Kōrero: Public holidays

Christmas card (2 o 2)

Christmas card

New Zealanders have long sent and received Christmas cards that evoke a northern-hemisphere Christmas, with images of snow and holly. Locally, however, some distinctively New Zealand cards were produced. This one from 1886 shows the famous White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana in the central North Island, which were buried in the eruption of Mt Tarawera that year. They are surrounded by sprays of blooming pōhutukawa, often called the New Zealand Christmas tree because its red flowers appear around Christmas.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: E-068-003

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Te tuhi tohutoro mō tēnei whārangi:

Nancy Swarbrick, 'Public holidays - Easter, Christmas and New Year', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/mi/ephemera/32459/christmas-card (accessed 29 March 2024)

He kōrero nā Nancy Swarbrick, i tāngia i te 20 Jun 2012, reviewed & revised 19 Apr 2023