An Aussie Christmas

An Aussie Christmas... Oprah said her final farewells and left Sydney to return back to States on her private plane or as reports have it maybe to stop over in Fiji before returning home. I am sure my BFF Dolly will be missing her already and I enjoyed her updates as to where she was and what was happening. I am sure Dolly will probably be emailing her asking her to come back and visit her from now on. With all the talk about O and her guests seeing all these amazing destinations Australia has to offer it got me thinking how would I describe an Aussie Christmas. It certainly is nothing like an American White Christmas. 

Christmas in Australia is set in Summer. Temperatures on average being 30 plus Celsius or 86 plus in Fahrenheit. It's usually very hot no matter where you are.  Christmas Dinner is usually held at midday and can be anywhere from family home to hotels or restaurants or outdoors at beach or parks. Christmas trees and decorations and lights all seem to be celebrated the same whether in Australia or in the States. 

The weather seems to set the tone and I usually have an image in my mind of a hot summer day. Lots of food usually indoors with air conditioning. Playing outside with paper Christmas hats on with the ink dripping off a sweaty face.  Eating till you basically feel you have to have a nap. Then doing it all again that night with the leftovers. 

Traditional Christmas Dinner includes ham, pork, turkey and fresh seafood. Either served cold or hot with some roasted vegetables but usually with salads. Traditional desserts or sweets would include trifle, pavlova, fruit salad. Christmas plum pudding is a desert that is served enflamed. During the Australian gold rushes these puddings often had a gold nugget baked inside them but are now usually replaced with other treats. Anyone who finds them in their plate is believed to have good luck throught the coming year. Fruit mince pies are also popular which are similar to christmas pudding made with fruit. Christmas dinner is usually a smorgasbord of that takes up at least one whole table and at least a day to eat it.

Aussie Jingle Bells lyrics...

Dashing through the bush, in a rusty Holden Ute, 
Kicking up the dust, esky in the boot,

Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs, 
It's Summer time and I am in my singlet, 
shorts and thongs

 Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,  
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut !,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine's getting hot; we dodge the kangaroos, The swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too. All the family's there, sitting by the pool, Christmas Day the Aussie way, by the barbecue.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey! 
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Come the afternoon, Grandpa has a doze, The kids and Uncle Bruce, are swimming in their clothes.

The time comes 'round to go, we take the family snap,
Pack the car and all shoot through, before the washing up.
 
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute

Aussie Jingle Bells

Snow in Ohio - Just in time for Christmas December 2010

Homer is absent at least until more snow falls!

Snow in Ohio seems to have got itself all organized for Christmas this year. Another night of bitterly cold temperatures (0 farenheight/-17 celcius) but the snow seems to have stopped falling for now. It really is beautifully serene when there is little wind and the sun is shining. Homer the local Mr Plow has not burst my bubble of serenity so I could enjoy what winter has to offer. Even the deer are out and about enjoying the newly fallen snow.

Nothing quite like waking up to seeing everything covered in snow and I truly believe everyone should experience at least one White Christmas in a lifetime.

My first experience was magical when I was woken in the early hours to look outside at everything within view encrusted with an ice kingdom of snow. Whiter than the white clouds in the sky. The merest reflection of light giving an ambiance to everything within sight. To touch it was softer than cotton wool and melted in the hand. The smell of the dry crisp cold air. Face and hands stinging with the cold. Everything is pristine and pure. Tree tops to tree limbs,  roof tops to outdoor swings.

It really is captivating to just look at all the intricate details that nature has bestowed. Heaven on earth by the hand of mother nature.

Snow in Ohio to me is still a wonderland of nature at its finest. I enjoy its beauty and its ability to be so simple yet so detailed. From the icicles that  hang like Christmas lights to the freshly fallen untouched purity of an untouched field of snow. 

Coming from the Land Down Under Christmas is a totally new thing for me having a White Christmas. Having spent most of my life with Christmas Days in the scorching heat and in air conditioning to get away from it I truly enjoy the magic that goes along with waking up to Christmas like in the story books read to me as a child.

Here's to the countdown to Christmas and whatever anecdotes shall come with it.

Oprah Visits Australia

As I'm sure everyone is aware from the media reports that Oprah and her chosen audience have all gone on a trip to Australia. The media reports both in States and Australia all show them having a great time and they are definitely seeing a lot of the country. Australian's in return are going wild over the visit and its getting more popularity than if royalty was visiting. My best friend Dolly is daily inundating me reports of where Oprah has been and how she wished she was there too! She just can't get enough of Oprah and from her anecdotes neither can the rest of Australia. Hence my Blog on Oprah's visit.


If the O that was placed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge wasn't enough to impress, there was also a few home viewer visits from Oprah herself. Canterbury Boys School was lucky enough to get given computers (although personally giving to a public school not a private school would have been a more charitable act). She also helped out cancer patient and his family which is a great deed from the reports I read on it.

There is photos of the visit to Australia on the Oprah site of all the places they have been to and as an Australian I enjoyed looking through them all. I was particularly pleased when I saw a photo of Oprah cuddling "elvis" the koala that he was referred to as koala and not koala bear.

Celebrities such as Russell Crowe and his wife Daniel Spencer joined in with a sailing cruise around Sydney's Habour and each State seems to be bringing out their finest in honor of the visit. I had to chuckle at the many messages left for Oprah on her facebook page. There is so many from Australian's all over the country putting in their pleas for her to come and visit them personally. I am sure that she would have to stay at least a year to even get through a quarter of the people that have left messages there alone. I am sure to be updated more on the visit and wish them all a great Christmas in the Land Down Under.