Having grown up in England, Christmas in Australia never really feels 100% right. This may well explain the introduction of the tradition of “Christmas in July” although frankly even in the midst of winter, Sydney never quite gets cold enough for me to hear the faint whisper of sleigh bells on a chilly Southerly wind (see even the winds are the other way round, Northerlies are the chill-bringers in England).
Saying that, and before all the Australians I know tell me to pack my bags and go home, it doesn’t feel wrong either. It is simply that Christmas is a very different experience for me here but it is still very much a season that inspires gratitude for the wonderful people around me. Whether sitting on a beach or rugged up in a London pub, the festive season is all about catching up with the people that make your life meaningful.
It isn’t just about those that are in the same time zone as you. I’m suddenly hyper aware of the Christmas developments back home. This makes me feel connected to my family and I’m really excited about calling them Christmas Day morning (Christmas Eve evening in UK when my predominantly Polish family gather together to celebrate Wigilia). Over the noisy background noise of 30+ boisterous members of my family the telephone receiver will be passed around so that I can catch up with my mum, my god daughter (who turns 18 Christmas Eve and is really the most wonderful young woman), my aunt, my uncle and my cousins. It may not be the same as being with them but hearing their voices is now an integral part of my new Christmas tradition.
Plus the reality is that even if I had been planning to go back to England for this Christmas, the odds would have been against my making it. The snow that made me vow last year to only visit in the European summer is back with a vengeance and causing no end of mayhem for people all over the world. The ensuing chaos means that the gifts I sent may or may not make it (my aunt updates me – I can’t actually track the pacakge as sending it recorded delivery would have pushed the postage north of $140 which is nuts). Since it is out of my hands, all I can do is hope for the best.
Now would be a great time to wish for some Christmas miracles though, so St Nicholas if you could please oblige here are mine:
- For my friends trying to make it home, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with fabulous people even if it may not be exactly where you were planning to be.
- For my Wigilia-going family, I hope the snow allows you to safely make the trip to Berkshire so that you can all be together to share Opłatek as per decades of tradition.
- For packages that are currently in postal limbo, I hope that you find your way to your destinations and deliver the smiles the gifts inside were selected to inspire.
- For the Queen of England, don’t be afraid to experiment with your Christmas speech: I’d love to see you break with etiquette and tell us what you really think. Go on, you know you want to!
I’ll be spending a lovely Christmas Day with my big brother Guy, his wife Ann, my nephew Tom and their pets Alfie (puppy) and Joey (rabbit). Some might say that Guy isn’t actually my brother because he isn’t a blood relative but to them I’d answer “if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck than it’s a friggin’ duck.” Hopefully Gertie Getz will get me there (she recently threw a strop, we’re working through it) ummm maybe I shouldn’t have used up my quota of Christmas miracles.
On that note I’ll sign off. Louis is sound asleep on the sofa in the most improbable position that means that his tummy is in immediate need to tickling.
Merry Christmas!!
