Hallowe'en Downunder

Dishing lollies out to grandchildren in 2011

I am a Bah Humbug when it comes to Hallowe'en and the practice of Trick or Treating that has crossed the Pacific in recent years; the Australian fascination with Trick or Treating only seems to have appeared this century. I feel that we have enough Australian traditions that we don't need to import any more, especially those that involve hastening the ruin of kids' teeth and adding extra grams to their chubby little bodies.

But when it comes to the grandchildren...... there are just some things one has to do.

Hallowe'en 2011 saw me donning my academic gown and a witches hat, buying a cache of sweets and waiting for the doorbell to ring. As our driveway is a hundred metres long children do not randomly call at our place so I knew who it would be when the doorbell rang.

I answered in my best witch's voice and frightened my poor two year old grand-daughter; her five year old brother thought it quite funny. As can be seen from the photo above the poor little one was still not sure of herself when we posed for a photo after I distributed the lollies.

I won't be available for the event this year as I will be in Valencia,Spain. I wonder if they celebrate Hallowe'en there?

Christos Anesti!

Getting Ready to Crack the Greek Red Easter Eggs

Mr Geniaus and I only have proven ancestors from the British Isles although I am about 90% sure that I have some Australian Aboriginal blood. I live in hope that I can one day find evidence, either through DNA or in some records that may come to light in the future, to prove this beyond reasonable doubt.

Since the marriages of our children there is now Dutch, Greek and Maltese ancestry in the family. Some of our grandchildren have one or more of these lines in their trees and this has been providing new challenges for their grandmother who wants to research their ancestry!

Last night we celebrated Greek Easter with some of the grandchildren who had been busy preparing traditional red eggs for our Easter Feast. We learnt from this four year old that one should say  "Christos Anesti!" or "Christ is risen!" and "Kalo Pashcha!" or "Beautiful Easter." We also learnt that these eggs represent the Blood of Christ and rebirth. 


Our lives have been enriched by learning about the traditions and cultures of the lands of our grandchildren's ancestors.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2010 - December 15 - The Holiday Happenings!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2010 - December 15 - The Holiday Happenings!

With the madness of current Holiday Happenings I haven't had time for an Advent Calendar post for a few days. I didn't just want to just write about the  preparations and functions we attend today but wanted something  from the past that typifies what we do in Australia over the holidays. Fortuitously a link to a pertinent video arrived on my RSS feeds this morning.

As our weather is hot and the long school holidays coincide with Christmas many Australian families flock to the beach for annual holidays. I have previously blogged about our journeys to Ettalong, NSW. As a teenager I lived a afew hundred yards from Coogee Beach in Sydney, I spent most of my school holidays swimming and surfing with friends and getting burnt to a crisp.

The delightful video, Summertime, that I can't seem to embed in this post has been prepared from a series of glass plate negatives and set to music. The photos tell a story of summer on Coogee Beach around 1900. Although the imaages are old, the buidings have disappeared and the beachfront promenade has been updated the people enjoying the beach today still engage in the same activities that people did over 100 years ago.

Please watch  Summertime.

This post was first published in 2010

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2010 - December 2 - Holiday Foods

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2010

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories 2010 - December 2 - Holiday Foods

Christmas Pudding (made by Geniaus) - 1984

Why do we do it to ourselves?  TRADITION!

Preparing the Christmas poultry - 2003

 A Sydney Christmas is typically hot and humid  but we continue to cook a traditional English hot Christmas lunch each December 25th. Slaving over a stove in a steamy kitchen is not my idea of a perfect Christmas morning but I still do it.  My 87 year old mother, although she eats like a bird, would be saddened if I served up something other than roast turkey with all the trimmings followed by plum pudding and brandy custard.


Other  traditional goodies that grace our table over the Christmas break include dark fruit cake, shortbread made to an old family recipe, rum balls and fruit trifle. Locally grown strawberries and homegrown stone fruits togehter with cherries and mangoes provide a healthy element to our menu. We usually reserve glazed ham to have with yummy salads for Boxing Day lunch.

Now that our home is air-conditioned the discomfort has been somewhat alleviated. Cooking the meat outside in the Webber and BBQ has also relieved the strain on our domestic oven.

Roast Christmas Lunch - 1995

Will we change our menu when my mother is no longer with us? As I think my children really enjoy it I feel that this crazy tradition will survive.

Pass the  gravy and cranberry sauce - 2007

This post was written for the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories and first published  in 2010

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - December 1 - The Christmas Tree

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories - December 1 - The Christmas Tree

Whether I will be able to sustain daily blogging in the busy leadup to Christmas I do not know.  I am starting off with good intentions with my maiden post in The Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories proposed by Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers.Australian blogger, Shelley, from Twigs of Yorehas started the ball rolling from downunder with her post and I am following suit.

New Christmas Tree 1978

My first three children are pictured in 1978 in our sparsely furnished new home with our brand new tree purchased  from David Jones Department Store. We continued to use this tree  for thirty years until we replaced it with a newer, smaller model in 2008. This 6 foot high plastic pine  gave thirty years of good service and no doubt could tell many stories. It must have been of good quality as it is still in mint condition: it is packed away in our garage - I cannot part with something that has been so significant in our celebration of Christmas. It was the centrepiece for our celebrations over three decades in three family homes.

The decorations we used on the tree were not glamourous and did not change much from year to year. From 1984 the angel that perched on top of the tree was one made by our son in his kindergarten year; it wasn't too flash but it was made with love and we used it until its ping-pong ball head disintegrated a few years ago. Our tree was not a decorator item but a physical reminder of family Christmas traditions.

Grandchildren trim the tree - 2004

This post was written for the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories First published in 2010