Christmas in the New Zealand

Christmas hasn't actually happened yet of course, but the lead up is a serious exercise in social studies. Since we are in the Southern Hemisphere, it is summer now. Despite the fact that it is unseasonably cold (is the whole world experiencing weird weather?), a summer Christmas feels like Bizarro World.

We wend to a Christmas concert in Auckland, and it was a blast. One thing for sure, the New Zealanders that we've observed so far are enthusiastic about practically everything. Everyone was singing and wearing Santa hats. Unfortunately, there is a drought on Santa beards on the island. I read a newspaper article which explained that the shipment of beards for this year has been held up, so lots of Santas here are beard-free. Let's add that to the Bizarro Christmas.

Anyway, back to the concert. I've included a picture of the concert grounds, and we were extremely lucky to have Santa himself pass right by where we were standing as the fireworks were going. This Santa does have a beard, and I wish you could see Mrs Clause better.