Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

Snow or Sand This Christmas

Many people like to fly off over Christmas and the New Year, preferring to spend the break relaxing in a holiday resort rather than enjoying the usual festive traditions at home. Some people just don’t like the chilly temperatures and like to go to warmer regions where there’s a good chance of sunny weather. Others prefer to go to places that are fortunate to have some real winter weather and where snow makes the Christmas celebrations extra special.

In 2009 there seemed to be lots of places around the globe expecting a white Christmas and not just the typical mountain resorts in countries like Austria, Southern Germany or Italy. Places like New York and Chicago are reporting with almost certainty that they will have snow this year and in the UK and Ireland almost everywhere is reporting a better than 50 per cent chance of snow this Christmas. Even Madrid in Spain predicts a 25 per cent chance, which is very unusual in this city.

Naturally some of the best winter Christmas resorts are the picturesque villages in the European Alps. Places like Klosters and Verbier in Switzerland are classed as exclusive, which does not mean that some people are excluded from going there, but presumably refers to the cost of taking a break there, and does not make them an option for all but the very rich. Both are small villages with permanent populations of around 5000 and 3000 people respectively, but those numbers can treble or quadruple over the festive period as the hotels and chalets fill up with holidaymakers seeking that extra special Christmas holiday.

Other places that offer cold winter weather and magical Christmas atmospheres are some of the European cities like Prague or Geneva. Both offer a fairly good chance of a white Christmas but also provide a range of affordable accommodation and a full events schedule that includes Christmas markets, concerts and sports events. Some of the most exclusive tickets in town are for the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Years Day concert at the world reknowned Musikverein concert hall. Tickets are assigned by drawing lots during January a year in advance. If you are fortunate enough to be allocated a ticket then you are faced with the choice of which ticket to purchase. These can vary in price from a reasonable 30 Euros right up to an amazing 940 Euros. However such is the demand for the tickets that many people regard it as a once in a lifetime opportunity and put aside any worries about the cost.

If a white landscape is not your idea of a perfect Christmas then travelling to a destination that provides the opposite in weather conditions is likely to be your choice. For people living in Europe the option of a trip to the other side of the world, where they are right in the middle of their summer is possibly the best way of getting some hot Christmas conditions. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and perhaps even South American countries like Brazil are all in the middle of their summer season which promises average daytime temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius and no possibility of snow. In cities like Buenos Aries, Argentina and Johannesburg, South Africa, December and January are also two of the wettest months of the year, so anyone travelling there should prepare for odd rain shower too.

A closer and drier alternative for Europeans might be be the Canary Islands and thousands of Brits choose to spend their Christmas and New Year in these sunny islands off the West African coastline. Their location makes them easy to travel to from the UK, and there is a wide choice flights taking passengers to the main resort islands of Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura from various UK cities. Being part of Spain there are no issues with complicated travel visas and traditions are familiar to those in the rest of Europe. Daytime temperatures during December and January are normally at least 25 degrees Celsius.

The resorts along the Southern Turkish coast may be much drier than Northern European places at this time of year, although they may not be as warm as the Canaries or the popular resorts of the Red Sea. In Sharm El Sheikh Christmas visitors can look forward to warm sunny days, water temperatures of over 22 degrees Celsius and almost no likelihood of rain.

2008 Christmas Events in Belgium

Each year, authorities and associations of Belgian towns organize their Christmas activities and curiosities. If you planned to spend the holiday season in Europe, and especially in Belgium, you have made an excellent choice and will have the opportunity to participate in these great events.

Belgian people are a warm people, always delighted to welcome you and make you discover the cultural wealth of their country but also to inform you that they are interested in foreign cultures and practice their customs with a great talent.

For instance, Brussels will become an annex to Santa Claus home: indeed, the Belgian capital is organizing once again its wonderful and fairy Christmas Village.

This time, the guest country of Brussels is the Reunion Island; which invites you to discover its richness, its beautiful landscapes while offering its culinary specialties to taste.

