Or more particularly... fans of Australia and all things Aussie!
I'm stoked that you guys have been hanging out so long for the next word from this blog. In fact, I'm so inspired that I am considering how I can schedule this into my daily/weekly routine. (I've said that before, right?)
So anyway, here's the big news...
I'M BACK DOWN UNDER!
Yeah mate, that's right. I was living in Siberia (Russia) with my fam bam for three glorious years. We had a ripper time and managed to make a whole stack of friends. But it was time to mosey on home to where kangaroos roam.
There's one big difference already... a Summer Christmas!
We just enjoyed our first Summer Christmas since 2012. There's something to be said for a beautiful white Christmas with snow, ice-skating and all that... but coming home to Oz, it's just like the good old days again.
Typically, on Christmas day we wake up early (the time is generally dictated by the tin lids) and flop around on the lounge and floor near the Christmas tree.
Kids rip into their presents and shout for joy as they unwrap toys, gadgets and of course socks and undies. It could be argued that some families overdo it a bit. Personally, I don't like to splurge too much.
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| My mob on Christmas morning, 2016 |
Some folk head off to church for a morning service where the original Christmas story is lovingly retold and kids often show off one or two of their favourite gifts.
Following that, we have a whopping big family lunch of salads, sliced meat, maybe a BBQ and then bucket loads of lollies, cakes and ice cream. One of the most well-loved cakes at Christmas time is the pavlova (or "pav" as we say).
We recently moved to a new town near the beach and not too far from the alpine regions. The temp is a bit cooler here, but even so, Christmas Day is renowned for being a STINKER. That means, very hot.
If you're lucky, Christmas Day will end with a nice big thunderstorm and cool, cleansing rain.
Just so you can get a sense of the Aussie Christmas tradition, I'm posting a link to Colin Buchanan's well-known rendition of "Jingle Bells" - aptly retitled "Aussie Jingle Bells".
Enjoy...
Useful words:
Down Under: Australia
Fam bam: family
Ripper: Awesome, excellent, amazing
A stack of: lots of, many
Mosey on: to leave, go somewhere, walk away
Tin lids: kids (rhyming slang)
Spluge: to spend a lot of money
Whopping: huge, big, large
Stinker: a very hot day, a stinking hot day
