But look beyond the obvious and in Wagga you find many families, from a variety of backgrounds injecting their culture into the festive season.

Mi Kai Share, from the Ka Chin ethnic group in Burma, is a Baptist who says religious gatherings and feasts are central to the celebration of Christmas.

"In Ka Chin State 99 per cent of people are Christians," Mrs Share said.

"There are two main churches in Ka Chin - Roman Catholic and the Baptist church," she said.

In Wagga Mrs Share and her family attend the Baptist church and hold a congregation with people from Burma.

In Ka Chin the Christmas season begins on November 30, with Sweet December.

"We celebrate that December is the month when Jesus Christ was born," Mrs Share said.

The congregation attend prayers, followed by traditional games and a meal of Bapa - a dish of pounded sticky rice.

The congregation dance to drums, cymbals and gongs.

A three-day Christmas celebration begins on December 24, with a church service at 10pm.

At midnight the congregation announce Jesus' birth and eat a chicken porridge.

"Christmas is more of a religious (focused) celebration in Burma than in Australia," Mrs Share said.

Lal Sangi Lal, who hails from the Chin State of Burma, is a Seventh Day Adventist.

"We gather in the church compound," Ms Lal said.

All the church members come and eat rice and boiled meat together.

"We used to slay animals like cows, pork for those eat pork - we don't eat pork so we don't do that, chicken also," she said. 

"The day before, we prepare lunches - we have volunteers to cook and look for the animals to be slaughtered.

"We go to church and sing some Christmas songs mainly focusing on Jesus and Jesus' birth."

This year Ms Lal and her family are travelling to Melbourne for a church gathering with other people from Burma - they will congregate and hopefully feast together.

Both Mrs Share and Ms Lal said Christmas trees were not common in Burma.

"We have something to represent Christmas, like something over the door," Mrs Share said.

Afraa Osman, from Sudan, is a Muslim woman who believes it is important to recognise and participate in faiths her friends celebrate.

Ramadan and Eid are the major Islamic celebrations.

A feast is eaten on Eid after a month of fasting.

Speaking through an interpreter Ms Osman said a sweet date was eaten to break the fast.

"We need something sweet," she said, and this is followed by a number of meat dishes.

Ms Osman is now juggling raising a son in a predominantly Christian society.

"My son, most of his friends are Australian and they observe Christian holidays," she said.

"This Christmas I am not participating in Christmas celebrations, last year I did," Ms Osman said.

She made coloured rice dishes and traditional sweets for her friends and colleagues.

"Sometimes having a feast and celebration, we are cross with others, (it gives us a chance) to turn a new page," Ms Osman said.

"This is what I did this Christmas period - mainly it's to start the new year and start a new page."