Pavlova

The Pavlova is a dessert invented in Australia and named are the great ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. Pavlova is a wonderful summer holiday dessert – and therefore makes a regular appearnace on many Australian Christmas menus.:

3 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
3/4 cup of castor sugar
1/4 cup of white sugar
1 tablespoon of cornflour
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
300 ml / ½ pints of cream
kiwifruit or strawberries for garnish

Preheat the oven to 150°C, 300°F or gas mark 2 (the temperature is reduced for baking). Beat the egg whites to a foam, add the salt and beat until soft peaks form which fold over when the beater is removed. Slowly beat in the castor sugar, beating well after each addition. Keep beating until the mixture is stiff and the peaks stand up when the beater is removed. Mix together the white sugar and cornflour. Lightly fold into the meringue with the lemon juice.

Line an oven tray with baking paper. Spread the meringue into a circle and pipe a decoration around the edge or swirl with a spoon if desired. Bake in a cool oven (80°C or 180°F) for 2 to 2½ hours. Turn off the heat and leave in the oven overnight to cool.

Top with whipped cream and decorate with sliced kiwifruit, sliced strawberries, passionfruit, or just about any tropical fruit, just before serving.
References :
http://www.californiamall.com/holidaytraditions/traditions-Australia.htm

Catholic holidays are celebrated in Austria, such as Ascension Day, here is some history adn a recipe for dumplings

Tyrolean Speckknoedel (Bacon Dumplings)
300 grams of stale bread rolls

100 grams of smoked bacon (Speck)
1/2 onion
10 grams butter, melted
3 eggs
1/4 liter milk
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
Salt to season: pepper and chives, optional
1 – 2 tablespoons flour
Cut the bread rolls into cubes approximatly 1 cm / 1/2 inch wide, and place in a bowl. Cube the bacon small and saute over medium heat until it starts to go translucent. Peel and chop the onion finely: sauté with the bacon until the onions too become translucent. Add the two spoonfuls of parsley: continue to sauté.

Add the sauteed mixture to the cubed bread. Beat the eggs and milk together: add to the bread mixture with the rest of the parsley. Sprinkle in the flour and add the butter, season with salt and pepper, and mix well to blend all the ingredients. (Many veteran dumpling-makers will insist that the best way to do this is with the hands.) Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Bring to a boil at least three quarts / liters of salted water. Reduce to a simmer. With your hands, form the dumpling mixture into six balls. Add gently to the boiling water and cook for approximately fifteen minutes.

Serve beside a hearty stew, or in a clear soup or hot broth. Leftover semmelknödel are often served as an appetizer — cold, in slices, with a hot meat sauce poured over.

Feast of the Ascension
The fortieth day after Easter Sunday, commemorating the Ascension of Christ into heaven, according to Mark 16:19, Luke 24:51, and Acts 1:2.

In the Eastern Church this feast was known as analepsis, the taking up, and also as the episozomene, the salvation, denoting that by ascending into His glory Christ completed the work of our redemption. The terms used in the West, ascensio and, occasionally, ascensa, signify that Christ was raised up by His own powers. Tradition designates Mount Olivet near Bethany as the place where Christ left the earth. The feast falls on Thursday. It is one of the Ecumenical feasts ranking with the feasts of the Passion, of Easter and of Pentecost among the most solemn in the calendar, has a vigil and, since the fifteenth century, an octave which is set apart for a novena of preparation for Pentecost, in accordance with the directions of Leo XIII.
References :

sammy — why would you not want to reckonise the birth and death of Jesus Christ.
References :