INDEPENDENT NEWS

The End of Year Prize for being a New Zealander

Published: Sat 22 Dec 2007 01:19 PM
The End of Year Prize for being a New Zealander
The Kiwi Summer Holiday brings lazy days at the beach and bach, games of back-yard cricket, food on the barbie and that holiday uniform of shorts, jandals and tee-shirts. It's the end of year prize for being a New Zealander.
So take some time out to rediscover the Kiwi summer spirit at NZHistory.net.nz, TeAra.govt.nz and NZLive.com.
The Christmas holiday stories, events and nuggets of historical information on the three Ministry for Culture and Heritage websites are a one stop summer holiday shop.
NZHistory.net.nz turns a hand to politically incorrect Christmas games to see Kiwis through the summer. They certainly belong to another era. 'Light the cigarette race' or 'The Slave Market' anyone?
The rules of 'The Slave Market', in a 1934 copy of The Evening Post are enough to send modern New Zealanders racing for the beach: "choose five or six players, attractive-looking girls if possible to be sold as slaves, and one good compere to act as auctioneer. It would be a shame to let Jane's saucy eyes go for a paltry two counters!"
Check out http://www.nzhistorynet.nz/culture/kiwi-xmas for twelve different features on Kiwi Christmases past and present. 'Nostalgics' can listen to a recording of 'Sticky Beak the Kiwi' - a socialist take on a downunder Christmas song.
Te Ara is a goldmine of sunshine stories and takes readers through the history of New Zealand togs - from covering up at the turn of the 20th century to well...covering up at the turn of the 21st century.
Although these days it's less about modesty than the very real dangers of sun; SPF 30 and a wetsuit replace the resplendent and modesty preserving horse-drawn bathing machine photographed at Sumner Beach in 1900.
The beach is a national birthright for most of us but the summer break wasn't always a guarantee. Christmas was just another working day until 1894 and summer holidays only came to the fore from the 1920s.
Stories about Kiwi beach culture are on http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/RecreationSeaAndSky/BeachCulture
There's something summery for everyone on http://www.nzlive.com. It's a guide to festivals, sports, the arts, and music to see New Zealanders through the holidays and into 2008. NZLive.com has got it sorted - from the Big Day Out to the Small Dog Gallery and every possible summer event in between.
'We make our own fun and prefer it that way' says the voiceover on The Encircling Sea, a short 1952 film featured on Te Ara. Homegrown or not, summer in New Zealand is definitely fun.
ENDS

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