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\nHobsonville Santa fun run helpers were dishing out fun and encouragement. The inaugural event ran a festive red streak through the suburb to raise funds for charity.
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ Ryan Watts Photo\n<\/p>\n
New Zealanders are celebrating Christmas Day throughout the country, with traditional family get togethers, shared meals, gift giving and Christmas trees.<\/p>\n
Here’s some of what Christmas looks like this year.<\/p>\n
Message of peace, togetherness and reflection<\/p>\n
Christians around the country are celebrating Christmas at specially held church services.<\/p>\n
The holiday marks the birth of Jesus Christ, and morning services are held to remind worshippers the spiritual meaning of Christmas.<\/p>\n
Akinola Dairo, a churchgoer at Auckland’s Gracecity Church, told RNZ it was heart-warming to see the community coming together for the day.<\/p>\n
“Jesus bands us together, … together in the spirit of Christ, singing together, rejoicing together, sharing together. Before, during and even after the service.<\/p>\n
“People are in the foyer now, giving gifts and sharing their time together.”<\/p>\n
Lead pastor of the Greenlane church, Chris Porteous, said there was good attendance at this year’s Christmas service, with a diverse community from throughout the city.<\/p>\n
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\nBishop Steve Lowe says Christmas Day is a good day for the world to reflect (file photo).
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ Gavin Abraham\n<\/p>\n
Auckland’s Catholic bishop Steve Lowe says Christians in Aotearoa and around the world have been gathering<\/p>\n
“It’s a day for us which holds great hope, and I think at the moment our world needs a lot of that – and the Prince of Peace can bring that,” Lowe says.<\/p>\n
It’s an important and hopeful time for everyone, not just Christians.<\/p>\n
“Whether you’re a Christian, or whatever other faith – or no faith at all, it’s a great day to think about peace and the desire for peace, in our world and in our homes.”<\/p>\n
More Christmas stories: <\/p>\n
Anchors, camels and kayaks – a less traditional Christmas for Kiwi travellers<\/a><\/p>\n Denying help to the poor is rejection of God, Pope Leo says on Christmas Eve<\/a><\/p>\n Sharing the Christmas love<\/p>\n Auckland’s City Mission is providing Christmas Day lunch to scores more people than last year.<\/p>\n It will host hundreds of rough sleepers, City Mission residents, and people who would otherwise be alone.<\/p>\n The dining area was set up yesterday and the chef has been carving ham this morning.<\/p>\n Head of fundraising Joe Rich says there were about 450 people last year but the Mission is prepared for 600 later today.<\/p>\n It will be a traditional big Christmas meal of ham, vegetables, pavlova and treats, he says.<\/p>\n \nServers dishing up lunch, at Auckland City Mission’s Christmas in 2023. Subdued pre-Christmas spending<\/p>\n Today, New Zealand houses are filled with the sounds of presents being unwrapped, Christmas meals being prepared and enjoyed, and toasts to the day. But yesterday, the ching ching of cash registers resounded everywhere.<\/p>\n Christmas Eve was the busiest shopping day of the year, with just under 10,000 sales a minute at its peak.<\/p>\n Payments company Worldline says the peak was midday to 1pm, when more than 563,000 sales were recorded on its network.<\/p>\n The company does not have a value for the spending, but says the peak number of transactions was the lowest in the past six years and well shy of the record 679,000 in 2019.<\/p>\n Worldline noted sales picked up last week, but overall pre-Christmas shopping was lower than a year ago.<\/p>\n Read more: ‘Easier to get growth out of an economic hole’ – Did we survive 2025?<\/a><\/p>\n Christmas Day power cut<\/p>\n More than 1000 Christchurch residents awoke to no power on Christmas morning.<\/p>\n Power company Orion said 1400 properties in the suburbs of Beckenham, Cashmere, Huntsbury, St Martins, and Sydenham were affected. But the lights and power were back on by about 9am.<\/p>\n Santa fun run<\/p>\n \nPhoto: Supplied \/ Ryan Watts Photo\n<\/p>\n Earlier in December, a sea of red flooded Hobsonville on 18 December<\/a>, as hundreds of Santas in sneakers dashed for cash, for a good cause.<\/p>\n The inaugural 5 kilometre fun run and walk was organised by the Early Bird Run Crew and raised funds for West Auckland Hospice.<\/p>\n Nearly 600 runners showed up.<\/p>\n Club founder Duncan Oswald said themed runs and dressing up for events made it a lot of fun and the cause they had chosen to support touched a personal note with many of the crew who were involved.<\/p>\n \nPhoto: Supplied \/ Ryan Watts Photo\n<\/p>\n Teo enjoying retirement and Christmas at home<\/p>\n \nTeo under the Christmas tree, back home. Teo the police dog has worked to fight crime for seven years, but was retired after being injured in early October from falling into hot geothermal water during a search operation in Rotorua.<\/p>\n She has been nursed back to health by a team of vets and nurses, and her handler Constable Adam Johannsen.<\/p>\n Johannsen says Teo’s just about back to full health now, and is home for Christmas<\/a>.<\/p>\n “She’s quite a remarkable dog and just doesn’t give up,” he said.<\/p>\n Christmas trees decorating city centres<\/p>\n \nAuckland’s Te Manaaki Christmas tree, has been lit up since early December. Auckland’s Britomart is home to the 18.5m Te Manaaki Christmas tree. This year it is bedecked with 10,000 LEDs, 200 stainless steel baubles, and thousands of flowers.<\/p>\n Reactions to it have been mixed, with some loving the decorations jollying up the city centre, and others not convinced<\/a>.<\/p>\n People RNZ spoke to in Dunedin were also unconvinced<\/a> by their city’s tree, in The Octagon.<\/p>\n While a tree constructed by volunteers in Featherston<\/a> was destroyed by vandals.<\/p>\n \nThe handmade, sustainable Christmas tree in Featherston, before it was damaged.<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: RNZ \/ Felix Walton\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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\nPhoto: Supplied \/ NZ Police\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: Supplied \/ Sacha Stejko\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\nPhoto: Supplied\n<\/p>\n