The Great Place of Brussels will become the most beautiful place of the world thanks to Electrabel; which installs its lightnings. The Brussels Christmas Market has been elected “Most Original Market of Europe” with its 220 cottages, divided between the Exchange building and the Place St. Catherine and offering thousands of different Christmas gift ideas and food specialties.

The Brussels Christmas Market is opened from November 30th, 2007 till January 1st, 2008.

If ice skating appeals to you, your children and you will enjoy to spend some time on the ice near the Saint Catherine place. The ice rink is opened from November 30th, 2007 till January 6th, 2008.

Brussels Christmas activities also include choirs, processions, artists, music bands, concerts…

At the three info cottages, you will be able to buy our famous “Snowflake books” which are sold for 10 euros and contain 10 Snowflake checks to spend on Christmas activities, food, drinks or gifts available in the village.

On December 21st, Maisieres near Mons organizes its 3rd Illuminated Christmas Walk: you will discover Maisieres streets and admire its illuminated creations. There is a small 1 € fee that entitles you to receive a glass of mulled wine and a soup upon arrival to keep you warm!

The former coal mine “Bois du Cazier” located in Marcinelle (Charleroi) organizes, from December 14th till 16th its sixth Christmas Market. About 80 regional craftsmen will offer to the public their quality handicrafts such as candles, pottery, witches, cribs, patchworks, snowmen, fine jewelry, silk paintings, and much more.

The “Bois du Cazier” is also a very interesting place to visit and a tribute to workers in coal mines that have sometimes lost their lives in very difficult this profession.

The town of Landelies organizes a stroll in barge and a visit to a Christmas market on the water from December 8th till 23rd. This activity consists on a mini cruise; which starts in the village of Abbaye-d’Aulne, navigation along the bird sanctuary, passage of locks, visit a Christmas market on the water and back to the point of embarkation.

From December 11th till 15th, in the Cathedral of Liege, the director of the Parisian Disney Parade will organize the “Night Of Christmas-Tell the Angels”; which will tell you an old story. A fairy evening, a moment that makes adults and children dream about Christmas and its meaning.

The town of Verviers organizes the “Swinging Christmas” concert: on December 15th, the most beautiful English Christmas carols such as “Jingle Bells”, “Silent Night”, “White Christmas”, “Santa Claus is comin to town” will be performed by the talented Roer’s Echoes Big Band Sourbrodt, a “Big” Big Band of 29 musicians; led by Pascal Peiffer also well known as leading the “Euro Symphonic Orchestra”.

A large number of Christmas activities are organized in Belgium and it would be impossible to list them all but one thing remains certain: you will never forget the Holiday Season in our small country.

Hi, Any suggestions for a camping destination in WA during Christmas Vacation?

I am looking to stay in a remote nature place for 10 days during Christmas vacation. The place must be quiet and not very costly. All suggestions are welcome.

Christmas season celebrations in Australia

Christmas season celebrations in Australia

Violet Teague (1872-1951), Adoration of Shepherds, 1931, oil on canvas. Photograph by Colin Holden. Image courtesy of Anglican Church of Australia Archive.

Christmas is celebrated in many parts of the world on 25 December. Protestant and Roman Catholic churches hold Christmas Day services on 25 December. The Eastern churches – the Ethiopian Orthodox church, Russian Orthodox church and the Armenian church – celebrate Christmas on 6 or 7 January. There have been rituals, parties and celebrations at this time of year for thousands of years.

The birth of Jesus

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Christians believe that Jesus is ‘the son of God’, the Messiah sent from Heaven to save the world.

The ‘Christmas story’ tells of the birth of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem, the angels announcing the birth to the shepherds in the fields, and the Magi (wise men from the East) visiting the stable and offering gifts to the newborn child.

The origins of Christmas

A Roman almanac confirms that 25 December was used to celebrate Christmas in 336 AD, although it was nearly 600 years later that the churches created a liturgy – a service for public worship – for the occasion.

The choice of date is believed to have been influenced by the northern hemisphere winter solstice, as well as ancient pagan rituals that coincided with the solstice. These rituals included the Halcyon Days in Greece, a period of calm and goodwill when it was believed the sea was calm for birds to lay their eggs; and the Roman celebration of Saturnalia, a celebration of the god Saturn, which involved wild parties, the exchange of gifts and the temporary suspension of social divisions between slaves and masters.

