“Oh, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs Cratchit since their marriage. Mrs Cratchit said that now the weight was off her mind, she would confess she had had her doubts about the quantity of flour. Everybody had something to say about it, but nobody said or thought it was at all a small pudding for a large family. It would have been flat heresy to do so. Any Cratchit would have blushed to hint at such a thing.”
--Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Pictures on Christmas cards depicting colder climates notwithstanding, Christmas in Australia is in the summer. So, many Christmas dinners will feature salads and cold meats or a barbeque in the back yard or a picnic on the beach, while others will feature traditional roast meats, baked vegetables and a Christmas pudding. Some meals will be at home. Some will be away from home on summer vacation. Those vacationing or living in the islands of the Pacific might have a Christmas feast with roast pig, fish, chicken, taro root, yams, and coconut puddings wrapped in banana leaves.
Whatever the menu, wherever the location, the meal won't appear by magic. Someone will be the founder of the feast and someone will spend hours thoughtfully and lovingly preparing the food. Mrs Cratchit worried about the pudding and no doubt about the rest of the meal, as many of her counterparts today will do. Everybody will have a chance to say something about the Christmas meal and the Christmas season. It can be a perfect opportunity to care for and express appreciation to our loved ones.