No white Christmas downunder
I am sitting here listening to Christmas Carols and I realize our English heritage is still alive today in the land of Oz. I know all the words to 'I'm dreaming of a white christmas', and 'dashing through the snow', yet we have no snow and the trees are not bare. There are no chestnuts roasting in an open fire place and what exactly is 'a winter wonderland' anyway? So I decided to look up Australian Christmas Carols on the internet and was amazed to find there were quite a few. Rolf Harris had the top spot for a long time singing about 'six white boomers on their Australian run'. And Darwin is famous because one Christmas 'Santa never made it to Darwin a big cyclone blew the town away'. I remember that time well, I met a nice soldier who was on his way up to Darwin, (but that's another story).
Even our Christmas cards depict scenes of people all wrapped up in scarves and coats with the snow falling gently over them. I did experience a white Christmas once in England, it was truly lovely but oh the cold.
Down under we have hot summers where people sweat and wilter over a traditional hot Christmas meal. However we do have the beach after lunch.
Ive chosen two carols from down under.
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the (1st, 2nd, 3rd. etc) day of Christmas my true love sent to me
a kookaburra up a gum tree.
two snakes on skis,
three wet galahs,
Four lyrebirds,
Five kangaroos.
Six sharks a surfing,
Seven emus laying,
Eight dingoes dancing,
Nine crocs a snoozing,
Ten wombats washing,
Eleven lizards leaping,
Twelve possums playing.
The north wind is tossing the leaves.
The red dust is over the town;
The sparrows are under the eaves,
And the grass in the paddock is brown;
As we lift up our voices and sing,
To the Christ-child the heavenly King.
The tree ferns in green gullies sway;
The cool stream flows silently by;
The joy bells are greeting the day,
And the chimes are adrift in the sky,
As we lift up our voices and sing,
To the Christ-child the heavenly King.
But when we get right down to it we celebrate Christmas because God came down and intervened in history. My favourite Christmas Hymn is Hark the Herald Angels sing, I think the Wesleys have really covered the gospel in that one.
Have a very happy Christmas and may all your dreams come true in 2007.
Emma
Even our Christmas cards depict scenes of people all wrapped up in scarves and coats with the snow falling gently over them. I did experience a white Christmas once in England, it was truly lovely but oh the cold.
Down under we have hot summers where people sweat and wilter over a traditional hot Christmas meal. However we do have the beach after lunch.
Ive chosen two carols from down under.
THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the (1st, 2nd, 3rd. etc) day of Christmas my true love sent to me
a kookaburra up a gum tree.
two snakes on skis,
three wet galahs,
Four lyrebirds,
Five kangaroos.
Six sharks a surfing,
Seven emus laying,
Eight dingoes dancing,
Nine crocs a snoozing,
Ten wombats washing,
Eleven lizards leaping,
Twelve possums playing.
The north wind is tossing the leaves.
The red dust is over the town;
The sparrows are under the eaves,
And the grass in the paddock is brown;
As we lift up our voices and sing,
To the Christ-child the heavenly King.
The tree ferns in green gullies sway;
The cool stream flows silently by;
The joy bells are greeting the day,
And the chimes are adrift in the sky,
As we lift up our voices and sing,
To the Christ-child the heavenly King.
But when we get right down to it we celebrate Christmas because God came down and intervened in history. My favourite Christmas Hymn is Hark the Herald Angels sing, I think the Wesleys have really covered the gospel in that one.
Have a very happy Christmas and may all your dreams come true in 2007.
Emma