Well, Richard Pascoe asked me to write a Christmas song for my South Australian song segment on FIVEAA. I think it is fair to say, my take on Christmas is a little different from what he might be expecting.
For starters, I have come across such a variety of Christmases that people have told me about in the lead up to this year’s event. Some are big family gatherings, some are scattered with difficulties balancing who goes where with whom, some are very small, some are purely spent alone, while others are spending it with people they care for officially as carers (bounded by love, not blood).
That was the backdrop. Then there were the South Australian things we do, from Carols in Elder Park, to the Lights Of Lobethal, along with the new “tradition” of travelling the streets at night, with kids in pyjamas in the back seat, driving past hedonistic displays of lights and light shows.
And then, there were some of the main inflection points of the Christmas story. The fact that the historical Jesus was most likely born between 5 and 4 BC (not year zero) in a warmer time of year, probably September, because shepherds would have been more likely to be watching their flocks by night during those months.
Fast forward a few hundred years and Rome adopted Christianity as the state religion and they did so brutally. Non-believers were forced to convert or face terrible consequences, Saturnalian delights were ceased (until they were seconded as Christian festivals), and the hope of a more moderate, pluralistic, and thoughtful Rome were extinguished.
Skim forward to the industrial revolution and we get the first sense of the “spirit of Christmas” emerging in Anglo Saxon quarters, thanks to Charles Dicken’s scathing and thoughtful work, A Christmas Carol. This story was a wake up call to so-called Christians who were allowing greed and industrialisation dehumanise the world, chasing money before human well-being. I think we sometimes forget how profound this moral tale is, and was.
And finally, we rest in the modern world where consumerism has really entrenched itself and preaches a Christmas of indulgence and more and as one beautiful long weekend (or three) on our way to the Easter holidays.
Despite what you might think sounds like an anti-Christmas song, it isn’t. There is something special about the way we have embraced and adapted this Feast that sometimes involves religion but doesn’t have to, and sometimes involves family but doesn’t have to, and sometimes involves indulgence but doesn’t have to, and sometimes involves profound reflection, sadness, and/or joy but doesn’t have to. Our capital city, Adelaide, was known as the City of Churches, not because everybody went to church, but because it was one of the few places in the world that pioneered the concept of allowing each to their own conscience when it came to matters ecclesiastical.
This Christmas, my you find your own peace.
No Such Thing As Standard Christmas Lyrics
[Verse 1]
He was born before his time
Back in 5 or 4 BC
And he wasn’t born in winter
Like some cheap nativity
It was probably September
In the early part of Fall
A moment celebrated
In the lights of Lobethal
[Verse 2]
When Rome became a Christian state
It was with a heavy hand
Non-believers were burned at the stake
Pagan rituals were banned
You could only worship one true god
Give up Saturnalian delights
And yet from Andrews Farm to Woodcroft
We now worship pretty lights
[Chorus]
There’s no such thing as standard Christmas
You cannot pick one off the shelf
For some it’s Middle Eastern
For some a Northern Elf
Our trees aren’t pine, they’re eucalyptus
But we do have mistletoe
That’s as close to the tradition
That Australia seems to go
[Verse 3]
In 1800s England
The factories were bleak
The Scrooges had forgotten
How to turn the other cheek
Then Dickens lit the candle
That shone light into the dark
Now we gather to sing Carols
Every year in Elder Park
[Verse 4]
For some, the baby Jesus
Is a plastic bauble toy
In a shroud of wrapping paper
As a substitute for joy
But here in South Australia
It seems we’ve found a way
To maintain a deep connection
To the feast of Christmas Day
[Chorus]
There’s no such thing as standard Christmas
You cannot pick one off the shelf
For some it’s Middle Eastern
For some a Northern Elf
Our trees aren’t pine, they’re eucalyptus
But we do have mistletoe
That’s as close to the tradition
That Australia seems to go
[Bridge]
Silent night … lonely night
Some endure … out of sight
Some share time, with who remains
Some with loved ones, still complain
Do it however you please
And may you
Find your own peace
May you find your own peace
[Chorus]
There’s no such thing as standard Christmas
You cannot pick one off the shelf
For some it’s Middle Eastern
For some a Northern Elf
Our trees aren’t pine, they’re eucalyptus
But we do have mistletoe
That’s as close to the tradition
That Australia seems to go
[Verse 5]
So polish off that seafood
Wash it down with SA wine
Then start planning Easter holidays
They’re here in three months’ time
I know you’d like them sooner
But summer’s not over yet
Thank the Lord you have ‘til Autumn
To pay off your Christmas debt
[Chorus]
There’s no such thing as standard Christmas
You cannot pick one off the shelf
For some it’s Middle Eastern
For some a Northern Elf
Our trees aren’t pine, they’re eucalyptus
But we do have mistletoe
That’s as close to the tradition
That Australia seems to go
Listen To No Such Thing As Standard Christmas
No Such Thing As Standard Christmas Raw Scratchings
