Down under Santa gets a suntan

For two weeks now I have been playing non-stop every Christmas CD I could lay my hands on, yet the Christmas Spirit cannot really get a hold of me. As a Dutch guy I am used to celebrating Christmas during the wintertime, with dark days, many Christmas lights, hot cocoa and green pea soup. Over here it is mid-summer now. December 21 is the longest day of the year. When I wake up at 6:30 AM the morning hasn’t just broken, it has completely eroded. Going to bed the darkness has fallen for a staggering 15 minutes already. Trying to use Candles and lights to lift up the spirit is therefore just plain ridiculous, you can hardly see if they are lit at all.

Yet all Kiwis give it their best shot. “Winter wonderland” plays on the radio, Christmas trees are everywhere you look and the streets are also filled with Christmas decorations. Santa Claus is walking through the streets, sweating all over the place dressed in his winter suit. It sure looks a bit peculiar for someone who is used to celebrate Christmas during the wintertime.

On top of that Christmas time is the start of summer vacation here. During summer vacation NZ just completely grinds to a halt for two weeks. The week before Christmas is THE week to get all the things done that you could have done weeks earlier but didn’t. Everyone not at work rushes to get to the store for some last minute Christmas shopping (nowhere an empty parking space in sight… almost feels like a Dutch home sweet home), everyone at work rushes to get it all finished before the Christmas deadline. Christmas-stress is a very common disorder among Kiwis. This time of year is called “silly season” over here, and rightly so in my opinion :-)

Anyway, feeling out of season or not, we still want to celebrate Christmas in one way or another. We have cosily decorated the room, and closing the drapes early almost makes you believe it is kinda dark outside. On Christmas eve we will have a nice home-cooked lamb roast, we will attend the carol singing in the Christchurch Cathedral, after which we will visit another carol singing event, which is held in a small park and is being organised by the Salvation Army. On Christmas Day we will drive to Ashburton for the traditional Christmas family visit ;-)

Fun enough to be had. But any Christmas spirit oozing down on us… nah…