Dreaming of a New Zealand Christmas

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By Candace Driskell

Growing up in southern California, I never had the white Christmas Bing Crosby so famously sang about. With temperatures that rarely dip below 40 degrees, Los Angeles weather isn't exactly frightful. But it does get chilly enough to encourage crackling fires, healthy doses of hot cocoa and other cold-weather indulgences associated with the holiday season.

However, my notions of normal Christmas weather were challenged when I spent a year in New Zealand. Intellectually, I understood that living in the southern hemisphere meant the seasons would be reversed, but nothing could prepare me for the reality. Arriving in Wellington in July, winter stretched ahead of me like a cold, cruel joke. Around November, just as I was getting used to the rain, the clouds parted and blessedly, it was summertime. The very next day (or so it seemed) Christmas decorations appeared in every shop window. And they all featured... snowflakes? Santa dressed in his fur-trimmed suit? I bristled at these decorations— after all, hadn't I just bid adieu to winter?

I asked numerous Kiwis for the reason behind these snow-filled decorations. The answers ranged from indifference ("That's just how it's done,") to anger ("Because the USA has to influence everything, doesn't it? DOESN'T IT!?"). However, the most common answer was rooted in history. The English that settled in New Zealand in the 18th century brought with them their northern hemisphere holiday traditions including mince meat pies, Christmas crackers and cold weather memories.

I was pleased to hear from some friends that their traditions were changing. People who had grown up eating huge, roast turkey dinners on Christmas day were balking at turning the oven on and planning barbecues instead. And while traditional pine trees still stand proudly in many living rooms, it’s the beautiful, Pohutukawa tree that steals the show as New Zealand's Christmas tree of choice. The Pohutukawa's shiny green leaves burst forth with dazzling red flowers every December, providing the country with natural Christmas decorations that far surpass any fake snow from a can. Happily, I decided to ignore my north-hemisphere instincts and pursue a uniquely Kiwi holiday.

Unfortunately, Christmas Day in Wellington was unseasonably cool. A chilly breeze whipped through the city, but I paid no mind. I was embracing this summertime Christmas, and that was that. I put on a sundress and dragged my boyfriend to the beach where we flew a kite while covered in goose bumps. For dinner, we battled the wind and successfully lit a barbecue, grilling steaks and corn on the cob. On December 26th (known as Boxing Day in New Zealand), the temperature soared and we hit the road. There's nothing more classically Kiwi than a camping trip, and that's just how we spent the remainder of our Christmas vacation. Long, sunny days accompanied us as we toured the country, sky-diving, bungee jumping and surfing along the way.

When I think back to my year in New Zealand, it's that trip that inevitably springs to mind. I'm sitting at a picnic table in a beautiful campsite overlooking the beach, a cold beer in hand while a warm breeze rustles through the leaves of a nearby Pohutukawa. This year I may be home for Christmas, but sunny New Zealand is where I'll be in my dreams.

Candace Driskell is a marketing/publicity intern at Avalon Travel. She spent a year abroad in New Zealand after earning a MA in Writing from the National University of Ireland.

Photo © Kahuroa