Christmas is not (quite) the same anymore. I'm getting to be an old bloke, I suppose, though 78 sounds like late middle age to me. I seem to look back through rose-coloured glasses and forward through...what? Cabbage-coloured glasses? It doesn't matter. Today I am looking at what we do now, but through the eyes of a man who's seen a good few Christmas'.
Think of me as a bloke who went to school with the Ghost of Christmas' Past (apologies, Mr Dickens).
I've told you before, many times, about the very special Christmas' I enjoyed as a little tacker, a nipper, at Longwarry in the 40s and 50s. Let's talk about how Christmas now differs from Christmas then, and how, in some ways, it does not.
It has become a more secular occasion and fewer of us build the solemn, but joyous, rituals of the various churches into our celebrations. That is something of a pity because those ceremonies lead us toward a celebration that has meanings beyond our families. It is a personal thing and I won't say anything beyond that.
Away in a manger, No crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus, Lay down his sweet head
Christmas is now more of a 'family' celebration and where we once thought of a roast chook, or goose if we were lucky, and turkey if we were both lucky and wealthy. Often now we now think of a barbeque or a lunch of seafood, or even a meal in a hotel. Much easier, isn't it? Is that the point, though?
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…
It is, for most families, a time to celebrate together, though often we don't care or perhaps don't quite know what it is we are celebrating. We have a holiday. We can all get together. There are gifts. There is colour and noise and excitement. All good, but… there are people alone, people who can't afford a celebration, people estranged from their families, and a thought for those folk would not go astray. Indeed, there are many Australians of all kinds for whom that is a part of Christmas.
There many empty chairs at our Christmas tables.
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…
One of the things from the past that is still with us, and has been for 68 years now, is the Myer windows in Melbourne. Parents would bundle up their children, in the evening, perhaps after milking, and drive to Melbourne to see the lights and, every year, the Myer windows. They were a fantasy land of beautifully made working models. They still are.
O Christmas tree, o, Christmas tree,
How lovely are thy branches…
The first 'Myer window' was in 1956, designed by Fred Asmussen, the bloke in charge of displays at Myer. I'm not sure he knew what he was starting. The theme that year was the Melbourne Olympics, of course, and the windows attracted so much attention that Fred was given the green light, and the budget, to do it again in 1956. He was still in charge of this magic until he died in 1974. There were many themes (this year's is "Bluey") but Father Christmas was at the heart of every display.
The State Library website tells of him once covering the floor of the display with 1500 leaves, dried, panted and sprayed with glitter, and of his telling the crew on another occasion that every leaf on the 'trees' they had installed must face the windows. He was a perfectionist. His legacy has thrilled countless thousands of children, and countless adults, with his take on the magic of the season.
The first Noel the angels did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay..
Councils all over Victoria decorate their streets (sometimes with rather tired old things) but that does not matter. Shopkeepers decorate.
'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…
One of the big changes has been the way some schools, and a few councils, have decided that in the interests of something called inclusion they should not celebrate Christmas because it is a Christian festival and celebrating it might offend or exclude Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and the other religions and cultures that make up our population.
Not so. I have never heard of anyone from a non-Christian background complaining about celebrating Christmas. I have heard of some Anglo-Saxon Australians closing down some of our cultural joys but I have never heard a non-Christian asking for that to happen. You can take do-gooding too far. Nor do our newer cultural groups all ignore Christmas. I have friends across a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds but they all recognise Christmas, if only as a joyful family time.
It never snows at Christmas in that dry and dusty land,
Instead of freezing blizzards there are palms and drifting sands…
Some of us have given Christmas an Australian twist through humour and wit. Have you ever seen the display on the north side of the highway, east of Nar Nar Goon? That bloke has a wit, an imagination and a fine appreciation of the real Christmas. He has adorned Christmas for many passing children (and their parents).
On a small farm just down the hill from us there are goats with a palatial goat house built on a mound, with a gable, a balcony, etc. It is a beautiful thing and every year the goats string Christmas lights all over it. Perhaps they even sing carols very quietly in whatever language goats speak. I hope so.
Yes, imagination should be a part of Christmas for every child – and every parents
Henry Lawson told us one of 'our' first Christmas stories in The Fire At Ross' Farm. In 1890.
And when before the gallant band, the beaten flames gave way
Two grimy hands in friendship joined - and it was Christmas day.
And, finally…
"We wish you a merry Christmas, and a happy new year...Good tidings e bring to you and your kin. We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year."
And so we do. All of you.