It wasn't so different from Christmas in Canada, really. Except that there was no snow. I had a difficult time accepting that fact. While living in Wellington I attended Arise Church in Wellington. (www.arisechurch.org.nz/) This church was very accepting of, and welcoming to, people from all walks of life. Church staff realized that there were quite a few people in the congregation that had nowhere to go for Christmas. So it was arranged that 'the strays' - travellers, transients, orphans (people who had no family to spend Christmas with etc) - would go to someone's house for Christmas. A sign up sheet was put into the atrium of the Michael Fowler Centre, where Church services were held, and if you had nowhere to go, you could sign up.
So it was arranged that I would go for dinner with a family who lived in the Upper Hutt area of Wellington. I had met the eldest daughter, so at least knew someone. It was a large family like mine, plus with about six 'strays' on hand too, the dinner turned out to be not unlike the usual Christmas gathering at my parent's place. Confusion reigned. A very good turkey dinner was served, along with ham, potatoes, Kumara (a sweet potato native to New Zealand), and my favourite - roast pumpkin! For dessert there was cake and a New Zealand dessert called Pavlova. Excellent!
I spent the afternoon there being grilled about Canada in general, Canadian politics, the weather, and the differences between English and French Canada. At one point following dinner, one of the boys asked when the water fight would start. In Canada, we have snowball fights.
It was a good Christmas. I was worried because it wasn't like my Christmas. But in a lot of important ways, it was!
In New Zealand, there is a tree called the Pohutukawa Tree. This tree only blooms in December, just in time for Christmas. Kiwi's call it New Zealand's Christmas Tree.
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| Pohutukawa Tree |
Meri Kirihimete me ngā mihi o te tau hou ki a koutou katoa! (Māori for Merry Christmas!)
~Angie
