Christmas Yesterday, Today and Forever
Christmas celebrations have transformed dramatically over the years, yet certain traditions remain steadfast, connecting us across time. To uncover these changes and constants, we’ve spoken with people from different generations. Their stories reveal how the spirit of Christmas continues to evolve while holding on to what truly matters.
Every year, retailers compete for our attention and dollars by wooing us with images of the ‘perfect Christmas’. We’ve been manipulated to expect exquisitely wrapped gifts, decorations that complement our home décor, table settings with centrepieces that are works of art and scrumptious food to rival the best restaurants. But is this so-called perfect Christmas attainable? And even if it is for the fortunate few, is this glamorous version of Christmas what we really want, let alone need? What part does the birth of Christ play? Does Jesus still get a look in?
Christmas past
Commissioner June Kendrew was born in 1939 and is 86 years old; John Elliot was born just a few years later in 1944 and is 81 years old—that’s 167 Christmases between them! Both June and John are very aware that while Jesus remains the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), the way the world celebrates Christmas in 2025 bears little resemblance to their childhood experiences of Christmases past.
As a child, June was an early riser, eager to discover if the present she’d asked for had arrived. A vivid memory is the Christmas when nine-year-old June asked for a tennis racquet. ‘Our gifts always arrived in a pillowcase beside the bed. I was awake at 4am with my head in that pillowcase! My father came in and said it was far too early to be awake and told me to get back to sleep. By then I had felt the handle of the racquet, so I was happy to go back to sleep!’
June explains that gifts weren’t the central focus of Christmas during her childhood. ‘Everything we got for Christmas was in that pillowcase—usually a gift and a piece of fruit and maybe some sweets. We didn’t make a big deal about gifts because money wasn’t plentiful. The gifts we gave were small and inexpensive, or we made them. Even later, when my own children were small, I remember making soap one year, and my niece Delwyn loved it and asked for the recipe! Today there’s so much to choose from, but for me, Jesus is still the reason for the season. That’s the important bit—worshipping Jesus and sharing the message of Christ.’
John recalls a particularly exciting gift he received as a young child. ‘I got a second-hand pedal car and that was pretty exciting! But the true meaning of Christmas is celebrating the birth of Jesus. I have a personal relationship with Jesus and that comes to the fore at Christmas,’ he says.
Christmas present
Erin Smith is 23 years old and was born in 2002, while 14-year-old teenager Joel Baker was born in 2010. Both young people have grown up surrounded by the commercial Christmas cult.
Erin’s favourite gift was an iPad she received from her grandma. ‘It was the year Grandad died so it was very special because all the grandkids got the same gift. I thought it was the coolest thing ever because it was new technology and I could finally download my own games!’
A very honest Joel says, ‘I would be lying if I said I didn’t like celebrating Christmas for presents. When I was younger, I would wake up around 5am on Christmas morning and see if I could wake everyone up! My favourite gift ever was a drift trike. I wasn’t expecting it, so it was a huge surprise! But that’s not the only reason I like Christmas. For me, the fact that Jesus was born is
the main part.’
Still the reason
Amid all the distractions, June, John, Erin and Joel highlight the importance of something deeper and more meaningful at the heart of Christmas—a truth they hope to pass on to future generations.
‘It’s the Jesus bit that really matters,’ says Erin. Every year I serve at church on Christmas Eve and I love seeing everyone worshipping Jesus together and celebrating the real reason for Christmas.’
Erin is deeply bothered by the contradictions of Christmas. ‘On top of the commercialisation is the huge element of competition behind it all,’ she says. ‘It’s become more about who gets the best or most expensive gift. I’ve also noticed the seasonal charity. People help out and donate more at Christmas but then the season passes and the element of giving fades with it.’
Joel agrees, saying, ‘I think the whole concept of Santa steals Christmas from being about Jesus—I grew up with Christmas being about Jesus. At primary school, kids thought Santa was real and now that we all know he’s not, it’s weird to me that they’re just into it for the presents. It’s sad they don’t get to experience Christmas the way I do—with Jesus as the real reason for it.’
Food for thought
Another highlight of Christmas Day for all four would have to be the Christmas food! John admits he has a weakness for Christmas mince pies and is very happy when they arrive at the supermarket in early November. ‘I just love them!’ he confesses.
‘Christmas dinner is my favourite tradition,’ says Joel. ‘We always have roast lamb cooked by Dad and then ambrosia or chocolate pudding,’ he explains. ‘It’s the best meal of the whole year!’
June shares Joel’s love of roast lamb. ‘We always had roast lamb at Christmas. In those days chicken was very expensive, so it was always fresh lamb and then Grandma’s Christmas pudding. Grandma used to make two puddings a few weeks before Christmas Day. They would be wrapped up in cloth and hung in the laundry, which was out in the backyard. And they always had coins in them! I don’t know the history behind putting money in the puddings, but I do know that you cannot have Christmas pudding without money in it!’
‘For years I never got a coin in my slice,’ says June. ‘And the year I finally did get one I was so surprised I swallowed the thing!’
It’s no longer safe to cook coins into food, but that doesn’t stop the Kendrew family from adding their own spin to this tradition!
‘I just put the money underneath a slice as I dish it up. I wash the coins, of course, and it’s usually just small coins. But my cheeky son Alastair usually slips a few $2 coins onto his plate and announces, “Look what I got!”’
Christmas puddings were also a family tradition for John. ‘The pudding would have threepence and shillings baked into it. We’d also have Christmas cake, but the ones you buy today are just not the same.’
Both John and June remember having fresh peas for Christmas lunch. ‘I remember sitting out on the back porch with Grandad on Christmas Eve and shelling peas fresh from the garden for Christmas lunch,’ says John.
‘Nothing was frozen,’ explains June. ‘We didn’t get our first refrigerator until the 1950s, and even then it just had a small icebox.’
To tree or not to tree
Neither John nor June recall having a Christmas tree as children. ‘There was no such thing as a Christmas tree when I was a child,’ says June. ‘That all came much later and the only decorations we had were homemade—paper chains and so on.’
Contrary to the experiences of John and June, Erin has no memory of Christmas without a tree. She is also a huge fan of Christmas light displays.
‘One of our family traditions is to pile into the car and visit the streets that go hardout with their lights,’ she explains. ‘Some of their electricity bills must be insane!’
The final word on what endures about Christmas must go to June. ‘Christmas has certainly changed—a lot. The expectations and financial pressures are outrageous. And yet people wouldn’t not have Christmas even though they may not celebrate Jesus’ birth. It’s still a holiday, and everyone wants that! But if it wasn’t for Christ there wouldn’t be Christmas. We need to remember and share that.’
