Friday Follies - Ghosts of Christmas Past

Canada vs Australia

Growing up in two different countries on opposite sides of the Earth meant that I got to experience Christmas in both winter and summer.  Most of the holidays of my youth were celebrated in winter, so I think that's where my heart lies when it comes to Christmas.  It never feels quite right to be hanging decorations with sweat trickling down my butt crack.

You have to love a real Christmas Tree - it even looks good
surrounded by 1970's décor.

Christmas always felt cosy and comforting with the snow outside, cushioning our house from the world.  If you were particularly lucky, big fluffy snowflakes would be gently falling, covering the world with a calm quiet while reflecting all the colours of the twinkling lights.  Christmas lights hung on the eaves of a house take on a magical quality with snow capping the roof like icing on a cake.  It's something out of a fairy tale.  The fire would be warmly crackling in the fireplace, it's glow reflecting on the tinsel and baubles that were hung on the tree.  Pets would be stretched out by the hearth, warming their full tummies, dreaming of ways to sneak some of the Christmas treats. Mum would always have some baking on the go, scents of cinnamon, cloves and ginger tantalising us as we waited for Christmas Eve.  These are the memories of my childhood.

Ooo, lights and snow!

Christmas in Australia is a time of heat, sun and beach.  Quite often Christmas Day is stinking hot, with everyone hiding in the air conditioned chill.  Presents for kids tend more to the bikes, boogie boards and bathing suits, unlike the toboggans, skates and scarfs that are gifted in Canada.   Dinner consists of cold meats, salads and seafood - except on the years that we all decide to go back to a traditional hot meal.  After sweltering for hours in the kitchen it is usually decided that it was a mistake, but oh so yummy!  If you can, a dip in the ocean or the pool is definitely on the menu.

No matter what hemisphere you live in, I think everyone has one or two special Christmas holidays that they always remember. 

Even Santa likes a swim

One of my very favourite memories of Christmas is from when we were little - I'm not even sure that we were in school yet.  Christmas still had the joy and mystery of Santa, and we believed in him wholeheartedly.  As December approached, it was the time to be mindful of your behaviour and make sure that it was the very best, after all, Santa was watching!  Christmas lists would be written and placed on the fridge for all to see, and as Christmas Eve drew closer, the anticipation made it harder and harder to sleep.

Another great Christmas Tree when we were young.

This particular Christmas Eve we went to an annual celebration at a friend's cabin on the lake.  The decorations were always immaculate and their tree was real and full of ornaments, tinsel and lights.  There had been a big snowfall, and to be honest, the only thing I remember about that night at the cabin was that all the kids had lots of fun tobogganing down the hill to the frozen lake.  I'm sure we were fed until we couldn't be fed anymore and played games until we were exhausted.  The drive home was quiet as my brother and I fell asleep in the backseat, snug, content and loved.

Playing in the snow at the cabin.

Before we had left home, we had decided that we would leave a note by Santa's cookies and milk (in later years Santa had asked if we could leave pretzels and Scotch, but that's another story...apparently it's cold out there.) asking if Santa could please leave one present at the end of our beds, to be spied the minute that our eyes opened in the morning.  Mum told us not to get our hopes up, that Santa may not have time to read the notes, but we could leave them anyway.

We quickly brushed our teeth, changed into our pj's (flannel, of course) and jumped into bed.  Even though we tried desperately to keep our eyes open in order to catch Santa in the act, the fresh air and fun had made sleep inescapable.

Presents!

Morning came, as it always does, and what did we see?  A present!  I cannot tell you how excited we were that Santa had read our note and then left us one present each on our beds.  If that wasn't proof of the old guy's existence, we didn't know what was.

What a perfect Christmas spent playing in the snow with friends and then Santa loving us enough to take the time to make us happy.  It really didn't get better than that.  If I try really hard, I can still vaguely recall what that felt like, that magic of Santa.

More presents...but why is my brother not wearing pants?
Note pillow cases used for Santa Sacks on the chair.

That was my favourite Christmas because it felt like what Christmas is supposed to feel like as a kid, and something to be treasured for all time.

Another of my favourite Christmas' was the year that all of the Australian relatives made the trek over to experience a white Christmas.  Our house was full to the rafters, and Mum had gathered winter coats, etc from friends far and wide so that we had enough items to cover all of the Aussie body parts.  So much laughter and love that Christmas, it was noisy and crazy and wonderful.  And such fun watching the Australians discover things that we took for granted.  It was a particularly harsh Christmas that year, with record low temperatures.  The Aussies learned that snot did indeed freeze, the ice was really slippery and really, really hard when you fell, and that it didn't take long for beer to get cold if you put it in the snowdrift when the fridge was full.  They also learned the joys of extremely dry air, jolting themselves with static electricity at every turn, and learning that your skin can get dry enough that it cracks.


Christmas in Edmonton



As much as they enjoyed that Christmas, they said that it didn't feel like Christmas to them as it wasn't hot and they couldn't go to the beach.

Although sometimes it seems like Christmas is prescribed by the media, and it should be this and it should be that, Christmas is highly personal to everyone.  It's what you grew up with, what you loved, and what traditions your family made.  No Christmas is better than the other as long as it is spent with family and friends, but I still miss the white Christmas.  For me, it was enchanting, and the cold and snow just magnified the beauty of it all. 

Is that Santa?

But don't get me wrong, sipping ice cold champagne by the poolside has it's merits too!
Enjoy your Christmas, whatever you are doing, and make memories for the future.