Well,
the past twelve months have certainly zipped by, as ever,
and it was a mad year in many ways, from hurricanes and
riots to political scandals and the ongoing war in Iraq
to name but a few. On a personal note it was a little
mad for me as well, moving from Australia to the United
States, and looking outside at the snow on the ground
and feeling the chill of minus fifteen degree days it’s
clear I’m a long way from home.
Still, with Christmas now fast approaching I won’t
be alone at the holidays by any stretch, and am looking
forward to the opportunity to spend time with my extended
family down in Boston. As I’ve mentioned in this
space before, I still get as excited about Christmas
now as I did when I was five. Sure, it’s near impossible
to recapture the absolute joy and sense of perfection
that drifts in memories from my younger days and yes,
especially in a country like America it can be easy to
drown in an ocean of commercialism and easy cynicism
during the season. It’d be ideal if people actually
gave a shit about each other for all of the
year, as opposed to just three or four weeks or, in some
people’s case, three or four hours in the month
of December, however I’ll take your three hours
cheer as better than nothing, and hope it wasn’t
just because you were digging for a decent present…
For the first time ever, I seem to have actually gotten
all of my Christmas shopping done early, however this
was largely by default because I had to make sure I posted
gifts in time to be mailed to family and friends back
home in Australia (and, ahem, some may actually still not
get to see anything until the New Year. Sorry, folks…).
Normally, if I was in Australia at this time of year
I’d be currently braving about a five week stretch
of Christmas parties and never ending hangovers in the
run towards the 25th, before heading home to Bathurst
for the annual, beloved argument with my mother while
setting up the Christmas tree in the living room (lots
of pine needles, lots of awkward tree adjustments, too
much twine to rig things up, and short, but festive tempers).
The calm quiet of Christmas morning is broken each year
by my mother’s choice (perhaps as revenge for the
tree incident a few days earlier) of the shrill chorus,
at full volume, of a thirty year old vinyl record of
Greek Christmas carols which, perhaps against their nature,
tend to induce crankiness when forcing people from slumber.
It’s also hot in Bathurst in December,
but we’ve always gone the more traditional route
of turning the house into an oven and having roast turkey
with all the trimmings rather than opting for many Aussie’s
preferred, cooler summer choice of a big barbecue or
seafood luncheon. Given it’s just the immediate
family of my father, mother, and sister, we’ll
normally have a pretty low-key time of it on the big
day, unwrapping a few presents, eating well, and relaxing
in the afternoon, but we do alright. Bottom line, screeching
Greeks on the stereo and kitchen temperatures nearing
50 degrees Celsius included, it’s all good, and
I love it.
This year of course, I’m away from home and things
will be different to what I’m used to. Heavy winter
coats and roaring fireplaces, eggnog and gridiron on
the television are about the last things you’d
encounter at Christmas in Australia. It’s a new
experience and a new adventure though, and I’m
sure it’ll be as happy and festive and memorable
as any Christmas back in Bathurst.
I hope you all have a fantastic holiday season, and
will see you back here at the Cud in 2006.
Cheers!
Ezy Reading will be back on January 9th.
