The arrival of December sees many Christmas traditions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Yet the onset of modern times has put some Christmas traditions under threat.
The Illawarra Mercury story this week about the traditional neighbourhood Santa lolly runs certainly evoked a lot of comment.
The Albion Park Rural Fire Brigade has had to sideline their traditional Santa lolly run this year for tw main reasons.Firstly the cost of supplying enough lollies for a now expansive Illawarra suburb.
“When they started the lolly run back then, Albion Park and Albion Park Rail were relatively small in size,” RFS Superintendent Greg Wardle said. “Over the last 5-10 years the area has grown significantly and it’s taking a lot more time to undertake the Santa run.”
“They’ve gone from needing two trucks and two Santa Clauses, to five or six trucks – which we don’t have – and five or six Santa Clauses. It no longer takes four hours – it takes a full day.”
Secondly was the occupational health and safety issues.
“We can’t have Santa Claus standing on the back of the truck anymore … and we need to put precautions in place to make sure kids aren’t running out on roadways.”
it is a sad day for any community when a much loved Christmas tradition such as this one comes to an end.Life has unfortunately changed and no in some instances, not for the better.
Look at the impact the actions terrorists have had on the regulations now being imposed on any community event. it’s a shame,but it’s a reality We just have a to find new ways to keep the Christmas spirit alive.
STILL A TRADITION
One Christmas tradition which won’t be disappearing anytime soon is the Illawarra Mercury Christmas Lights competition.
The competition has now launched for 2017.
You can go to our website at illawarramercury.com.au to find out all the details and to enter the competition.
A $500 Visa gift card is up for grabs for the winning entry this year.
So may houses across the Illawarra light up at this time of year to spread joy to the kids of the region.
If you know of a house deserving of some thanks and a chance to win the prize make sure you get them to enter. Get out and enjoy Christmas in the Illawarra.
