I’m delighted to share with you these colourful Christmas cards from the antipodes! This brief selection dates from 1900 – 1919 and the originals are stored in various repositories in New Zealand.

A parrot instead of robin redbreast? A parrot is not usually associated with the northern hemisphere Christmas. The exotic bird on this card would give a shot of brightness to the grey and dreary UK winter.

Above: your Christmas dinner, anyone? This might be familiar to those whose winters mean snow in December, although more often than not we see the turkey on a plate, not walking around displaying its plumage.

The postcard above alludes to the migrants who settled in New Zealand and who would reach out to family and friends back home. The original can be found at Archives New Zealand.

The card above is from a collection at the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. It features a version of the national emblem of New Zealand – the fern leaf.

Images from Wikimedia Commons