“Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ”

― Norman Vincent Peale

Pohutukawa - NZ Xmas tree

This little quote is one of my favorites and it helps take away some of the drama that seems to envelope most families at this time of the year.  Many questions can make Christmas stressful and not exactly the most enjoyable of holidays. "Have you got the presents organized and wrapped",,, "are the cards posted in time",,, "have we missed the overseas mail",,, "do you think this will be the right size",,, "have they already got one of these" ,, "can we afford a turkey that big or will we get a large chicken",,, "watch out, she's eating the decorations" ,,,"what do you mean THAT wrapping paper is for birthday's only" etc, etc.

I LOVE Christmas, because it gives us a chance to think of family and friends and to look forward to all those familiar Christmas habits that have developed over the years. I used to look forward to the Christmas Carols, but in recent years these have been broadcast in the shops from the end of October and they lose some of their magic. I was in a choir in my youth and we enjoyed singing the old favorites at the end of the school term, but then you wouldn't hear them again until Christmas Eve. Lyn and I have agreed that of all the most recent offerings, "Snoopy's Christmas" is the best commercial offering and tells us that "Christmas is not far away".

 I personally have always enjoyed "White Christmas" but only if it is sung by Bing Crosby and it has been a tradition in our house that the old carols are to be heard on Christmas Eve and in the morning before the traditional lunch time feast is started. In recent years I have enjoyed listening to Josh Groban and his rendition of "O HOLY NIGHT" which has become an annual favorite. There is a clip taken at the Vatican http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0C5ZDi1rs and there are others.

I have often wondered what it would be like to have a "WHITE Christmas" although the weather this year in some parts of the world coming up to the holidays, leaves a lot to be desired. TV news has shown us storms and bad weather in many Northern countries and the idea of freezing cold temperatures, heavy snow and rain with transport delays in the USA and general mayhem would not be a nice way to start the holiday season.

A White Christmas

 Our New Zealand day is often very sunny and quite warm as it is early Summer, but that doesn't stop us from sending cards with lovely snowy scenes and Santa riding a sleigh through a white wonderland. I love the old traditional card scenes with Carolers wandering the streets or gathering under flickering gas lamps to sing their carols, wrapped up in thick jackets and scarves and with brightly lit windows in the background with a roaring fire visible from the street. I guess it is the tradition that I like, mainly because I remember Christmas when I was a child, when these were the norm  for cards.  Christmas Eve was always a difficult time to go to sleep and excitement reigned supreme! We woke on Christmas morning to check our pillow cases on the end of our bed, sometimes accompanied by a  nylon stocking with a few edible goodies such as nuts in the shell, but ALWAYS with a nice orange at the bottom of the stocking. When we were young the family wasn't terribly religious, but as children we attended bible school and when I was a Cub and then a Boy Scout, we were involved with groups at St Mary's Anglican Cathedral in Parnell, so the full meaning of Christmas was well known to us all. As a baptised Catholic later in life I really enjoyed the church rituals and Midnight Mass was quite an experience, but as I was extremely busy during the Christmas period, I was usually very late getting home and fairly exhausted!

Waipu Cove@ Xmas

Another feature of Christmas that I enjoy, is watching little children participate in the family rituals, be it helping to decorate the tree, or on the day itself, opening presents. It makes me smile when I see expensive presents pushed to one side while the recipient spends more time with the wrapping or the container the present came in. As my own family grew up, we spent alternative Christmas's visiting the farm at Waipu, where it was common to have 19 seated for lunch! I remember one year when we purchased a remote controlled plane for my eldest son and my Father in Law, Henry, who was a keen model maker insisted that he show Gary "How to fly the plane properly once assembled" Oh what a hilarious time (which I managed to capture on video) as Henry assembled the plane quick smart and then proceeded to head for the house paddock to show us how it worked. He managed to get the plane off the ground and flying in a circle, but because the plane was tethered to the controller, it meant Henry had to follow the plane as it whirled in a circle above his head. He was last seen whirling down the hill until he got so dizzy he fell over! What a delightful memory!

If we had Christmas at home in Henderson, it was an early morning ritual before the regulation bacon & eggs to extricate a red vinyl plastic record and put it on the turntable. This wonderful Christmas collection of old and modern popular music hits is still in my keeping and I might just play it for old times sake this year, as long as the ancient gramophone player works.

A Kiwi Santa

As I get older, each Christmas becomes a period of reflection and a time to think of family members who are no longer with us. Recently we lost the Matriarch of our family who passed away following a short illness in September. The year will be the first year Auntie Ngaire won't be sending a card or having a conversation on the phone on Christmas Day and we will miss her terribly. I hope that this year our Christmas will be filled with laughter and memories to add to my collection and I look forward to sharing it with my family and their families. I hope all my friends will enjoy Christmas as much as I do and will endeavor to generate the warm feelings of Christmas throughout the following year! 

Merry Christmas everyone!

UPDATE# Pouring with rain tonight. The Annual Christmas Parade in Waipu (possibly the only one in NZ on Christmas Eve) is probably cancelled.