Trans Pacific Christmas Contrasts

In these days of almost instant everything, including contact with people half a world away, it's easy to forget that a wee pond called the Pacfic Ocean separates New Zealand & the USA by 9600km (6000 miles).

Two Western countries, culturally very similar & alike in many ways - but so very different in others. Not least of all the fact that we are seasonal opposites.

Never are the seasonal differences more obvious than at Christmas time. The early settlers to New Zealand brought all of their European traditions with them but over the years they adapted & evolved. I guess the lack of snow in Summer may have forced that issue somewhat ;)

For this months artistic growth challenge Mallory Hoffman (Rosebud101) & I have decided to compile photo journals of those Christmas contrasts.

I've never experienced a white Christmas although I grew up knowing of them as that was the stuff of my Mum's childhood. I well remember the very  traditional English Christmas dinners - roast turkey, roast ham, roast potatoes,  green beans, corn, carrots, stuffing, cranberry sauce & gravy - Christmas pudding, fruit mince pies, trifle, brandy sauce, cream & ice cream. Everyone used to fall alseep mid afternoon after that lot....well,  the adults did & the kids had FUN!

Then somehow new potatoes &  kumara (sweet potatoes) snuck in, someone decided they didn't like turkey that much & it got replaced with chicken, the hams became cold hams..how about a salad with that, it's too hot for all those roast veges.  Before you knew it fresh fruit salad & Pavlova started replacing the trifle &  then; "Oh the heck with it lets have a BBQ & make things easy". You get the picture...

Of course food isn't the only difference - but you'll have to wait until the reveal on the 27th December, 2010 to see the rest of the differences between the way Christchurch New Zealand & Minnesota, USA ( a mere 13,221km or 8216 miles apart) celebrate the holiday season.

Lets see what  Mallory has to say about this challenge by visiting her blog!

Ok - I lied, here's another sneak peek.....

Christmas Countdown

New Zealand's Pohutukawa tree - because of the fact it flowers at Christmas it is now known as the Kiwi Christmas Tree.

Well I have to do something that is remotely 'Christmassy' - so I figured some images of things that us Kiwi's associate with Christmas might be in order. I look at the blogs of others & they are resplendent with images that I associate with my Mum's tales of a white northern hemisphere Christmas.

You know this 'heat lovin' southern hemisphere chick almost feels kind of envious!

Over the years New Zealand has taken on it's own Christmas icons, even whilst retaining a lot of the northern hemisphere traditions bought here from the United kingdom by our fore bearers. We still have the traditional turkey, cake & fruit mince pies, Christmas pudding & brandy sauce, trifle, eggnog, Christmas crackers, & always, always a batch (or two or three) of buttery shortbread. Then there's the traditional Christmas tree, although I did see one not so long ago decorated entirely in brightly coloured miniature flip flops!!

Some of it has always seemed rather incorrigible in the southern hemisphere sunshine & heat - with not much likelihood of snow & no need for wonderful roaring open fires, so many traditions have evolved. My memories as a child consist of a bunch of tanned youngsters spending all the time they could at the beach or in a pool swimming, many picnics & numerous family outings. We sat down long enough to eat dinner....if forced!

Fresh Fruit Salad - almost like mine!

These days a lot of Kiwi's now have BBQ's instead of the traditional dinner, years ago we replaced turkey with chicken (my fault - turkey is not something I have ever enjoyed that much) & glazed ham.... I don't like that either, but hey I'm content with chicken & Mum's stuffing! With too much of the heavier winter fare not sitting well on warm summer days, desserts often consist fresh fruit salads, & pavlovas - although I have yet to see a Christmas without the pudding & more often than not the trifle as well, albeit a lighter version.

Ahhh Kiwi Christmases can be a real blend of the old & the new.

A Real Kiwi Pavlova

Now Australia likes to lay claim to having invented the Pavlova - while searching around for a good description (instead of just saying an 'over sized meringue') I found this:

“The pavlova is an Australian or New Zealand dessert, a single-layered meringue cake with a crisp crust and soft, marshmallow centre, topped with whipped cream and fruit. The confection was popularised when the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova toured Australasia in 1925. Whether the final perfecting and naming of the cake was the achievement of Australians or New Zealanders is a matter of national rivalry. One explanation of the pavlova’s origins is that a West Australian chef found a recipe in a New Zealand women’s magazine and adapted it – an explanation which happily gives each country its own piece of the cake.”

Sorry – but this just tickles me. It has long since been established that the first published recipe for it was found in a New Zealand cookbook. So given the fact that this states it was published magazine…the real question is “should there even be any debate?” – lol! The aussie's at best might have re-named it ......

Freaky Friday - Things aint going my way!

"Freaky friday, things ain’t going my way
Everything is gone, my life is a country song
Oh-oh"
Remember Aqua? In case you don't check out the song on the music player to the right

Well I swore that I would never do this, but done it I have! It's all Mallory's fault too, Freaky Friday Challenge this week is base around the word "Bugger" & I just couldn't resist giving 'bugger' the introduction it ...ummm, deserves??

But I'm suffering badly from 'kid' brain this week.
Yes, in other words it's the school holidays here (AGAIN!) & like the Egyptians in ancient times - I'm inundated. Not the by the annual flooding of the Nile to help grow my crops, sadly, but by tweenage & teenage kids... suffice to say I'm in de nile ;o).

Anyway, now that I have my computer sorta' sorted, here is part one. The beads come tomorrow & I'm ashamed to say they are nowhere near the caliber of Mallory's Freaky Friday Challenge - "Bugger Beads".

Now I don't know quite how long I shall leave this up here - I really don't want the whole word to know how dreadful I sound, with my hideous Kiwi accent.
I don't normally wear a cap! But hey, do you think I was going to do my hair just because you guys were going to see me - nah! In truth I'm trying to grow it & I'm about this far I----I from getting it all lopped off again! It looks like a bad mullet!!

And, Mallory you have no idea what a challenge this was - it is the first time ever I have deliberately let myself be videoed - let alone posted it for all to see. Oh & perhaps you can tell I had problems restraining myself to 'bugger' at times ;o)