And I think the bugs are Moreton Bay Bugs, a freshwater crayfish.
More awareness, perhaps, that NZ can have a different style of Christmas to that of the Northern Hemisphere. We used to have that – then, we felt we had to copy those “back home”. That “back home” now is not just dear old Blighty, but a lot of different countries, with one common thread among others – we’re here, and it’s summer.
I like the summer Santa mutations. 
Last year (and by that I mean 2006) I took part in a Christmas concert where all of us under-18s had to sing a number of songs about Christmas in New Zealand. The lyrics spoke of summer, pohutukawa trees, barbecues, picnics and visits to the beach. That’s all evident, but as others have said, our portion of the world has been strongly influenced by American and European Christmas motifs. We too have to put up with Jingle Bell Rock and Feliz Navidad wherever we go. Starbucks alters its menu. There are candy canes and giftwrap and lights and tree decorations in all the shops, and in Auckland, if you walked down Queen St around Christmas time you’d find it difficult to miss the enormous perverted winking/beckoning Santa they put up above Whitcoulls (a national book shop chain) every year. Plus we have TV specials and church services, if you choose to inflict those upon yourself.
That Santa figure came originally from the Farmers department store. When that shut down, it was shifted to Whitcoulls – but has to be turned off in the evenings because the gears inside are too noisy for the residential tenants there. Actually, last year, it was sabotaged at least twice, with the circuits shut down by person or persons unknown.
A walk down Queen Street wasn’t characterised by that old Auckland trad – but by some really non-trad Christmas decorations put up by the city council. Still not sure what the red spirals are about, but they looked pretty.
Having spent 2 Christmases in the UK, I think I actually prefer the NZ version - mostly because it comes at the same time as the summer holidays, and is therefore a much more relaxed affair. It’s usually fine outside, which greatly increases the number of places you can escape from relatives from - in the UK you’re somewhat confined to inside the house!
My Christmas Days in NZ were typically spent in a caravan in a farmer friends paddock up in Golden Bay at the top of the South Island. There’d typically be 4/5 families staying in caravans, and Christmas Day would start with a trip out to sea to collect fish from the nets, then back for a ‘champagne breakfast’ consisting of freshly fried flounder or whatever had been caught in the nets. Dinner was typically cold meat and salads, the meat having been cooked in the farmer’s ovens the day before.
But the highlight was always New Year’s Eve. We would alternate between the ‘campers’ and the farmers hosting. Regardless of who hosted, the set up was the same - hay bales arranged around a bonfire that would be lit once the light started dimming. If the campers were hosting, dinner would be a bbq of fish and meat, with salads and bread. If the farmers were hosting, the day would start much earlier as we would all help prepare a hangi.
Aah, happy memories! 
Costa Rica, next door to Panama, has four distinct weather zones: the Caribean coast, which is hot and humid during half of the year and hot and muggy during the other half; the Central Valley, which is not-so-hot, not-windy and it rains frequently; the southern Pacific Coast, which is hotter than the Valley but not as much as the Caribe and not as humid as the Caribe; and the northern Pacific Coast (Guanacaste), which has the blessing of strong winds which make the hotter, dry half of the year shorter and more bearable than further south (for several months it’s dry, but the wind makes it less-than-body-temperature). In general, two seasons.
When I was little I wondered why the compilations of Mafalda comic strips (Argentinian), which were mostly in order, had this quirk of having the family go to the beach and get presents from the Magi at about the same time. When I found out about seasons being 6-months-shifted “down below” I smacked myself so hard I almost gave myself a bruise. The few carols the characters in the strip are shown singing are the same as in Spain.
Things are changing. No carols taught to my son at his kindergarten featured snow etc themes. He doesn’t hanker for white christmases and wouldn’t know what one was. While I agree with the basic thrust of much of what is posted here, there is notable change compared to when I was a kid.
As to bugs:
Not fresh water.
Another thing:
Spanish carols rarely mention snow. The notion of a “white Christmas” being a desirable thing is Hollywood-fare, for us. I can think of mentions of chocolate… diapers… church-style bells… a laughing Baby… the Baby telling St Joseph that his beard is itchy… soccer-related miracles… presents… workers getting a special tip… but not of snow. This makes Spanish-language carols better for traveling across timezones and latitudes.
Though he is a lil creepy I will be sad when winky-come hither Santa goes away (and he will for sure) but he was a real Chrissy memory!
Too true, calm kiwi. That giant winking eye – he always seems to look like he’s already got stuck into the liquid “Christmas cheer” right from when they finish putting him back together with the cherry pickers. But he is a Kiwi tradition. I do wonder just how long that can keep those old gears going.
He does look like a perve but I know I will be sad when he is gone…probably next year if the public comments I have heard are right. 
He meant Christmas for a long time.
Princhester has nicely covered what a bug was in that context. Sorry folks.
Yes we do also refer to insects as bugs. Make sure you know the context if an Australian invites you around for some bugs on the barbie 
Bugs have sucking mouthparts; Other insects with chewing mouthparts are not called bugs.
I’d be willing to bet that about 99% of the population neglects to make that distinction in everyday usage.
That’s interesting, GuanoLad: the only true bugs are indeed true bugs. I doubt that’ll stop the general colloquial usage, though.