Unreal Festive Spirit

“After 14 attempts I am still unable to reconcile Christmas Day with the hot sunshine of the north-east New Zealand city of Gisborne,” Guardian reader John Darkin writes for the publication’s weekly series ‘Letter from.’ “The juxtaposition of Christmas trees peppered with white cotton wool, and the cooling breeze of air conditioning units, has a surreal effect on my seasonal spirit. Unreality heaped upon unreality. Christmas lunch? Forget roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and vegetables. Don’t even imagine a homemade pudding, four months old and slathered in brandy sauce. This is the great outdoors, so think grilled steak or crayfish followed by fruit salad and ice-cream. It really is summer and only by wearing a sun-bleached paper crown am I reminded that it is also Christmas.”