Magazine Na13C
A JOLLY CHRISTMAS AS WE AR E N E AR IN G C H R I ST M A S I TH OU GH T I T W O UL D B E N I CE T O S EE W HA T PE O PL E D O T HI S T IM E AR OU N D TH E YE AR . SO F OR T HI S S PEC IAL OCCA SI ON I HA VE IN TE R VIE W ED THR EE P EO PL E A BO UT T H EIR CHR I S TM A S TR ADI T IO N S AN D EX PER IEN CE S .
I have asked Peter, Anna and Stefan have answered a series of question that I asked them. What does Christmas mean to you? Peter: Christmas means a lot to me, especially with having the family together to laugh, joke and tell stories. I, as a person, really enjoy cooking for the Christmas table and test ideas for new recipes. Anna: For me Christmas means getting together with family and to meet them after a long time. I also enjoy the gifts a lot. Stefan: I like the mood around Christmas; it’s a kind of homey warm feeling in the middle of the winter. A Christmas without snow would not be a real Christmas to me. What do you usually do on Christmas eve? Peter: First we wait for everyone to be there and we drink glögg and eat some homemade snacks. After that we usually eat for a very long time, lastly we open the gifts.
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Where are you going to spent Christmas, and with who? Peter: I’m going to spend Christmas at home with my wife, son, daughter, father and maybe my sister and her family but we have yet to decide about that. Anna: I’m going to spend the Christmas week in Sälen, a ski resort in Sweden, with my family, cousins and grandparents; it will be a very big gathering with my relatives being there. Stefan: My wife and I will spend Christmas at home alone. On Christmas day we will visit some of our relatives and feast once again. Do you have any odd Christmas tradition?
Anna: We usually open the presents first and then watch Donald Duck, that’s a really strong tradition in our family. After Donald duck has ended we eat and talk until nighttime.
Peter: Not really.
Stefan: My family and I usually wake up in the morning to eat a big breakfast. After that we usually just prepare for the dinner and watch a movie of some sort. Then we eat and open our presents.
Stefan: I don’t have any weird Christmas tradition.
Anna: I usually wake up at 5 O’clock in the morning; I guess that is a little odd tradition of mine.
The majority of people of today’s society celebrate Christmas. Even if do celebrate for different reasons it is a holiday that many
love for the most common reason, you get to spend the holiday with your beloved ones after a long year full of work. So I have yet to say one thing, I wish you all a happy Merry Christmas.
Petronella Wiklander
An ordinary Christmas
Almost everyone knows what their dream Christmas look like but not everyone gets to experience it. Ingamay Gustavsson, an old lady who grew up in Kil is telling us about her rare but fantastic Christmas. For most persons it may seem like she did not get her dream Christmas but Ingamay declines the statement. “For me it is all about intimacy”, she says. I knock on the brown lacquered wooden door. A sign which says: “Gustavsson” attires the excellent made door. “Welcome to the house of Gustavsson”, a nice old lady opens the door and introduces me into her home. She reaches out her hand towards me and smiles. “Ingamay Gustavsson”, she says. I shake her hand and put my hand on the gold colored door handle to close the doorway. I take off my yellow jacket and hang it on an old, golden hook. I pull down the golden zipper on my high brown leather boots and place them on the dark grey carpet. She leads me into a long hall. My feet move from the carpet, to the cold beige floor tiles and all the way to a light brown wooden floor. I glance at the white painted walls in the hall. Both here and there I can see framed, painted flowers. I turn my head to my right side to stare at some photos of a couple of children. With a thoughtful feeling I continue to walk towards a white and shiny kitchen. I wonder who they might be. She stands beside a table made of light wooden. While pulling out a chair with the exact same color she says: “Take your seat my friend.” I One of Ingamay’s favorite Christmas paintings, sit down on a white and fluffy chair cushion. by Jenny Nyström. She leaves the table for a moment and returns with a grey cup of coffee and some well baked buns. “Help yourself, my dear!” I take one bun and start the interview. “So, Ingamay, have you always lived here, I mean in Forshaga?”, I ask her. “No, I am originally from Kil, but later in my life I decided to move here with my husband.” My first question about how many Christmases she has celebrated in the house gets an answer right away: “At least 20 of them have existed in here, but as you might understand the first ones took place in Kil.” “Would you like to share a part of your story with me, Ingamay?” “Of course I would!” “Ever since I was little I always looked forward to Christmas, not only because of the decorating before the holiday but also because I knew that all my relatives were gathered around me”, she smiles while telling me about the unique Christmas she loved but still was not the one a child would dream of. “I grew up with my mother, father and eight siblings in a new house which was built one month before my birth in 1947. At that time the house was considered to be big. Me and my siblings slept maximum five people in one room. During the
first two Christmas Eves that I was old enough to remember my eldest siblings had moved out and got their own jobs. From their wages they were supposed to buy me and my siblings presents. My mother and father were responsible for everything else, like decorations and dinner. You could find all kinds of dishes on our table, from chipolata sausages and meatballs to Jansson’s temptation and herring. You could even find brawn but I did not fancy that. My favorite was the Christmas ham of course”, she laughs while licking her mouth. She tells me of how she and her family were sitting, from dawn to dusk by the Christmas tree with their most elegant clothes on, waiting for Santa Claus to arrive. It was no one else but her fifth eldest brother, Kalle who was dressed up as Father Christmas. Despite the enormous number of children, chaos never existed in their house. “We had a deep connection, me and my siblings, therefore I never felt alone. No matter when I got home I knew there was always someone waiting for me.” When I ask Ingamay