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Archiver > IRL-GALWAY > 2001-12 > 1008884935


From: "Jeff Holmes" <>
Subject: [GALWAY] Christmas in Australia
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 08:49:01 +1100


Hi Everyone,

As a young boy with an 'English' grandmother (with an Irish mother)and
despite the heat of summer it was always roast pork and turkey for christmas
lunch, followed by pudding & custard with hidden sixpences and cold stone
fruits. On my wife's side from Irish descent it was similar with roast
pork. You can't beat that pork crackly !! Dinner, if you had room to fit
anymore in, was cold leg ham and left over pork, turkey etc.

Many people now for a bit of fun celebrate 'Christmas in July' here on the
east coast of NSW, the middle of our winter. We go all the way -
traditional christmas dinner of pork and turkey, pudding etc, decorations,
presents, Santa - the whole bit !! It's a real bit of fun and quite
enjoyable during our colder weather.

Christmas day for us now is pressies opened very very early with the kids
followed by leg ham & eggs, orange juice & champange on the bbq for
breakfast, followed by a swim at the beach and christmas lunch is fresh cold
cooked prawns, oysters, lobster and cold ham, pork and turkey - gone is the
hot oven as the temperature rises into the 30 deg C.

A traditional christmas lunch for our Irish ancestors in the mid 1800's here
in rural Australia must have been really something with our high summer
heat.

The christmas tree (live pine) goes up 12 days before christmas and is taken
down 12 days after christmas (24 days of xmas).

And yes, Carols by Candlelight is a big thing from small towns through to
the televised events from Sydney and Melbourne.

Jeff - from the sunny and warm north coast of NSW, Australia

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