Christmas traditions and symbols

A photo of Santa arriving at the beach by boat. Image courtesy of the National Archives of Australia: A1500, K26950.

Christmas trees are part of a long tradition of greenery being taken into the home at Christmas to brighten the dreary winter. Mistletoe was popular with Druid priests because it remained green throughout winter. Holly placed over the doorway was believed to drive away evil. Placing branches from trees in the home was first recorded in 1494, and by the beginning of the 1600s there are records of fir trees being decorated with apples.

The story of Santa Claus has its origins in the legends surrounding the humble generosity of Saint Nicholas, whose feast day is celebrated on 6th December. Saint Nicholas was a 4th century Christian Bishop from Myra (in modern-day Turkey) who became the Patron Saint of Children. In Germany and Poland, boys dressed up as bishops begging alms for the poor. Later, the Christ child ‘Christkindlein’ was said to have accompanied Nicholas-like figures on their travels. The 1822 poem ‘Twas the Night before Christmas forged the link and Saint Nicholas (Father Christmas, Pere Noel, Christ Kind, Kriss Kringle or Sinter Klass) became known as Santa Claus.

Christmas in the southern hemisphere

The heat of early summer in Australia has an impact on the way that Australians celebrate Christmas and on which northern hemisphere Christmas traditions are followed.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas houses are decorated; greetings cards sent out; carols sung; Christmas trees installed in homes, schools and public places; and children delight in anticipating a visit from Santa Claus. On Christmas Day family and friends gather to exchange gifts and enjoy special Christmas food.

Many Australians spend Christmas out of doors, going to the beach for the day, or heading to camping grounds for a longer break over the Christmas holiday period. It has become traditional for international visitors who are in Sydney at Christmas time to go to Bondi Beach where up to 40,000 people visit on Christmas Day.

Carols and music

Christmas tree in Martin Place, Sydney 2005. File photograph. Copyright Commonwealth of Australia.

The tradition of an Australian Christmas Eve carol service lit by candles was started in 1937 by radio announcer Norman Banks. This outdoor service has now been held in Melbourne every year since then.

Carols by Candlelight events today range from huge gatherings, which are televised live throughout the country, to smaller local community and church events. Sydney’s Carols in the Domain has become a popular platform for the stars of stage and music.

Some uniquely Australian Christmas carols have become popular and are included alongside the more traditional carols sung at carol services and at Christmas church services: John Wheeler’s The Three Drovers is perhaps the best known of these.

Many light-hearted Australian Christmas songs have become an essential part of the Australian Christmas experience. These include Rolf Harris’s Six White Boomers, Colin Buchanan’s Aussie Jingle Bells and the Australian Twelve Days of Christmas.

Christmas plants

Denise Greig, Blandfordia nobilis – Christmas bells. Image courtesy of Australian National Botanic Gardens: A6952.

There are many native Australian plants in flower over the Christmas season. A number of these have become known as ‘Christmas plants’ in various parts of the country, including Christmas bells, Christmas bush and the Christmas orchid.

When Europeans first arrived in Australia they were delighted that they could pick wildflowers resembling bells and bright green foliage covered in red or white flowers to use as Christmas decorations. This was a huge contrast to the bare trees and dormant gardens they had left behind in Europe.

Food

Christmas in Australia comes at the beginning of summer and many people no longer serve a traditional hot roast dinner. Cold turkey and ham, seafood and salads are often served instead. It has even become acceptable to serve the traditional Christmas plum pudding with cold custard, ice cream or cream. Pavlova, a meringue base topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit, and various versions of the festive ice-cream pudding have also become popular Christmas desserts.

The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and the Coles company are engaged in a project to cultivate native foods. They are working with Mandawuy Yunupingu (of the band Yothu Yindi) and Aboriginal communities to grow sufficient quantities for sale in supermarkets across Australia. The aim is to offer all Australians a Bush Tucker Christmas.

Film and television

Cover of Wombat Divine by Mem Fox. Image courtesy of Mem Fox.

