Monday 17th December, 2007

Christmas a time for families

Christmas is a special time of year. According to a Reader’s Digest poll in 2006, New Zealanders are most likely to spend time with family during the festive season. Many people enjoy the Christmas church services and carol singing events at this time of year, so localeye lists Christmas carol events, and our community directory CINCH has listings for many church and religious groups.

Avoid the stress and chaos of the malls and enjoy some of Canterbury’s great picnic spots and parks this summer. Many parks have great equipment for children. If you'd like to escape the Christmas rush or need somewhere to chill out over the holidays, head to your nearest library. There's plenty of space to relax and read or listen to music, and stacks of low-cost holiday programmes for children at both libraries and learning centres.

Christchurch icons: Xmas parades and Aunt Haysl

At the beginning of December Christchurch celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Hay’s parade, now known as the Christchurch Santa parade. Christchurch City Libraries has a brief history of the parade, which recalls Hay’s department store and Aunt Haysl – a children’s favourite and a Christchurch icon. Photographs of the Hay’s parade have been digitised and are available for online viewing, along with a collection of other Christmas photos from earlier in Christchurch’s history.

The inevitable Christmas music

Moata Tamaira, winner of The Press’ Blog Idol, is a regular contributor to the Christchurch City Libraries blog. One of her recent posts discusses the inevitability of Christmas music and suggests some less sugary alternatives. The library has plenty of Christmas music – orchestral, New Zealand, Christmas music for children and carols. If you fancy a sing-a-long there are also scores of Christmas music available to borrow.

Christmas heritage: the First Four Ships

“On a very fine summer day with a north-east wind, a full-rigged ship was sighted at the harbour mouth. Instantly the port was a flurry of excitement. The Charlotte Jane came to anchor off Port Lyttelton at 10am on Monday, 16 December 1850. At 3.30pm on the same day the Randolph, under the command of Captain Dale, arrived anchoring by the side of the Charlotte Jane to great cheers from that ship. The George Seymour came to anchor about 10am on Tuesday, 17 December being 100 days almost to the very hour from the time she left Plymouth. "With as much good grace as the last in a race can show his competitors", The Cressy arrived on 27 December.”
Taken from the Turning Point 2000 website in the Christchurch City Council archives. Read more about the First Four Ships.

We recommend: Christmas resources

Our online resources:

Christchurch City Libraries’ holiday hours
Our Christmas page
Christmas carol events from localeye
CINCH, our community directory, lists church groups
Christmas photos from our heritage collection
Hay’s parade photos and background information, including Aunt Haysl
Twelfth night – an ancient tradition
Holiday reading for children
Summer holiday programmes and activities for children
Nurses’ Memorial Chapel – first service held Christmas Day, 1927.
Wesleyan Methodist Church opened Christmas Day, 1864
Christchurch City Council parks, including an A to Z list

Things to do in the holidays

Learning Centre Holiday Programmes
Check CINCH for term dates
localeye - information on holiday activities
Pulse What's Happening for stuff for teens to do
Be there - Christchurch events database
CCC Holiday Programmes

Our Internet Gateway recommends:

Pohutukawa Information from the Department of Conservation on the New Zealand Christmas Tree (Metrosideros excelsa) (Myrtaceae), or pohutukawa. See also Project Crimson, a charitable conservation Trust that aims to protect New Zealand's native Christmas trees - pohutukawa and rata.
Kiwi Christmas songs from NZ Folk Song
Christmas Cards A flickr set showing 14 cards and other ephemera items from the Turnbull Library's collections, including cards sent from the front during WWI and WWII. Adapt and send your own.
Churches and religious groups
Religion and spirituality
Christmas tips for families from Relationship Services

Browse the resources in our libraries:

Next time - Bye, bye 2007!

Our last edition for 2007 will be out on New Year's Eve. Thanks for subscribing to our newsletters during the year, and here's to a happy and safe holiday season for you and your whanau.

We'd also appreciate your feedback on our weekly editions. We’d like to know what you enjoy, what you find useful, and what you’d like to see in future editions.