to be utterly bemused by British obsession with seasonal sleighbells, snow and sleds when we all know it is nowt but grey damp and dank at Christmas on this isle?

[moondog]

Please don't disillusion me. Livng in OZ it is mostly stinking hot Christmas Day. I really enjoy the cards I recieve from UK with robins and snow. They always stand out from the OZ ones. I can stand in front of them and instantly feel cooler

you miserable old bah humbug

bring on the glitter and snow and robins

maybe you should send cards showing crowds of irritated parents trudging round Primark and queueing at the car park machine in the interests of accuracy

I grew up in South Africa, and as a child I recall regularly quizzing my parents about how Santa could possibly get into the houses when so few people have fireplaces/chimneys! Although inexplicably I never queried his fyling sleigh/reindeer/ warm red suit in mid-summer...

Echo the rest of the Southern Hemisphere comments...I am in NZ and lots of cards still have robins, snow, snowmen, people dressed in Victorian clothes on sleighs in a crisp cold winter's day... Getting better now, more cards now show barbecues and Santa in his surfing gear and sheepdogs mustering the reindeer!
Many shops put fake snow in the windows and snowflakes. Wouldn't be so bad but where we live it never snows, not even in winter!
We do have the chimneys though Gumbo so the kids are happy as Santa can get in.
On that note, most Santas at parades/ shops / charity events etc are invariably working up a good sweat in the summer heat and many have had one beer too many to compensate

If we want to have a grey festival we will attend the conservative party conference Moony

somebody far more knowledgeble than me will probably explain it better...
but...from the far reaches of my beffudled mind, is it not something to do with the change in the calender??
ie-Christmas/December did used to fall in what is now Jan or Feb and so chance of snow much more likely...

im sure ive heard that somewhere................

i still hope for a christmas card christmas every year though..

What is really dim is we do the same thing in Australia.

It is 40 degrees and you can't breathe because of the heat but dammit it is Christmas and that means we are going to put up a fir tree, put fake snow on the windows, eat a roast dinner and have hot christmas pudding and custard.

MENTAL

anybody said it yet?

Bah humbug!!!

ROFL at UnexpectedWasabi. I was just thinking the same thing.
Besides we all know how much chaos a few flakes of snow cause. Best stick to fake snow & drizzle. At least we can visit the relatives.

skinsl - Mon 16-Nov-09 22:14:44
You do know Father Christmas doesn't exist either?!!

What do you mean Father Christmas doesn't exist either? Have I been lied to all these years?

Who cares? If they use snow on cards in Australia I think we can get away with it.

I like cold dank winter weather - it has it's own beauty. Cold wet slightly misty woods and the smell of rotting leaves. The stillness and silence of winter fields, the fact that you can see the structure of the landscape. There comes a time in the beginning of December when all of a sudden you realise all the trees are bare, all ther remnants of vegetation have gone and it looks as if someone has cleared up ready for Christmas. Anyway it's gorgeous here right now, blue skies and sunshine

Orm, you've been in my back garden, haven't you? Our big ol' ash tree decided (pre the gales at the weekend) that NOW was the time to drop its leaves - whomp! So now it's time for the next sound of winter - next door neighbour asking me to cut the tree down as the leaves block their gutters. Followed by the same explanation - the tree cannot be cut down, it has a TPO on it, it's 300 years old so has been here a damn site longer than your house and anyway, I love it.

sight

Try being in Australia. It's 40', sun shining, flies everywhere and yet we still sing about a White Christmas, send cards with pictures of snow and robins on them but it's still Christmas for us!

Louis - stop showing off.

Oh CrackFox I wish I was showing off but I am at the moment in cold dreary England. Just wishful thinking on my behalf!

Yup, am in Oz too and there are fake blow-up snowmen everywhere, fake snow, all the same stuff you would get in the UK. PLUS the barbecue stuff and the fresh seafood recipes. Most odd but no doubt I'll get used to it. Am secretly sniggering at the thought that DH will have to get togged up in red velveteen Santa suit on Christmas Day, when it could easily be ~40deg.

Apparently they don't go in for the same level of cheesy Christmas pop songs here though...

I love the idea of realistic Christmas cards that show Santa looking soggy and pissed off. Perhaps they could make scratch n sniff ones where he smells like wet dog.

Surely snow and sleighs came about when the whole Santa and North Pole tradition started?

December and January are the coldest months in Israel. It can be about 5 degrees C but in the Galilee hills and Jersuselam they do sometimes get snow.

Not sure if that posted my computer keeps freezing so I'll try again just in case.

Surely snow and sleighs came about when the whole Santa and North Pole tradition started?

December and January are the coldest months in Israel. It can be about 5 degrees C in the Galilee hills and Jersuselam. Sometimes they even get snow

Let it snow!

ooooh well if mrs sparkle is going to start linking

and that's n'orleans hardly the north pole

No you are not bit it is nice to fantasise.

Its lovely to fantasise, its currently a very nice 25 degrees this evening. and thinking about snow a chriastmas makes it just a bit cooler on the BIG day.

Although we did have snow last year www.thenational.ae/article/20090125/NATIONAL/688880349/1010/enewsletter as a complete one off. Ok so maybe we didnt it was 100k away but it was so close we could be very excited ;-)

ooooh i love those xmas cards with snowy country field scenes on them.

erm, carry on!