The films Bush Christmas (1947) starring Chips Rafferty and the remake Prince and the Great Race in 1983 (with Nicole Kidman), and Miracle Down Under starring John Waters (telecast as Bushfire Moon) are insights into the early Australian Christmas culture. Many television series have used Christmas episodes to explore the changing culture of Christmas in Australia.

Children’s stories

Australian children grow up enjoying traditional Christmas stories such as Clement Clarke Moore’s ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas and Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, but children’s authors and illustrators are beginning to create truly Australian children’s Christmas literature. One favourite is Wombat Divine by Mem Fox, while a more recent addition is Aussie Night Before Christmas by Yvonne Morrison.

Major sporting events

The Christmas break is an opportunity for sports fans to enjoy two major sporting events. The 26 December is the opening day of the ‘Boxing Day Test’ between the Australian Cricket Team and an international touring side at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This has been well attended since the first match in 1950, and watched by many others on television. In Sydney one of the world’s most prestigious ocean races, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, starts on Boxing Day from Sydney Harbour.

Indigenous Australians

A. Shnukal, Celebrating the Coming of the Light at Kemus on the anniversary of the arrival of the London Missionary Society on 1 July 1871. Darnley Island, Torres Strait. Image courtesy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, University of Queensland.

Indigenous Dreamtime stories obviously do not include Christmas. However, this date in the calendar coincides with other seasonal changes. In Arnhem Land, Northern Territory, Yolngu Aboriginal people will observe the last season of their six-season cycle. Gudjewg, the wet season, begins in late December.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities include Christian groups within them which celebrate Christmas. The Ntaria Choir at Hermannsburg, via Alice Springs, Northern Territory, has a unique musical language from mixing the traditional vocals of the Ntaria women with Lutheran chorales – the hymn tunes that were the basis of much of J.S. Bach’s music.

Baba Waiyar, a popular traditional Torres Strait Islander hymn, is featured on Lexine Solomon’s debut album This is Woman (2003) – showing the influence of gospel music mixed with traditionally strong Torres Strait Islander vocals and country music. Significantly, Torres Strait Islanders celebrate the ‘Coming of the Light’ on 1 July, the day the London Missionary Society landed at Erub Island in 1871.

Modern Indigenous Christmas celebrations are beginning to take on elements of traditional Indigenous culture. The Department of Conservation and Land Management in Western Australia offers a Christmas celebration by organising activities which encourages people to join in Christmas bush activities with Nyoongar guides.

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Christmas Vacation – Island Style

Every year, millions of people decide to spend Christmas and New Years in another state, country, or continent. For those wishing to escape to the sunny south, but still be relatively close to home, spending the holidays in the Bahamas is a great alternative. Out of the seven hundred islands that make up the Bahamas, Elbow Cay, a small island in the Abacos, is a wonderful place to celebrate the season with friends and family.

Christmas and New Years are one of a kind on Elbow Cay. The first thing everyone notices during the holidays is the Hope Town Lighthouse, located in the North-central part of the island. The lighthouse has thousands of lights strung from its observation deck to its base. Every night, the lighthouse is lit up, while its lights sparkle in the night. Many houses and restaurants also prepare for the holidays with lights and decorations – even though it looks a bit strange without any winter white snow.

The holiday season also brings many events such as the annual Christmas musical at the local church. The local children rehearse for months on the play, as well as the many songs they must learn. Tickets are free, although they are limited, and donations are encouraged. Donations are then given to an orphanage in Nassau. There is also a golf cart parade that tours the town. Since most people on the island drive golf carts instead of cars, they decorate them with ribbons, lights, shells, and anything else they can think of. Similar to the golf cart parade, a parade of boats cruise the waters around the islands, and show off their lights and decorations for everyone to see.

