Photo: More decorations. To give you an idea of how different Christmas here can feel at times, this was taken about 4:30 pm on a SundayFor the rest of the week, i On Global Trends will be a free-form Christmas Edition.
It's funny how people have different perceptions about Christmas - especially kids.
I was looking for information on Christmas in Australia, when I came across a piece written by a 12 year old boy. The way it was written gave me the impression that it was written by a lad living overseas. It turns out he lives in Queensland and the "essay" was directed at kids in America.
This is how he sees Christmas in Australia, and although it is not entirely accurate, I find it rather charming.
"Most Australian families go away and spend their holidays in a resort or on the beach"
I must be mixing in the wrong circles!
"Everyone invites their friends and grandparents over for salad with cold meats, or a picnic, or even a barbecue. Nobody has anything like a roast dinner or a turkey."
A little bit of generalisation there - but the lad is only 12!
This is the bit I love -
"When kids wake up in the morning, they hurriedly toss off their sheet and race towards the plastic Christmas tree"
Followed by -
"In poorer areas of Australia, kids expect two or three presents but some get many"
Judging by his next statement, it seems his family believe in having a short Christmas.
"The next big holiday is the day after, Boxing Day. I'm not sure if you have a similar day in America, but in Australia this is like a day for cleaning up. Everyone helps out to clear the paper and to store it for next year, and the tree is also disassembled."
Half the time the tree stays up until February, because nobody can be bothered to take it down! When I worked for the Soil Conservation Service, the decorations stayed up until August one year because no one wanted to tackle the job.
His last sentence says it all - through the eyes of a child.
"Compared to New York, our ways and traditions may be different but we all celebrate Christmas for the same cause"
As Australian media personality Bert Newton, infamously said to Muhammad Ali, "I like the boy".
