It occurred to me that, far from dull, my Christmas history was actually quite comical and for the first time ever, I actually felt kind of proud of that.
I realised that I've always felt a bit ripped off by our 'un conventional' Christmas celebrations. I was the kid who yearned for a 'normal' family. All my friends in Primary School had parents who were middle aged Anglo's with middle aged incomes in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne. A social disaster for a kid who came from a 'broken' home and who's Mum had shaved her head for a trip to Nepal to study Buddhism.
But I am getting off track. Before Mum and Dad separated, Christmas was all about trips to Kennett River. Mossie bites the size of fifty cent coins, snags on the barbie - and the odd tiger snake if we were lucky, a gazillion presents, extreme sunburn and cubby houses in the twisted tea tree with new friends. This was Christmas at its Aussie best and without a doubt my fondest childhood memories.
Things went decidedly down hill when we started spending christmas with our new step families in the mid 80s. Suddenly we were in the hands of foreign tradition - who were these odd people who ate Turkey with cranberry sauce, went to Catholic church and wouldn't let us open our presents until after 2pm?!? Surely that is child abuse?
I have a vivid memory of my sister and I trying to plot our escape from one such Christmas in Cobden. It had all become too much - one of the elderly relatives had dementia and had nearly died after stuffing an entire box of Roses Chocolates (wrappers and all) in to her mouth. We caught her just in time.. they had to literally shovel the chewed silver foil and chocolate that she had stored on the inside of her cheeks. This was breaking point for us.
Somewhere along the line the parents gave up on these Step-Grandparent celebrations. Maybe they sensed our torture. What followed was years of Xmas Celebrations with Mum and my Stepdad and the now 4 kids. Christmas became about singing and dancing - we would inhale as many lollies as humanly possible and just dance the afternoon away in our tiny lounge room. Fights would break out all day. It didn't matter. We would sneak alcohol and then pass out in a pile while the 'Spice Girls Christmas Album' played on repeat..
For a few years there Mum decided we would abandon all Anglo Xmas tradition for good ("after all..." she argued... "We are of Greek heritage!) and so we ate Spag Bol for Christmas lunch. I never really got over that. I was devastated that there was no exciting Christmas meal and confused at how Spaghetti Bolognaise could pass as Greek tradition.
One of the greatest things about having your own little family is being able to start new traditions and rituals and to do things 'our' way. No more alternating between homes each year. I have come to love hosting Christmas at my house - and even with a newborn, I will have it here.
There is no way I will leave CChristmas in the hands of my Mum again anytime soon - although I think I am finally thankful and not bitter for all those colourful Christmas years....maybe....
6 comments:
Spaghetti Bolognaise ..Greek ..ye that had me baffled to.... you should have been eating couscous surely ...... this is an awesome post... its funny how we look back at Christmas from our childhoods and say.. my family traditions will be nothing like I had :)
I loved reading this post it made nod my head in agreement and a few times I even laughed out loud. Thanks for sharing the story and I so totally agree about how special it is to create our own traditions xx.
i can't get over the no present opening until 2pm...this would have killed us!
I loved reading your christmas history, very interesting.....It is funny that when we are kids we all just want that "normal" family...My family are English and although not that different to the Aussie families around us, they still did things a little different, enough to make me want to be more like the aussie families...
Now, it doesn't seem so important to be like everyone else - its so funny how much things change...!
Gill xo
Yes, I can see how Spag Bol would bring the Greek heritage home... um.
I really enjoyed your trip down memory lane, Jess. Your mother sounds brilliant. x
PS - I thought the day was going to be the day for you... so I posted about newborns... x
What a great post Jess!
So true that we try so hard to create 'normal' experiences for our kids. But really, what is normal anyway??
This year, we're building, my brother is getting married and we've all gone for a no present theme. Gotta say I'm loving the concept so far and Xmas stress and guilt is non-existent. This year it's all about "simply" being together!
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