New years, however, is another story. All the islands in Abaco have their own version of a fireworks display, but Elbow Cay has two! A few nights before New Years Eve, a local company puts on a spectacular fireworks display on the water, nestled between two islands. The best place to view the show is on the most Southern beach on the island. At low tide you can even sit on the islands of sand that form in the shallow waters. On New Years Eve, all the local bars are open, and have special dinners and events. This is the only night of the year that a cover charge is in effect. This is the place to be until midnight, because once the clock strikes twelve, everyone floods the street to watch the second fireworks display. The fireworks can be seen from anywhere in town, although a favorite place to view them is from the deck of any boat in the Harbour. Once the display is complete, Junkanoo begins. Junkanoo, similar to Carnival, is a cultural event in the Bahamas that consist of many native costumed dancers parading down the street while dancing to the drums and whistles of the band. Everyone joins in and dances through the streets while following the parade through town.

After years of traditional holidays at home, spending Christmas in the Bahamas is something that everyone should experience. Celebrating the season on the islands of the Caribbean is priceless.

Christmas Island Why We Visited it

THE island of Kiritimati (pronounced Ki-ris-mas?, or Christmas) is the largest of the 33 islands in the Pacific Ocean that make up the nation of Kiribati. The island has some 150 square miles [388 sq km] of land area, which equals that of all the other 32 islands of Kiribati combined. About 5,000 people live on Christmas Island, while the total population of all the islands of Kiribati is about 92,000.

All but one of the islands of Kiribati are coral atolls. Christmas Island is not only the largest atoll in this nation but also, in terms of land area, the largest coral atoll in the world!

In addition, Christmas Island is notable because of its proximity to the international date line. People there are among the first to experience the beginning of a new calendar day, a new year, and other annual observances, such as that of the death of Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, this remote coral atoll is one of the most important breeding grounds for seabirds in the Tropics. Not long ago it was said that some 25 million sooty terns regularly nested there.

No Longer an Avian Secret

When the explorer Captain James Cook landed there the day before Christmas in 1777, the island was uninhabited by humans. But there was an abundance of birds. Cook named it Christmas Island. For many years the location of the island had apparently remained a secret known only to the birds.

During one of our visits, a warden from the Wildlife Conservation Unit gave us a fascinating tour. As the warden led us onto a beach, graceful, inquisitive white terns flew out to greet us. Hovering teasingly just beyond arm’s length, they watched our every move.

On the ground beyond the beach was a colony of sooty terns. Hundreds of thousands of these birds come to Christmas Island to breed. When they arrive, they fly day and night for weeks in a swirling, chattering mass above their breeding sites, waiting for all the birds to arrive before they finally settle to nest on the bare ground.

Fledgling sooty terns begin their ocean wandering at about three months of age. They do not return to land until some five to seven years later, when they are ready to breed. During those years away, they spend most of their time in the air. There is not enough oil in their feathers to allow them to remain afloat on water.

We saw black noddies sitting on nests, along with their chicks and unhatched eggs. Whereas these seabirds build a nest for their young, the white terns do not. They lay their eggs on bare tree branches. Fortunately, their young hatch with well-developed feet and claws, which are just right for hanging on. These fluffy baby terns clinging to the branches instantly won our hearts. The parents too are exquisite little snow-white birds with a contrasting black bill.

As we toured, a Christmas shearwater resolutely sitting on its egg kept a watchful eye on us from a sheltered area nearby. Christmas Island has the largest known colony of wedge-tailed shearwaters in the world. And it is one of the last known breeding grounds for both the Polynesian storm petrel and the Phoenix petrel. Among the many other birds breeding there are the red-tailed tropic bird, the masked booby, the brown booby, the red-footed booby, the brown noddy, and the frigate bird.

Frigate birds soared effortlessly overhead, performing magnificent aerial acrobatics, stealing fish in midair from other birds, and vying for tidbits discarded by fishermen. This aerial skill is borne of necessity, since the frigate bird does not ordinarily land on water. As with sooty terns, their plumage lacks sufficient waterproofing properties, and in addition, their six-foot wingspan makes takeoff a challenge.

We learned that a little brown bird seen earlier was a Pacific golden plover. It is one of many migratory birds that use Christmas as a vital refueling and wintering stop after a long flight from their breeding ground thousands of miles away, above the Arctic Circle. Excellent navigation skills direct these marathon fliers to this avian outpost, some 1,300 miles [2,100 km] south of Honolulu, Hawaii.