Christmas Day wet weather fails to dampen drive to help less fortunate The sky was grey but the tree at Bondi Beach was decked in bright shades of red and yellow. An unseasonably wet Christmas Day did not stop Sydneysiders from filling beaches, streets and churches to celebrate. Between 20 millimetres and 40 millimetres of rain fell across most parts of greater Sydney on Wednesday, giving lifeguards at Bondi Beach more time to deck the halls with rubber thongs than keep watch for drunken tourists. In Kings Cross, more than 80 turkeys, 40 hams and chickens and 140 bags of potatoes fed as many as 700 of the city's least fortunate at the Wayside Chapel's annual street party. "I'm alone, I'm by myself, so I can see the community of the Wayside Chapel as my family," said Lani McLachlan, of Redfern, who joined the chapel's choir after her first Wayside Christmas lunch last year. All the staff, all the volunteers, everyone, is part of my family. Reverend Graham Long, the chapel's pastor and chief executive, encouraged people to connect with their community next year as more people choose to live alone. "It's just about being together, you know," he said. I think for one day, in one place, we don't have haves and have nots, or rich and poor, or sick and well - it's just [a] party. In Ashfield, more than 3000 people enjoyed the Exodus Foundation's free Christmas lunch and, at the Australian Technology Park in Eveleigh, the Salvation Army fed about 1200 of the disadvantaged. The Wiggles brought cheer to young patients at Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick and Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies called on Australians to care for the sick and the marginalised. As Archbishop Davies led prayers for the homeless during his first Christmas service at St Andrews Cathedral, two people off the street sought shelter from the rain and found refuge in the church. "We have relative peace in Australia, which is a blessing," he said. We need to continue to demonstrate that in our relationships with one another - caring for the needy, caring for the marginalised so that those who are well off don't just satisfy themselves with good things but might share their belongings and resources with those that are less fortunate. There were prayers for those who had lost their homes to bushfires in the Blue Mountains and for peace in war-torn countries such as Syria, Egypt and South Sudan. A steady stream of families crowded cemeteries across the city to visit loved ones no longer around for Christmas. "You've got to keep tradition going," said Martin Muscat, 47, who has visited his father Tony's grave with his sons, Christopher and Martin, every Christmas since he died from a brain tumour nine years ago. When you stop your traditions, what have you got left? Maja Vuckovic, 4, took her gifts from Santa along to Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park to say hello to her grandfather, who died of a sudden heart attack aged 63. It was her Croatian family's third Christmas without patriarch Mile Zupan. "It's hard, you know, at this time of year because they're not here," his widow, Ika, said. So we'll always come to wish him a merry Christmas.