Even the offices will organize official dinners and celebrations. Christmas in summer is delightful, but if you've spent most of your life revelling in that wonderful anticipation which begins around November and writing cards on dark, chilly evenings before the fire then nothing else will do. So for very many people, it is still, very much a religious observance. Carols by Candlelight bring tens of thousands, from all backgrounds, to municipal parks where singing and sharing Christmas has become a much-loved tradition. Every small town and suburb has its own Santa Parade, a procession of floats dressed by community and commercial organizations who collect money for charity and throw sweeties to the children in the cheering crowds.
Foods play an important part in the celebrations and for many in the islands of the South Pacific.
The traditional after-church meal, shared on December 25th, is raw fish in coconut cream, taro, bananas, mangoes and a whole variety of delicious summer foods. If we are very lucky, we may be invited to a hangi, a traditional Maori feast cooked in an earth oven. There is nothing to beat the tender, slightly smoky flavour of pork, lamb, chicken and vegetables cooked this way, the best of Christmas feasts, often followed by a sing-along. For most of us, it is still family time, so north or south, we're very much alike. All copyrights reserved.