Christmas Down Under

The Bach @ Lord Thomas of Wellington asked me how we celebrate Christmas in the Land Down Under. To answer this I would have to say that Christmas in Australia is celebrated in many different ways because we are a multi-cultural country.

It's summer here at the moment and we are having one of the wettest summers we've had in years. As I write this it's dark, raining & I can hear green frogs croaking outside the window which is actually beautiful music to my ears. The weather bureau forecast predicts that we are in for a wet Christmas this year which isn't so bad for me & my family as we celebrate at home with the extended family but for those whom may have planned a beachy style outdoor Christmas it's going to put a damper on their day.

So, unlike most of my friends in the Northern Hemisphere I will never experience a White Christmas in Australia unless I travel to the Snowy Mountains in the cooler months of the year and celebrate what is referred to as "Christmas in July" where a traditional Christmas meal of turkey, plum pudding, egg nog & such is served. I'm afraid though, this wouldn't cut it for me.

Some day I want to experience a real White Christmas at the correct time of the year in December. I want to make snow men, have a snow ball fight, make my very own snow angel, stand with my face to the sky and catch snow flakes with my tongue. I want to eat turkey, plum pudding, candied potatoes & drink egg nog! I want to kiss under the mistletoe!

In most homes people have Christmas trees up (we do), some people have the houses decorated with Christmas lights (we don't) , the shops are adorned with Christmas decorations, their are Carols by Candle Light Celebrations being held in churches, schools & parks all over the country. We have Santa's in every shopping centre & mall wearing the classic Santa suits which I might add are terribly hot for them, the poor dears! They should be wearing shorts, singlets & thongs because it's so hot!

My family celebrate Christmas this way:

In the lead up to Christmas day we will attend at least one Christmas Carol gathering together. When the weekend newspaper lists all the homes that have entered the Christmas lights competition we will load the car CD player with Christmas music, take along some Christmas nibbles & go for a Christmas lights drive. On Christmas Eve we will go to the carols at our church which is followed by midnight mass. After mass we will come home & open one present each under the Christmas tree and then it's off to bed.

Christmas morning is always wonderful. It's a rule in our house that no one goes to the Christmas tree until we are all awake & everyone is together. So inevitably I get woken up with the chickens because the kids find it too hard to wait. Christmas music is played, the camera is always at the ready & we open our presents. This is then followed by a very yummy BBQ breakfast of bacon & eggs.

After breakfast we load up all the Christmas food, presents etc & make our way to my sisters house to celebrate the rest of Christmas day with the extended family. It's always a fun day!

Our Christmas Feast consists of prawns (shrimp), crabs, a very yummy selection of salads, potato bake & trying to keep some tradition my sister always bakes a turkey & ham! The classic Christmas drink of egg nog is replaced by a non-alcoholic fruit punch served with plenty of ice plus there is always a good selection of red wines, beer & champagne.

The classic deserts at our Christmas feast are Pavlova & my Aunty Mary's very wicked but oh so yummy trifle plus there is always a beautiful selection of summer fruits.

So after we had eaten a ridiculous amount of food ( there is always enough food to feed an army).. we laze around & enjoy each others company. We have also been known to play silly games, sing a little karaoke, share jokes/ stories & if it's really hot weather have water balloon fights & laze about in the wading pool.

Yep I love Christmas and hope that everyone of you have a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with your loved ones ... however you may celebrate!

MERRY CHRISTMAS