We have certainly noticed that the lead up to Christmas is nothing like it is in Canada. Very few decorations and only a few homes have lights or decorations and they are mostly in the city of Auckland. Even the shops are void of decorations or even Christmas music. Christmas here coincides with School Year End when the children will have six weeks of holidays prior to starting their next year, summer has just begun and Christmas is really at the beginning of the holidays when people head for their bach (small cabins) or beach house (larger, upscale holiday homes). The ‘Silly Season’ is a term often heard on the TV ads.
Kiwis do celebrate a day called ANZAC Day on April 25th that gets families together like Christmas and it occurs at the beginning of their winter.
They celebrate Boxing Day also, being a very British tradition, just as we do.
We have spent the past few days at Magi’s cousins beach house at Grahams Beach which is about 30km directly across (west) from the Auckland Airport and it has been fun to watch the new 787 Airbus (the largest flying aircraft) that arrives and departs once a day with a direct flight to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The beach house is directly on the Manukau Harbour fed from the Tasman Sea and the huge doors across the front open completely allowing the ocean breeze in and giving us an unobstructed view and are without screens. Amazing, there are hardly any bugs, something we could only hope for in Canada. The mosquitoes in Muskoka would eat you alive day and night if we opened all the doors and windows without screens.
We will be going to Hugh and Rae’s for Christmas and they are expecting fourteen people so it should be fun to experience a Kiwi Christmas.
Merry Christmas to all and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!
No comments:
Post a Comment