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2006.12.30

[27] Melbourne Xmas, Part 2 - Christmas Day

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Under the Shade編集部

Now that I've had a couple of days to recover from Christmas, I guess I should tell you all what my Christmas Day was like.

I'm sure most of you have seen Christmas Day lunches and dinners in US movies and TV shows. Christmas Day is Australia is similar, except that because it's the middle of summer the temperature is usually about 35 degrees Celsius. Usually.

This year we had the coldest Christmas day ever recorded in Melbourne. The highest temperature for the day was 14.5 degrees. It actually snowed in the mountains east of Melbourne – in the middle of summer!

So my Christmas Day in Melbourne this year actually felt much more like a traditional European or American Christmas. We did the usual Christmas things: we opened presents, and ate and drank a lot. There were plenty of different kinds of food, including the traditional Christmas cake and Christmas pudding. (When I was young, the adults used to hide coins in the pudding, and we would find them as we ate.)

At the end of the day I went home feeling sleepy and completely full of food, and wondering what I should do for New Year's Eve...

Cultural Note:
Christmas cake in Australia is very different from Christmas cake in Japan. It's a hard cake filled with fruit and nuts, and often covered with marzipan.

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2006.12.30 22:40:10

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2006.12.26

[25] Re: Merry Xmas♪

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Under the Shade編集部

A reader named Aurora wrote me a nice Christmas message. Thanks, Aurora!

She also asked if I have a good time at Christmas. Actually, before Christmas I am always a little stressed, because I have to buy so many presents.

But Christmas day is usually relaxing. There's nothing to do but spend time with my family, eat and drink, and open presents.

I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas!

Spelling Note: In Japan, the abbreviation "X'mas" is spelled with an apostrophe. However, in English-speaking countries, it is spelled "Xmas", with no apostrophe.

2006.12.26 11:37:38

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2006.12.22

[22] Melbourne Xmas, Part 1 - The Myer Xmas Windows

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Under the Shade編集部

It's only a few days until Christmas, and the city is starting to feel a bit crazy. The weather is getting hotter and hotter, and as Christmas gets closer, more and more people are frantically doing their‘Christmas shopping', trying to find presents for their families.

As well as shopping, many families are in the city to take part in a Melbourne Christmas tradition: going to see the Myer Christmas windows. Myer is a large department store in the centre of Melbourne, and every year around Christmas time they set up a display in their windows, telling a children's story using mechanical puppets and scenery. When I was a kid I loved going to see the windows.

This year the Myer windows feature an Australian children's story called ‘Wombat Divine’. I had a quick look at some of the windows and the displays looked quite impressive, but I decided not to line up to see the windows. I have my own Christmas shopping to do!

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2006.12.22 17:09:31

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2006.12.15

[20] House-Husband

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Under the Shade編集部

My friends Craig and Fukari invited me over for dinner on the weekend. Fukari made some great Japanese food, which I really enjoyed because I've been missing Japanese food a lot.

Craig is an old friend of mine. We went to school together, so we've known each other for years. Fukari is Japanese; she and Craig met years ago when Fukari was working in Melbourne temporarily.

They have a kid, called Harvey, who just had his first birthday. His nickname is はぶちゃん. That's him in the picture, being fed by Craig.

Craig and Fukari are interesting because they've decided that Craig will stay home and look after Harvey while Fukari works. They both seem happy with the arrangement, although Fukari says that sometimes she finds it hard to leave Harvey behind when she leaves for work.

This kind of house-husband arrangement is still unusual in Australia, but it's slowly becoming more common.

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2006.12.15 14:06:21

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2006.12.07

[18] Sunday Soccer

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Under the Shade編集部

Most Sundays I play soccer in Royal Park, which is just down the road from my house. It’s just a casual game amongst friends, and we play with whoever turns up. Usually there are enough people to make teams of four or five.

Once the players have arrived, we just find a good patch of ground in the park and set up our own temporary goal posts. Royal Park is huge, so there’s never a problem finding a place to play.

Apart from being a great place to play soccer, Royal Park is interesting because it has mainly native Australian trees and plants (you can see them in the background in the photo above), while most of the other parks in Melbourne have European trees.

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2006.12.07 12:18:49

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