Unlike most of the rest of the world, Christmas in New Zealand is (hopefully) a sunny affair. Yes, we still sing about Frosty the Snowman, we hang snowflakes on the trees and we make sure the cranberry sauce is on hand – but while we enjoy those traditions, we have a fair few of our own too. Have a very Kiwi Christmas!
Decorate your Christmas table with flowers from a pohutukawa tree.
We’re the only country in the world to have this wonderful twisty tree, so make the most of it at Christmas, especially if you’ve got one near you. A sacred tree for Māori, the tradition of pohutukawa, being the ‘Kiwi Christmas tree’, ‘rākau Kirihimete’ (aside from the fact that it cleverly rocks out its beautiful crimson flowers just in time for the festive season) started in 1833, when the missionary Henry Williams described holding a service under a ‘wide spreading pohutukawa’. Then in 1857, Ngāpuhi leader Eruera Patuone used it as a table decoration, thus cementing its place in Kiwi Christmas history. Since then, there have been multiple references to our special tree; in 1941, army chaplain Ted Forsman composed a pohutukawa carol in which he made reference to ‘your red tufts, our snow’.
Swap Christmas pudding for pavlova.
Let’s not head down that old road of Australia vs New Zealand; the truth is, Christmas dinner dessert is tough. We’re already full as the proverbial geese from scoffing candy cane for breakfast, croissants for second breakfast, some scorched almonds for… well, a snack… See? Who wants to make a tricky dessert? Named after the prima Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova when she toured both Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s, the pav was apparently invented by a Wellington chef for Anna’s visit in 1926. (The Aussies say it was invented by one of their chefs in Perth. Yep, let’s not go there.) Click here for a simple pavlova recipe.
Lunchtime is prawns and skewers on the barbecue.
Life’s too short (and hot) to slave over the ham or the turkey, and spend hours peeling and crossing the brussels sprouts (who eats them, anyway?). If you’re going to have even a tentative shot at backyard cricket or beach volleyball in the afternoon, you’re better off eating long and slow at the barbecue. Once the barbecue is lit, anything goes for Christmas dinner. Sausages with your garlic prawns and kumara salad? Why not.
Santa wears jandals.
Let’s be serious for a minute. Can you imagine wearing that thick suit and massive black boots in a country where the waves are lapping invitingly onto our golden sandy beaches, and you need sunblock by 7am latest? It wouldn’t be fair on the bloke. Fine, he can wear his ‘normal’ suit when he’s got kids lining up at the mall, but on Christmas Day, Santa whips it all off, changes into a t-shirt and a pair of boardies, and delivers presents via his surfboard or paddleboard. Much more civilised.
Carols seem to have changed their lyrics a bit.
As we’ve said before, we’re not averse to Bing dreaming of his White Christmas – it’s as traditional as watching Love Actually, and we needn’t try to change it. That doesn’t mean we can’t knock up a few of our own though, right? Much of the 12 Days of Christmas song makes zero sense in New Zealand. But A Pukeko In A Punga Tree? That can definitely be seen at Christmas. There are some beautiful Māori carols that are often directly translated from the traditional English versions, and when you’re relaxing in the shade, feeling very content with the world, listening to Marie Te Po (Silent Night) is just what the doctor ordered.
Get amongst it at the Santa Parade.
Not a tradition that the Northern Hemisphere has embraced – unsurprisingly, as hanging out in the freezing rain for hours, waiting for numerous floats to jingle on past you (containing people wrapped up in their thermals and scarves, wondering why they are doing such an idiotic thing as riding on a float in the rain in December) just seems silly. Summer – and therefore Christmas – is a great time to enjoy locally-produced entertainment, support local schools and organisations, and generally find another reason to hang out in the sunshine.
Christmas shopping takes place in a nightmare dash on Christmas Eve.
There might be the occasional super-organised person (mostly women) who has their Christmas present list sorted by the end of January (New Year sales are brilliant for this, and you’ve got enough money/energy left to do it all again so soon after that year’s Christmas), but they are a rarity. Kiwis are dreadfully guilty of leaving Christmas shopping to the last minute. If you’re one of the thousands of people lining up outside The Warehouse, Kathmandu and Bed, Bath & Beyond at 7pm on Christmas Eve, give yourself a break – do it a bit earlier!
Forget the board games: let’s get physical.
Northern Hemisphere types will have the board games stacked up and ready to go for Christmas Day. Trivial Pursuit (always hated by whichever generation this particular version is not made for), Monopoly (guaranteed to create family arguments the world over), Risk (ditto) and Pictionary (not all of us can draw, that’s obvious) make way in New Zealand for more outdoor pursuits, such as cricket, volleyball, surfing, boating, skimboarding and jetskiing. While motorsports in particular can be popular, an equally exhilarating sport can be enjoyed by positioning yourself on the beach and watching the people who clearly got their boat/jetski for Christmas, and have entered the water with way more confidence than expertise. Anyone got a tractor?
