The Observer have asked me to do a short piece about spending Christmas in Australia. Basically they want to know what our ‘traditions’ are and how they differ from other parts of the world.
I’ve talked about stuff that I love about Christmas in Oz in a previous entry. I was wondering if you guys have anything to add?
Not just the Aussies either. I’m keen to hear from non-Aussies who have spent the festive season Downunder too.
This is where you'll find everything you need to know about me and my books.
The novelty of a warm Christmas (I’m originally from the US), which meant the ability to go walk off dinner and/or not overeat in the first place.
The smell and sight of the flame trees and jacaranda blooming make for a far more festive season than dead,leafless trees.
Nothing beats a post-lunch nap followed by a swim at the beach…
Perhaps the oddest thing is that many Mums still insist on the full English-style roast — ham, turkey, potatoes and all the trimmings. So it’s 35 degrees outside, 45 degrees in the kitchen, and Mum spends the whole day in there.
We’ve recently managed to wean my Mum onto only the ham, which she glazes in advance and serves cold. This year we’re doing chilli squid and prawns on the BBQ. Yummy!
Never experienced an Aussie Christmas, but I am about to experience an Aussie New Year. I can imagine Christmas would be very surreal for someone from the northern hemisphere, with the strong sunshine and heat at at time of year that we’d normally associate with hot food, warm clothing, and thickly-dressed Santas.
Christmas day for me involved my grandparents arguing… Poppy would do the meat on the Webber grill, while Grandma would roast the potatoes and boil the other veggies until they were limp. And they would yell at one another from the kitchen to the backyard about who was holding the other up. “Peg, are you ready?!” “Will! I’m waiting for you”. “I don’t know why would would be, Peg.” “Will? I can’t hear you.”
Complaining about the heat as they baked and roasted was also a regular feature of the day. The only weather-specific thing we’d have at Grandma’s was prawn-cocktails for entree.
when I was little, I’d play in the paddling pool after lunch…
as a teen, I’d curl up in a corner and read my new books….
It’s almost not the same now that mum does Christmas day – no arguing, lots of cocktails and cold meat/seafood… much more of a finger-food type meal.
Visiting a friend’s place in the evening to compare giftage and got for a swim is a nice bonus of having Christmas at home.
We watched cricket and huddled around the a/c unit.
Flies. Prawns. Flies on the prawns. Kitchen floor all sticky from things being dropped in the cooking process. Mum’s floury hands. Rum Balls. Sitting down to lunch already full from nibbling chips & dips all day. More flies. Lying on the couch. Tim Allen movies. Halfhearted backyard cricket in between courses. Collecting all the ripped wrapping paper in a plastic bag. Searching for batteries for all the toys & gadgets you’ve just unwrapped. Weber barbecues. Flies. The Panel’s Christmas Special. Going to bed knowing the Boxing Day Test is a few hours away…