Burmese, Christmas is about community.
''Christianity is the heart of the community,'' Lian says. ''The challenge for the community is a place for worship. If we have that place, we can control our faith and our culture.''