© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Author: Greg Ray

This author has written 481 articles
Read more about the article Santa, a gallery of amateurs
Gordon Sutherland with Santa in the 1960s. Photo from Ray Sutherland.

Santa, a gallery of amateurs

Not everybody has what it takes to be an amateur Santa. But sometimes not having what it takes is no obstacle, and hundreds of dads, grandpas, uncles and ring-ins of all stripes have been called to serve under the red and white banner of Father Christmas. When push comes to shove, after all, it's usually a matter of jumping out of a truck with a sack full of bags of lollies and handing them to crowds of excited children who probably aren't paying too much attention to the fine detail of your costume. Store Santas are…

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Read more about the article An argument in favour of Krampus

An argument in favour of Krampus

DOES Christmas feel like it's missing something? Maybe it's Krampus. A character from northern European folklore, Krampus is a sort of goat-legged devil with horns, a long sloppy tongue, a basket on his back and a bunch of birch rods in his hand. The basket is for carting off bad children and the birch rods are for giving them a bit of a smack, if required. Krampus is Santa Claus’s darker twin, although in countries where he is put to work most people regard him as a figure of fun. Edgy fun, but fun all the…

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Read more about the article A century of Australian Christmas
A 1960s Christmas. Photo from Barry Shoesmith.

A century of Australian Christmas

Going to sleep on Christmas Eve was difficult. As a child, growing up in Newcastle, Australia, in the 1960s and 1970s, I was unconsciously witnessing great changes in Australian "culture". The introduction and spread of television, consumer credit and the optimistic belief that increasing prosperity was a national birthright made for bright, shiny Christmases full of exciting material presents. Toys and games, big, brightly illustrated books, dragster pushbikes, Lego sets and endless supplies of sweet foods arrived with December 25, punctuating the long hot summer holiday like the bright star on the top of the tinsel…

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