December Observations

Now that we’ve been here for a while things don’t seem so alien. I don’t notice accents as much as I used to, nor do I feel like I speak so very differently from the locals. I don’t have to work to remember to call my phone in my purse a “mobile” and I call those red vegetables “tomAHtoes” when speaking with someone other than John.

I don’t hesitate when someone talks about buying a Chrissie prezzie (Christmas present). It seems normal to have wonderful fresh fruit available for Christmas--I’m eating watermelon or pineapple almost every day.

Christmas is celebrated differently here. People talk proudly of their fiber optic trees (I mean “fibre optic” trees) but I want to buy a real tree. The trees I have seen are different: the needles are longer and the branches are further apart. I keep thinking of the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Apparently one can buy a tree in the American style where the shop buys a big tree and trims it down to look like a normal tree you’d buy in the US. What is amusing about calling it an American style Christmas tree is that the custom came from Germany and, as I understand it, was introduced to England by Prince Albert. Since Queen Victoria was ruler during much of the growth and development of Australia you see her name an influence everywhere. So why don’t they refer to the trees as being in the Victorian style?

Further in the British influence on Australia, Christmas crackers are sold everywhere. For those who don’t know what a Christmas cracker is, it is a thing that looks like a giant, wrapped candy. You hold onto one end of the cracker and someone else pulls the other end. The device makes a sort of a snapping sound (hence the “cracker”) and comes apart in your hand. Inside are a paper hat, a joke and a cheap toy. This is almost unknown in the States.

Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, fruitcake, and mince pies are all for sale at the supermarket and have been since we arrived. Cadbury has made Christmas stockings full of various sweet treats such as Crunchie, Malteasers and Twirl, the European style candy bars.

Last revised: October 2003