Charities are bracing themselves for an influx of more than 40,000 struggling Kiwi families who can’t afford to serve Christmas dinner or put presents under the tree this year. The Salvation Army expects a third more New Zealand families will need their help this year compared to last, as lower-income households grapple to recover from Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’
Christmas in Fiji
Tuesday, December 18th, 2012
The light shines in the darkness –and the darkness has never put it out. John 1:5 The family of Kula, the parrot, has flown around the Fiji coastland and bush for as long as anyone can remember. The ancestors of Mongoose travelled from India with people who came to work on the sugar plantations. Read more
St Benedict’s in Newton goes all out with Auckland’s largest Christmas display
Friday, December 7th, 2012
St Benedict’s in Newton, Auckland, has what it believes to be the city’s largest religious Christmas display. It was blessed by Bishop Pat Dunn on Sunday 2nd December. The display features two well-known scenes: wise men on their journey from the East bearing gifts, and the nativity scene. The ceramic one metre tall figurines were Read more
Baby Jesus returns after Christmas grinch theft
Friday, December 7th, 2012The nativity at Rotorua Hospital chapel has its most important member back – baby Jesus. Last December hospital chaplain Reverend Ray Bloomfield was taking a service and looked over at the manger and noticed it was empty – someone had taken baby Jesus. Rotorua Hospital Chaplaincy Trust administrator Alison Lamberton said that after Christmas last Read more
Samoa having a Christmas in the Park Celebration this year
Friday, November 30th, 2012
On the 15 December Samoa is going to have a Christmas in the Park concert similar to those staged in countries like New Zealand and Australia. At the launch of the event last week a glimpse was given of what the community can expect to see. Performers, dancers, singers, choirs and bands will have an all-Samoan line Read more
Advent calendar for Auckland’s waterfront
Tuesday, November 20th, 2012
A large Advent calendar is to be erected in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter in December. Each day a giant lever will open individual doors to the 12m-high calendar at Silo Park to reveal a Kiwi Christmas scene. Local businesses, artists such as Dick Frizzell and school children are contributing to the project. The Advent calendar will Read more
NZ Parliament rejects Easter trading for the 11th time
Friday, June 29th, 2012
The New Zealand Parliament has rejected legislation to allow Easter trading for the 11th time. 10 bills have been put up by National members and one by Labour. The present bill was sponsored by National MP for Waitaki Jacqui Dean and proposed allowing shops to open over Easter in Waitaki and Wanaka. It was voted Read more
‘Tis season for multicultural Christmas
Friday, December 23rd, 2011How do we cope with a multicultural Christmas? While Kiwis who have been in New Zealand for generations grow up thinking Father Christmas is everywhere, some newer Timaru residents have a different world view.
However, most of South Canterbury’s international residents have some form of celebration, including classic Christmas symbols such as the Christmas tree.
Hindu Ketan Kolhe, of the Elizabeth St Dairy, said a lot of people celebrate Christmas in India.
Being a multicultural country with people from many religions, people tended to take part in other religious festivals as well as their own.
Read the article...The Biblical Christmas was not about a baby in a manger
Friday, December 23rd, 2011
The Christmas season is a delightful jumble of traditions. Why are we singing about decking halls with boughs of holly, whatever “decking” means? Why isn’t, as one child asked, Santa in the nativity scene? Is Christmas a Christian festival or can anyone join in? There are four main traditions of the season. Each can be Read more
Malaysian Christians reject permit to sing Christmas carols
Friday, December 23rd, 2011Christians from two churches in Malaysia rejected a requirement that they will need a police permit to sing Christmas carols in their parishes or their homes. Bishop Paul Tan Chee Ing, head of the Malaysian bishops’ conference, told Vatican-based Fides news that the country will soon be in “a police state” if authorities continue demanding Read more