Years ago I met an Australian woman whose husband’s company had transferred them to the U.S.A. for one year. It wasn’t until after she got talking about how much she had disliked experiencing Christmas in the wintertime here, that I got thinking about how people in the Southern Hemisphere celebrate Christmas. For them, Christmas is a summertime, outdoorsy holiday.
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I think of this woman every June 25th– and pause in her honor to reflect upon how much more I, too, would enjoy Christmas if today’s weather was our typical Christmas Day.
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Sunny skies. Warm temperatures. Colorful flowers. Green grass. Games on the lawn. Easy outside living.
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So today, just for the heck of it, I have decided to put this red poinsettia* in the middle of the dining table on the deck. Sure, the calendar may not say that it is Christmas Day, but I think that I’m going to go ahead and pretend that it is. Care to join me?
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* Yes, this is the same poinsettia, previously featured here & here & here, that I’ve had growing inside the house since November of 2011. Best. Christmas decoration. Ever.
THE SPECTACLED BEAN 
Glad to have something else to think about on June 25. For me, it will always be a day of torture. This might have been a local thing, but when I was a child you dare not go swimming until the water was blessed on June 26. I can’t find any online references to this so now I’m thinking it was the invention grown-ups trying to put one over on us so they could have one week’s peace between the end of school and the start of worrying about drowning. Pretty sure that’s how the One Hour After Eating ban started, too.
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Suzette, I’ve never heard of that rule for swimming pools! I think you’ve nailed the essence of what was going on with it. Parents, in all decades, have had their little cons, haven’t they? How funny.
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Good job on the thriving poinsettia 🙂
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winsomebella, thank you. It is the only time I’ve ever had one live for years!
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For me, Christmas when it’s hot just seems wrong. It may be what I am used to. I always thought they put Christmas in the winter so we wouldn’t get severely depressed until mid-January.
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kate, I suspect that the RC powers that be saw a nice pagan festival going on every December and said: “Hey, that looks like fun. Let’s copy it!” So, we in the Northern Hemisphere, got a wintry Christmas. End of story. But for those on the other side of the globe…
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I’m all for a warm Christmas. Our family celebrated Christmas twice in Florida. It was glorious! I too, am so impressed by your poinsettia!. You have the touch:)
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Beth, I’ve celebrated Christmas in FL and in HA. Both places fed my soul more than Christmas in [usually] bleak, gray OH. I need relaxed weather so that I can relax into the meaning of Christmas, I guess.
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Several of my Australian friends go to the beach and have cook outs for Christmas. Feels very wrong. Of course, pine trees and snow are not exactly correct for Bethlehem. Your poinsettia is really looking good!
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Zazzy, that’s exactly what this woman I met said that she and her family did on Christmas Day. Sounds divine to me. Mellow. No heavy meals and long afternoons trapped inside an overheated house.
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Zazzy, my Egyptian-born husband agrees with you about the pine tress and snow. That’s why our Nativity set has palm trees, a sand colored base and an abundance of donkeys.
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Suzette, your Nativity set sounds wonderful. I like palm trees– & donkeys, of course.
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I say we all go to the Bahamas this year and eat seafood at the beach. Palm trees and shrimp would be great! Donkeys are optional.
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Brilliant!
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Oddly, as high school and college kids we often went to the beach during Christmas vacation here in TX – bare feet and shorts if not warm enough for swimming. You did want a winter tan. It’s something my brother missed when he lived “up North” where it looked like Christmas cards during the holidays.
Funny – I thought about you this week when checking out my poinsettia plants – both of which look as perky as yours – they are outside in a cool-ish shady spot until Dec…totally ignore them – and they love that.
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philosophermouse, maybe I don’t need to move to the Southern Hemisphere to have a warm, sunny Christmas. Maybe all I need to do is to move to Texas!
Truly weird about the poinsettias. I must be ignoring this one perfectly– for it to live this long.
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We never invite anyone we like to visit until Sept is about over – roasting time here now
Our Australian friends said Christmas weather wasn’t too bad here most years….but they did get out the barbie instead of the turkey pan!
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How fun! I’m not a big fan of turkey, so a cookout sounds great to me. 😉
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My little one seems to like singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Jingle Bells at the moment, so maybe he’s Australian at heart.
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Polly, love this little guy of yours. Good songs like that need not be seasonal! How funny.
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I think it would be different, but interesting to celebrate Christmas in summer weather. Many traditions would change. You win with your poinsettia. I have two alive from Dec. 2012, which is a miracle for me.
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Margaret, the few times I’ve been somewhere warmer for Christmas I’ve enjoyed it. A novelty, perhaps. Or maybe it’s my soul saying retire to the South! 😉
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I live in California, so our Christmases are warmer than Ohio, no snow. But they’re still cold and dark, which is what I associate with Christmas. If someone wants to send me to New Zealand, Hawaii, or Australia, for Christmas, I’ll be very happy to go see if that’s more to my liking. 🙂
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J, I’d be happy to go along with you. To keep you company, of course, and to confirm that I prefer Christmas in sunny climes. 😉
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It always hits me in July and I watch Christmas movies and listen to carols.
I wanted to tell you that I got the Linky going on my Things I Learned In June post. I am hoping you’ll want to play along.
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Relyn, I like your idea of watching Christmas movies in July. It sounds like a fun way to keep in the Spirit. Will check out your Things I Learned in June Linky right now. Thanks for the heads up.
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America’s most photgraphed poinsettia? It is possbile. Yet it has no name. It is not a farm animal we are going to eat – so what up, Bean?
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Z-D, you have a good point. I have never named my plants so this would be a first. I’ll get back to you on it, okay?
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