Doors on either side of the world

Christmas is a time to receive family and friends to your house, so how your door looks is important- is it welcoming and festive?

Whereas in the northern hemisphere doors are decorated with wreaths of holly and ivy, here the custom is to garland red ribbons around trees and pillars. Outdoor fairy lights are also popular and, most conveniently, run on solar power and are light activated. You never need to worry about turning them on or off. There is still the occasional enthusiast for power station-sapping mega-wattages of light shows with all the usual motifs- Santas, reindeers, sleighs, snow, snowmen, stars, angels etc, etc. I love it, but the snowy imagery just doesn’t make sense here.


Christmas Day is going to be 19C – it’s a cool one- but a still a long way from winter- except in my neighbour’s garden illuminations.

I wish you all a happy Christmas from South Australia.