As every webpage and blog seems to want to remind me, Christmas is FIVE WEEKS AWAY. I'm always behind on this because as a transplanted Northern Hemispherer, Christmas in the middle of summer is plain weird and gives me none of the seasonal cues I would have had in Canada - like snow and cold. One of the biggest problems I have is that none of the traditional Christmas things make sense down here - rich heavy food, snow and winter-related symbolism, 90% of Christmas cards, wreaths, anything with red velvet. For those in the Northern Hemisphere, try to imagine having Xmas in July - can I interest you in some mulled wine, a roaring fire and snowflake imagery? No?
To that list I can also add most Xmas tutorials or winter issues of magazines not produced here or in Oz. However, I just took a quick look at
the most recent Sweet Paul (winter 2011) and discovered that a non-traditional take on Xmas like he has lends itself very well to a summer Xmas here. So if you're reading this while reading jandals (or flipflops or thongs or whatever your lingo is) then have a look, you might be surprised.
Your first sentence has given me a heart arrhythmia! 5 WEEKS when the flipping heck did that happen!?!
ReplyDeleteThat said the UK hasn't had snow yet so no need to panic, I've gone and said it now when I look out the window bet theres 6 foot of the stuff snuck down when I wasn't looking!
I always feel like Xmas crafting is out of season here too to be honest. it's actually the time of year when I want to start getting in the garden or out to the beach - not baking, sewing, cutting out cute shapes etc. The answer to that of course is for me to be so organised as to do some of that lovely stuff during the interminably rainy winter but that's never going to happen. plus the kids would get all the wrong cues and the nagging would treble.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that. If I had my way I'd only tell Hazel about Xmas on the 23rd.
ReplyDelete--- Sent from my iPhone ---
Lovely magazine - but I fear you've given me another way distract myself and forget that Christmas is coming!
ReplyDeleteI lived in Hawaii for half a year a while back and was there for Christmas. Very weird to have big snowflake ornaments hanging off the parking lot lightposts and to have Santa in his red suit painted into store windows. I did a lot of eye rolling. But I did really appreciate the folks down the street from us who strung lights and hung oversized ornaments in the shorter palm trees in their yard.
ReplyDeleteChristmas here seems to be a lot less serious and much more light-hearted, I guess because it's summer and bright and everyone is on summer holidays - I just need to compartmentalise the two celebrations and not mix one up with the other! I love the idea of oversize ornaments in palm trees though.
ReplyDeleteDenial, not just a river in Egypt ;)
ReplyDeleteIf I could, I'd remind Hazel about Xmas about 2 days before - it would save us all a lot of grief and she could survive on not enough sleep for that long.
ReplyDeleteIt's even less now - that's what happens when you're slack at replying to blog comments! It'll teach me.
ReplyDelete