Tourists converge on Nelson from December 26th and Tahunanui (Tahuna) Beach is overrun with those wanting (rightly) to take advantage of the good weather. It goes against my need for solitude when I go to the beach. However, I just have to go a little further and, suddenly, you are no longer in Nelson, but in a wild place, full of native bush. By the time I have crossed this little path I am in another world and I can watch the crowds on the beach from afar, enjoying the good weather.
Archives par mot-clé : sillyseason
#3022 silly season in the antipodes/ le temps des fetes aux antipodes
#3011 simple news (5)
It took me a long time to get used to the holidays in the southern hemisphere, because everything about that time of year is bound to be dark, snowy, cold, etcetera. After many years, however, I got used to living this time of year in a summery, lighter atmosphere, at least when I arrived. The consumer society has since caught up and we see a little more of everything. I find it difficult to join the brouhaha. I continue to live as usual and enjoy all that Nelson has to offer, including, given its temperature and long hours of sunshine, all kinds of produce, which almost all Nelsonians grow around their house. In times of plenty, they put the surplus on the sidewalk and passers-by help themselves, it is free, or you can buy it in exchange for a few dollars left in a small box. Depending on the season, I can stock up on fejoas, plums, apples, pears, figs, lemon, grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, etcetera, and each time it fills me with joy. Yesterday on my morning walk, a table on the sidewalk caught my eye. There were bags of walnuts, wrapped in transparent paper and golden ribbon, a small label stating that they were organic nuts from a tree planted in 1892, and it was free. I forgot to take a picture of these wrappers, but thought it was a great display of the Christmas spirit.
the silly season in the antipodes
One of the things I found most difficult to adjust after arriving in New Zealand is the silly season. I was trying to enjoy summer time, the sun, the lightness of it all, but to no avail. I wanted dark weather, Christmas lights, snow, cold and everything that went with the Christmas spirit I was used to. My colleague from Scotland fully agreed with me: Christmas is much better in the northern hemisphere, we both told one another. And so I plunged, as soon as I heard a Christmas song in a department store, into a sad nostalgia that could only be shaken off when all the Christmas trees had gone.
Over the years, my rigid mental attitude around what constitutes an acceptable Christmas has changed. I slowly started enjoying the lightness of the New Zealand silly season, the holiday atmosphere, the beach, the sparkling wine in the sun, the less light, less gifts, less food (unfortunately, since I have arrived, New Zealand has caught up with the excesses of other countries), a lightness that I began to appreciate, of course, provided I didn't see a Christmas tree and didn't hear any festive music, which still causes my immediate departure from wherever it is coming from.
Over the next few days, I'll be sharing photos from New Zealand's summer to get you into the Antipodean holiday spirit.
the silly season in the antipodes
One of the things that I had the most difficulty adjusting after arriving in New Zealand is the silly season. I was trying to enjoy summer time, the sun, but there was nothing that would do. I wanted dark weather, lights, snow, cold and everything that went with the Christmas spirit. My colleague from Scotland also fully agreed with me: Christmas is much better in the northern hemisphere. And so I plunged, as soon as I heard a Christmas song in a department store, into a sad nostalgia that could only be shaken off by the disappearance of all the Christmas trees.
Over the years, my rigid mental attitude around what constitutes an acceptable Christmas has changed. I started enjoying the lightness of the New Zealand silly season, the holiday atmosphere, the beach, the sparkling wine in the sun, the less light, less gifts, less food (unfortunately New Zealand seems have caught up with the excesses of other countries since), all this gave a lightness that I began to appreciate, all of this, of course, provided that I didn't see a Christmas tree and didn't hear any festive music, which still causes my immediate departure from wherever it is coming from.
This year, after several years of absence from the New Zealand holiday season, I will experience it again with joy, and for the first time with neighbours, who seem happy to have a Christmas meal with the lost souls of the neighbourhood. I have been asked to bake a Christmas pudding and this will be my first experience of said dessert.
Over the next few days, I'll be sharing photos from New Zealand's summer to get you into the Antipodean holiday spirit.