Aussie Christmas tradition in Bluey causes confusion for a US viewer
Aussie mums were quick to offer an explanation.
There’s no denying it, Bluey has taken the world by storm and one place where the show about a family of Blue Heelers is going gangbusters is in America.
Amusingly, the Aussie way of life that’s depicted in the cartoon series can be lost in translation at times.
After watching the Christmas Swim episode of Bluey, one US mum questioned why the Heeler family were all wearing paper crowns on their heads at Christmas lunch.
Seeking answers, Brittany turned to the ‘Adult Bluey Fans’ Facebook group to ask what was going on.
“Can any of our lovely Australian members tell me why they’re all wearing the crowns in season two, episode 26 Christmas Swim? I thought it was so cute and would love to know more about it!” she wrote.
The post was quickly flooded with more than 1,300 comments with many shocked that the tradition was unknown in America.
“It’s tradition in Australia. Bad jokes, paper crowns, salads, seafood, cricket, Christmas is awesome,” commented one user.
Another added: “My mind is blown, I thought Christmas hats/crackers were universal. It is basically Grinch behaviour to not wear a hat at Christmas lunch in our family. We need to send you some!”
After reading the comments and with her newfound knowledge on Christmas crackers, Brittany was impressed. “Wow that is so neat! Thanks so much for telling me about this. My family may adopt this as a new tradition!”
It’s not the first time Bluey has caused some confusion in America. One US mum was left scratching her head when she spotted Bluey, Bingo and Bandit eating from multi-coloured tubes labelled as sherbet.
“They’re calling this ‘sherbet’, but why is it in a tube? It looks like a giant pixie stick to me,” wrote Emily from Michigan.
“In the US, sherbet is like ice cream, so is it something else in Australia?”
Bluey’s Aussie words confuse US fans
In America, sherbet is the frozen dessert made with fruit juice and cream. In Australia it’s called sorbet.
Emily quickly discovered that Australian sherbet is a lolly straw full of sweet powder. In the United States, it would be similar to the powder in Pixy Stix or Fun Dip, though having the fizzy quality of effervescing candy, such as Pop Rocks.
The post also cleared up some confusion for many Australians and Brits.
“I’ve spent my whole life wondering why Americans on television call ice cream sherbet,” commented someone from Sydney.
Another added: “Sherbet being a kind of ice cream has blown my mind.”
“Sherbet is flavoured sugar in Britain, you can get something called sherbet lemons which is a boiled lemon flavoured sweet with sour lemon sherbet inside,” commented a Londoner.
This isn’t the first time US mums have been confused with Australian objects or slang words used in Bluey.
Amanda, from Massachusetts, spotted something odd in the background of the animated series, and initially thought it was a giant bottle of wine.
Sharing a screenshot in which she’d circled the object she spotted in the background of an episode, she took to the Bluey Mums Facebook page to ask for advice.
“Inquiring minds would love to know what’s up with the wine bottle in the bushes in ‘Daddy Robot’,” wrote Amanda.
A US mum questioned what the circled object was in a recent Bluey episode.
Bluey’s cricket episode stumps overseas’ viewers
It didn’t take long for Aussie mums to set the record straight and that mystery object was indeed a cricket bat.
“Immediately knew it was a cricket bat,” wrote one Bluey fan.
Another commented: “Definitely a cricket bat, but also a test to see what your mind is thinking about.”
A third person joked: “How big are your bottles of wine that they’d take up that much of a bush?”
After seeing the comments, Amanda wrote: “I am an American that unfortunately doesn’t follow cricket”.
Funnily enough, there were others that agreed with Amanda and were confused by the sight of the bat especially as cricket is not a major sport in the US.
“My American eyes definitely saw a wine bottle,” added one mum.
Lost in translation: Some of the Aussie culture references in Bluey cause confusion overseas.
Australian words used in Bluey have the US scratching heads
Last year Holly, from Missouri shared a list of Aussie slang terms and phrases which she found hard to understand.
In November last year, an American mum openly admitted she knows ‘nothing’ about Australians after watching Bluey.
While watching the show with her baby, Holly, from Missouri, made a list of the ‘weird’ terms and phrases that aren’t commonly used in the US.
“I am a young American momma and watching Bluey has made me realise something – I know NOTHING about Australia,” she wrote.
“I have made a list on my phone of things that don’t make sense to me in Bluey.”
The list of 21 words included phrases that wouldn’t make an Aussie viewer bat an eye, including “pavlova”, “morning tea” and “budgie”.
Check out Holly’s full list below of 21 commonly used Aussie words and phrases.
A US mum made a list of terms from Bluey she did not understand.
Only in Australia is a toilet called the dunny.
