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More than 120 hams and turkeys have helped feed thousands of people at free Christmas Day lunches for the poor, the lonely and the needy in Sydney.
At King's Cross, the Wayside Chapel is holding its annual Christmas Day Street Party, with dancing, singing and a sit-down lunch.
Hughes Street has been blocked off to traffic, and is festooned with decorations. Not even a downpour from the heavens could dampen spirits at the gathering.
The chapel's Reverend Graham Long says around 600 people will attend the traditional sit-down lunch, with several hundred others also expected to be fed.
He says today is the best day of the year to share with others.
"There are people from every strata, really, we just say don't be alone," he said.
"So, there are some older people who are shut-ins, and who just don't have family.
"I say to people just don't be on your own and be miserable - come out and be miserable with us."
Reverend Long says the chapel has hosted the party for almost half a century, since 1964.
"Originally it started out as a smallish barbecue in the back alley and it just grew over the years," he said.
Guests sat under a block-long marquee as the rain began in earnest, singing carols and enjoying the antics of an exuberant choir.
Ken Sharpe, 80, in a cork hat bedecked with bells and kangaroos, says the party is "a damn good idea".
"Look around - the feeling. As the daughter says, she hugs and kisses people that another time you'd cross the street to get away from," he said.
"People should do good things for other people and they don't need religion as a crutch, they should just do it."
Reverend Long agrees: "This is very street, you know. We try to keep the bullshit to a minimum."
Photo: Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate Christmas midnight mass at St Peter's Basilica to mark the nativity of Jesus Christ in Vatican City on December 25, 2012. (AFP: Vincenzo Pinto) 
Photo: A woman lights a candle at the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 20, 2012 ahead of Christmas celebrations. (AFP: Musa Al Shaer) 
Photo: A child wears a real bear skin suit and performs a traditional bears dance as part of Christmas celebrations in Bucharest, Romania, on December 23, 2012. The dance is part of a traditional ceremony. Originally, they were ceremonies in connection with periodic return of the dead, with people wearing all sorts of masks and behaving like animals such as horses, goats or bears. It is believed that bears banish demons from houses and farmyards and wish a happy year. (AFP) 
Photo: A sculpture of Santa Claus taking a bath at the Christmas market in Dresden, Germany, on December 21, 2012. The' Striezelmarkt' takes place for the 578th time this year. (AFP) 
Photo: People visit the Christmas market in Stuttgart, Germany on December 19, 2012. (Reuters) 
Photo: A boy looks up at a Christmas tree during celebrations outside the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, in the Biblical West Bank town of Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2012. (AFP: Jaafar Ashtiyeh) 
Photo: People push a cart with a sculpture of baby Jesus on a Bethlehem street on December 20, 2012. The olive wood sculpture weighs about 300 kilograms and is displayed near the Church of the Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ. (AFP) 
Photo: People fill London's St Paul's Cathedral for a carol service on December 23, 2012. (AFP: Leon Neal) 
Photo: The Queen wears 3D glasses - studded with Swarovski crystals in the shape of a 'Q' - to watch a preview of her 2012 Christmas message. It is the first time her traditional message will be broadcast in 3D. (Reuters) 
Photo: A stuffed Santa drives a go-kart at Redman winery at Coonawarra, December 2012. In Penola and Coonawarra in south-east SA, residents and businesses are competing to make the best roadside Santa. Read the story (ABC: Tasha Impey) 
Photo: An orangutan holds a Christmas present at Melbourne Zoo on December 23, 2012. (AAP: Julian Smith)
Gallery: Christmas around the world
At Ashfield, the Exodus Foundation put on its 27th free lunch, and before midday (AEST) there was already a queue stretching onto Liverpool Road.
The foundation's Reverend Bill Crews says each year the number of people turning up increases.
"With the cost of living as high as it is I'm not surprised that today's turnout is high," he said.
"Just because you're lonely or you can't afford Christmas doesn't mean you have to go without."
Reverend Crews says the annual lunch began with a plate of sandwiches and two lonely people 27 years ago and had grown to feed more than 400 people within four years.
He said this year is set to be the biggest yet, with guests set to eat more than 65 hams, 55 turkeys, 540 kilograms of baked vegetables, 220 litres of gravy and 330 litres of custard.
Meanwhile at Eveleigh in inner Sydney the Salvation Army's Streetlevel Mission expects to feed around 1,500 people in its 16th year of operation.
The Salvation Army's Robyn Evans says more than 150 volunteers have given part of their day to help bring hope to the lonely, the homeless and the disadvantaged.
Every child and teenager attending will get a bag of Christmas gifts from Santa.
Meanwhile, the Wiggles helped spread Christmas cheer at Sydney's Children's Hospital.
ABC/AAP
Topics: community-and-society, human-interest, charities-and-community-organisations, charities, religion-and-beliefs, sydney-2000, ashfield-2131, kings-cross-2011, nsw, australia
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