Christmas is filled with the ghosts of Christmas past - those missing from the table for a myriad of reasons. Also Traditions, the spectre of things you started as a child and for some reason continue, even though the reason for doing so may no longer be ncessary, it's just 'what you do' at Christmas.
People often reach out to people they don't see throughout the year, send cards to people that were once a much bigger part of your life, or were important and you aren't quite ready to let them go unrecognised or appreciated.
So Charles Dickens was on to something universal about Christmas, even if it wasn't exactly his point.
Do you recognise the ghosts of Christmas past in your celebrations and traditions? Do you have some '
Christmas future arriving this year, with newly married kids or babies now to be accomodated?
I guess the most important thing at Christmas is to anchor ourselves in the present, however it might appear. Enjoy time with friends and family, make the most of time on your own, do whatever you need to get through a difficult time if it's not exactly a festive time for you.
Lydia, what the Dickens are you talking about? Too bleak for this theme!
Okay, okay, a little music.
I talked about my favourite Christmas carols here, and this crazy Jul song that makes me laugh and laugh. Be warned - it's pretty irreverant and some people might be offended. Definitely not suitable for work. Some clips from the singalong Christmas show I went to are here.
The Krampus were covered here....so I leave you with a song I've loved and played at Christmas since I was a kid.
Every time I hear about the preposterous amount of money we are wasting on 'going to Mars' I get so annoyed. Thinking they're smart enough to make that workable when not even knowing the basics of what happens to the human body in space? It's absurd.
In space, the human body is exposed to massive amounts of radiation, some of which is impossible (or extremely difficult) to shield against. This radiation exposure has greater damage to health outcomes than radiation exposure on Earth (and we know it causes cancer and degenerative disease here).
Gravity is another issue. Transitioning through different gravity fields affects spatial orientation and balance. It may be difficult to maintain blood pressure when standing. The weight-bearing bones lose mineral density in space flight and also muscle mass, and it may not be corrected by rehabilitation. The fluids in the body shift upwards to the head, and this can cause among other things, vision problems. Increased risk of kidney stones due to dehydration and an increase in the excretion of calcium from the bones is another issue to be dealt with. The list goes on...
Not sure what all the anti-vaxxers will do given the risks to their immune system will require a lot of shots?
We saw what a full year on the space station did - compared to the normal 200 days. And that was close to Earth! It only gets worse the further you go and the longer time spent in space.
So instead of throwing money into 'escape', why don't we stop wasting resources like water on AI and focus on creating clean air and cooler, stable temperatures on Earth? Food security requires it. Human life requires it. If you have all this money for science, why not put it to something useful?
I get a subscription to STC with some friends, which someone else organises. It's good to have those catch ups locked in.
This was meant to be the last show of the year but my night at King Lear got cancelled so I've still one more theatre night this year...Last night we discussed our favourites - Pharlap being one of the favourites - if it returns, definitely go, even if you aren't a fan of horse racing!
Sydney is lucky to have many theatres, and last night we discussed around October, everyone picking a theatre and maybe we lock in a few in each (because you rarely go wrong at Hayes Street Theatre or the Belvoir!)
We have 6 locked in for next year at STC and one booked for Belvoir but they don't start until May. So I am on the hunt for some other theatre offerings come March.
Do you go to the theatre? Do you get a subscription or do you mix and match?
As an aside, the best bit about last night was discovering that our fav little preshow dumpling place had not closed like we thought when we went to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? If it open so if in the area, treat yourself to some yummy dumplings!
#Allseasons linky runs from Thursday to Wednesday each week.
Link one post that shows something seasonal. Traditional weather wise, a seasonal nature marker or a seasonal celebration or event. Please link relevant posts only.
Make sure you link back to this #AllSeasons post.
Please comment on the post before yours and the host. Don't dump and run.
Housekeeping: Next week will be the last #Allseasons linky for the year. It should be back late Jan, probably around the 22nd.
Been a lot slower getting through the books this month.
We did Booth for bookclub. I felt it was two books, to be honest. I really enjoyed the first book about the father but then I laboured a bit through the second one that leads up to the assassination. I did however really enjoy the aftermath, as I'd not really thought about that. I liked that it was a lot of the women's perspectives, the politcal landscape on a 'people's' level and that there are no 'good' guys in history, it's all so nuanced. Overall I did enjoy it but just found it a little long in the 3/4 mark but it picks up again.
I liked the title of this and was unfamilliar with the actor. I found it very interesting though I didn't watch any of those shows. I found it very sad and there's a bit of unsaid stuff that made me very uneasy.
It also put into context that case in Western Australia with the 16 year old ballerina who was starved and treated like a small child. I couldn't understand why anyone would do that and why a teenager wouldn't push back but this is all very similar. It's so sad.
But eventually this author gets free of the control. The book is funny at times, very sad at others and for me a little shocking.
Overall very interesting and I think I learnt a bit (greater understanding at least).
Even if you don't know who she is, or the shows she was on, I don't think that makes any difference to the engagement level of the reader.
