Figure 1.--This family snapshot was taken on Christmas 1967 in Ngaere, a village 2.5 miles south of Stratford, New Zealand. Three siblings are posing for the photo with the matching sweaters they just received as Christmas presents. However, December is summertime in New Zealand. The sweaters will not actually be worn until some months later. Notice that the boys are wearing their winter and summer school uniform short pants.

New Zealand like Australia has a geogrraphic problem in celebrating Christmas. Much of the imagery associated with Christmas depicts snowy, wintry images from Europe and North America in the Northern Hemisphere so very different than Oceania in the South Pacific. Unlike muvh of Oceania, there are seasonal chsnges in New Zealanmd. Temperatures are cooler during the New Zealand winter, but not anything like northern Europe or North America. Not only is there little or no snow in Oceania, but while its winter in the Northern Hemisphere, its summer in the Southern Hemisphere. So Kiwis celebrate their Christmas during the summer which can be quite warm. Now New Zealand is the extrene south of Oceania, but even in New Zealand there is only snow on a few mountin peaks or an occsssionsl flurry on South Island. Initially the imagery was understandably that of an English winter, but this has gradually changed--to a degree. .

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Created: 6:08 AM 12/26/2023
Last updated: 6:08 AM 12/26/2023