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Autralian Christmas Traditions: Christmas under a Baking Summer Sun

This year as usual the reindeers will get their early tea break while Santa is delivering over Australia. They will be relieved for this section of the annual delivery by Six White Boomers, (Old Man Kangaroos).

This has been a famous Aussie Christmas song written by Rolf Harris during the 1960's, and has become an Australian Christmas theme song. The reason for this is that it is high summer downunder at this time of year. The story goes about a lost joey kangaroo and how Santa and the boomers do a second run the night after Christmas to return him to his parents.

The lead up to the big day is highlighted by evenings spent with a blanket and songbooks at the local park, joining in with some of the many `Carols by Candlelight' celebrations. Often followed by wonderful fireworks displays.

This period during the lead up to the big day is often spent touring the many displays of Christmas lights around many homes. Artificial displays of snowy Christmas's usually strike a bit of a rough chord when you are sweating in shorts and T-shirt.

Snow and ice are definitely out at this time of year, because it's the time of swimmers, surfboards, beaches (and improving the suntan), Barbeques and games of Backyard Cricket. What else can you do on a day that often goes past 40 degrees Celsius (110 Fahrenheit).

For my family it will be a lazy dinner of cold ham, cold roast chicken and salads. The only hot item on the menu will be the obligatory custard and Christmas pudding. Followed by a trip down to the beach with inflatable boats and swimming to cool off. After that we will be coming home and watching/playing backyard cricket and baseball games with an afternoon tea break of freshly picked mangoes and watermelon.

Many of the salad items for lunch will be picked fresh from the veggie garden, after the initial 5:00 am wake up call from my five year old, who gets us all up to spend a couple of hours of unwrapping presents and an initial play with the presents. Plus a check to see whether Santa and the Boomers have eaten any of the food and drink left out for them the previous evening.

Late afternoon will be spent under a shady tree having a snooze to catch up on earlier missed sleep.

It's a great way to spend a lazy holiday period, as the kids have recently started their 8-week summer vacations from school. And all is right with the world.

If those cold wintry winds are getting to you, why not plan on coming downunder and joining we Aussies next year.

By Ron Williams

Ron Williams is a Freelance writer as well as being a Horticulturist and a Rehabilitation Therapy Aid at a Psychiatric Hospital in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He writes ezines for wz.com. He also owns a discussion group about Australian Gardening, called austgardens atgroups.yahoo.com. http://wz.com/homegarden/bio/ContainerGardening.html