A collection of short stories that are just wonderful, as you would expect of Tove Jansson.
Funny, quirky and maybe even a little mean in some. Maybe not exactly mean...an edge. She also catches some human behaviours re friendships - the catching up doesn't eclipse the need to put down new memories or real engagement, the person you admired in school shrinks in adulthood and so on....
I really love her adult books. Slowly working my way through them all.
Reading this for the podcast book club. Not a fan of Austen and this was one I hadn't read so I thought I'd give it a go. I found all the book and reading commentary really funny. I found some of the women's commentary on men funny but for the most part, I just find it a lot of banging on about nothing and I keep checking how much longer to go to get to the end. So while I probably enjoyed it more than I have S&S or P&P in the past, I'm not a convert....(I know, I know....)
I loved this. I saw the author talk awhile back and he intrigued me so I gave it a go. More than just a spy novel, there's a lot of focus on spycraft which I found so interesting and also on relationships and how the danger of the work tarnishes everything outside of work, Great holiday read! Will definitely make a long haul flight go fast!
Now the 'catch ups' are in full swing - parties, lunches, dinners...it's a made and hectic rush.
But lovely to see friends and get out and about.
It's not an easy time for everyone so throw an extra invite around! Welcome someone to your table on Christmas day if they're going to be alone.
My dad and I would often do that and Mum didn't mind but always wished for more notice. It has made our Christmases interesting, and it's amazing how much people appreciate it. People from overseas, recently divorced people who won't be with their kids, so many people need that invite offered.
I would always preface it with 'It's pretty weird' because while our family traditions are normal to us, you see them through the lens of a stranger and realise just how odd some habits are.
Or pay for someone else's Christmas - love the work of Wayside Chapel puts on a pretty mean street party and you can donate a plate here.
Do you invite other people to your Christmas lunch or dinner?
Also, if after small gifts or stocking stuffers, consider ones that give twice. These toiletries companies donate to different causes.
For the record, I went so nuts when he did this song- I LOVED that show when it came out! And NSFW because he doesn't have a shirt on but nothing pervy - and he swears once.
This is a really rough time for a lot of people. In Australia more than 1 in 3 famillies will rely on charity to get enough food to eat, let along to make it special. This is astounding (and shameful frankly) in such an affluent country (obviously we are not). While not of this solves the overall problem that needs to be addressed, here's a few ways to help if you can.
As we learnt in A Christmas Carol, if nothing else, Christmas is a time to give and remember the less fortunate.
My personal favourite is Wayside Chapel's Give a Plate Christmas appeal. They "urgently need to raise $1,650,000 by 25 December to make sure the vulnerable members of our community are fed and supported this Christmas". Do your bit to make sure no one is alone this Christmas.
Hampers of Hope Addi Road needs to pack over 2000 hampers for families in need. Note businesses can also donate items on this page too. But for most of us, there's a link to help pay for them.
I have been alerted to, but know nothing about The Man's Bag - like the Share the Dignity campaign, you create a bag for men.
Mission Australia has a campaign where they've produced this song - you can donate here.
Food Bank is also running a Christmas appeal - the food bank report is not a good reflection on us, with high numbers of families living with food insecurity. (see details here)
Check your neighbourhood facebook groups as there are always people or shelters asking for stuff. As my freind no longer organises the assisted living campaign that I used to donate to for years, this year when I saw the call out for a shelter for people trying to get over addicition and other issues, I go a box of gifts together for them. Last year I did the same for a different youth homeless shelter. I've just seen an individual in hard times offering to pick up all your cans for the return and earn (I already box mine up for a guy who gets them each week - please don't make people go thru your rubbish - separate them for them).
Lastly, because it is Australia, consider bush fire appeals - for WA there's a whole list here but please verify, I just found it on google. The Red Cross also.
The Sikhs are pretty active in helping the community in lots of ways - definitely a religion that walks the talk when it comes to feeding the poor or helping out in floods and fires. You can donate to Sikh Volunteers Australia or Turbans4Australia (In the 2019 bushfires I was dropping off pasta and canned tomatos to a tea importer wheo took one of his trucks off the road to fill it with donated food items to take to the relief centres to feed all the displaced people and firemen and women - that was my first discovery of Turbans4Australia).
There are devastating floods in our northern neighbours at the moment. A few ways to donate there - and please verify, again just googled. Caritas Australia, IFORCS, BlueDragon (Vietnam).
Christmas is a time for giving, and it's a time to strive to show love, kindness and hospitality to others.
So give what you can, where you can - and if you are really struggling, find the options of help available. There are plenty of food hampers or cheap food bank shopping all over the city.
And just as an aside, from a BP email "Since 2017, bp has proudly partnered with OzHarvest, donating fuel and funding to keep their vans on the road. From 19 November 2025 to 13 January 2026, when you purchase any of the participating products at a bp store,10 cents from every product sold will be donated to OzHarvest."
Feel free to link your favourite charities in the comments.
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