I dunno, but this 'brown Christmas' you lot are talking about narrowly missing or otherwise sounds pretty much like
EVERY Christmas here in Oz - only not
anywhere near so dry, hot, or sunburnt!! :shocked:
In Oz, we tend to
look forward to
any Christmas that's
only in the 'low 40's' (°C

); or one that doesn't include bushfires or even the occasional cyclone; and Santa doesn't have reindeer pulling his sleigh in this part of the world either, cos they'd expire from the heat & simply cark it if they hadta live & breath all the red dust, so he uses 6 White Boomers instead! And the only 'white' we really wanta see at Christmas time is the frothy head on a beer or the middle of the Pav.....
I guess it all comes down to different perspectives, and maybe you tend to prefer whatever it was that you grew up with... :dontknow:
Regardless, hope you all had a Good Christmas, and that you're looking forward to ushering in the New Year in style!

The New Years Celebrations here where I am might be juust a little subdued, cos while it looks like we might be spared a scorcher for New Years Eve - they're only forecasting 38°C, but those temps are coming with gusty N/Westerly winds that mean it's going be an Extreme Fire Danger day, and things'll be even worse on New Years Day! :sour:
Have a Safe One, Stay Healthy, and Enjoy the Ryding as & when you can!

hyea: