I didn't have a "traditional" Christmas feast until I was 16 and went to my now late Aunt's and my cousin's home in Sydney. Every Christmas time before that had been in Hobart with my mum and siblings. My mum and her sisters had grown up in Papua New Guinea, and mum loved feeding us tropical foods when summer time came around. Pan fried fish and banana with a mango sauce, mountains of mangoes, fresh coconuts, lychees, paw paw, pineapple, and many more foods.
Her idea of a special Christmas feast was to give us all a glass platter filled with tropical fruits to graze on throughout the day- with occasional other types of food. It's kind of funny considering the amount of times the rain had been lashing down onto the windows on Christmas day, and there we were with our platters of sunshine. Others times it was hot enough to laze around outside.
So, it's at this year that my taste buds start desiring tropical foods, to go along with the hot sun and occasional humid day.
I do miss those "Tropical -Tasmanian -Christmas" times, and have experienced many a traditional Christmas since moving out of home...and yet if I don't see any of the fruits mum would give me, it just feels like something is missing.
So if you have me over at your home over the Christmas season, and you see me looking longingly at a mango in your fruit bowl, please just let me eat it so that I can feel like I'm home again- even if it is just for a few moments.
Ha! Interesting entry and I didn't know that about you!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine you 'downunder' would crave for something fruity at Christmas though since it's all summer there at that time of the year!
Born in cold or rainy Holland we just needed to have something warm and sturdy. But I'm afraid we didn't have those 'traditional' Christmas feasts of food either. My parents didn't care for it that much either I guess.
This year we will spent Christmas in WA so I guess we will have loads of food as well ;-). Wish you a fruitful one this year!!