about decorating before Christmas she shines like the sun. “I remember decorating the Christmas tree, as if it was yesterday. We normally started to dress it the day before Christmas. I have a strong memory of me, being a thief.” I can see how she holds herself from laughing. She fails and I get myself a hearty laugh, too.” Our tree was dressed from head to foot. There were Christmas decorations everywhere. We also had paper caramels with candy in it. We were not allowed to eat it until the end of Christmas but whenever I was dying for candy I sneaked to the Christmas tree and took some. I have a strong memory of a sparkling spire, placed at the summit of the tree, with baby Jesus in his crib and angels on it. The first years when I was younger I remember that we used candlelights which we afterwards changed to electric ones.” I can truly see the passion for Christmas in her eyes, while telling me about the story of her childhood. “Ingamay, earlier you talked about getting presents from your elder siblings. Did you ever wish for anything special?” “Well, I always wished for a couple of things but most of the time I did not get a single one of them. A normal Christmas present for me consisted of a tank top and a pair of briefs. My biggest dream was to have a doll with dark skin and one day my dream came true. I was seven years old and received the first present from my parents.” With excitement I listen to her description of the doll with hard cheeks and dark curly hair. While daydreaming, Ingamay’s hands slowly moves from her head to her belly. “This region was also hard”, she points out “and dressed in a brown dress.” She was so beautiful! I slept truly tight that Christmas night because I knew I had got my very own doll. I could not ask for anything else.” Once again she is smiling. As an answer of my question about bad Christmas celebrations she replies: “I understand if it may seem like I did not get my dream Christmas but in fact I would not change them either. At that time presents were not as important as they are today. The only thing that mattered for me was to be with the ones I love, my family.” I sincerely understand, Ingamay. “If we are now going to discuss the present, what does your current view on Christmas look like?” “When I got my own children I loved dressing them up for the holiday.” She is holding a tiny little dress with white and red squares. “My second born girl wore this when she was little.” Ingamay puts her hand on the back of the dress to make a ribbon out of the red strings. “I still enjoy celebrating Christmas and I will always be looking forward to it. For me, it is
important to know that my grandchildren get many presents. I want to give them all they need and wish for. Their happiness makes me happy”, she adds. Like the child she was about 60 years ago Ingamay still loves to dress the Christmas tree. “Today it has become more popular to have white decorations. Do not misunderstand me. I think it is beautiful, but for me the color of Christmas will always be red. No red decorations means no Christmas.” She points out that the decoration of her Christmas tree is a lot stricter today. When she was little they dressed it so much that it got a more homely feeling. “Which present stood out the most from all your gifts today?” “You see, I appreciate everything I have been giving so I do not fancy one gift more or less than the other ones. For me the best present to receive is not materialistic. I am just happy to be with my family on Christmas Eve and to know that all my relatives are healthy.” My last and final question asks Ingamay if there are any persons who celebrated Christmas with her when she was little that she would like to celebrate with today. She tells me that she would be more than pleased to have her mother- and father -in-law with her today. With curiosity I am begging her to explain why. “They were the ones who made most effort to make every Christmas as good as possible for me and my children. No matter what I was truly welcome to their family. Therefore I would have loved to give back all their generosity.” With gratitude for letting me interviewing her I leave the table and put the cup on the sink unit. She is walking me through the long hall to the door. Once again I face the pictures of the children. “I just have to ask, are these your grandchildren you were talking so good about?”, I ask her. “Yes, they are the ones. I love them so much!” We continue to walk towards the door. I put on my shoes and my jacket. We shake hands one last time. “Only about one month left to Christmas, Ingamay! I am sure you are looking forward to it.” “You see my friend I am always excited to face the 24th of December but I do not need to wait that long because every time I meet my grandchildren I get a foretaste of Christmas.”
Amelia Gustavsson
Avoid a panic Christmas 19 november 2014
Tip by Ammie
Christmas is a stressful time in life and it is hard to find good ideas for food and Christmas gifts that you hand out to family and friends. I want to give you some ideas when you are in a bad mood or if you are stressed and have no good ideas to make your Christmas one of the coziest days of the year.
How to make a Christmans dinner A perfect dinner is something everyone dreams about, when your parents and children come to your house to celebrate the holyday with you. It is a really good feeling to impress your family that you have done a great dinner for them.
Here is a list of food you can make for them:
Meatballs
You can always use more dishes for your perfect Christmas dinner. But if you don’t have any ideas you can use my idea of dishes. If you want more ideas go to the internet and search for “Christmas food recipe” and you will find many great ideas what you can make and of course how to make them.
Chipolata sausage Potatoes Salmon Egg
Christmas gifts tip
Janssons temptation Herring
Every person from young to old wants to give away something special when your family sits gathered in front of the Christmas tree and Santa Claus hands out your gifts that you have bought. So I want to recommend some ideas of my own that I think it is more fun to get and give and hopefully will be more appreciated. If you for example have a child who loves horses, on her wish list she has written a horse. Of course you want to give her a horse, but the problem is that she is almost 10 years old and you don’t have the money for a horse to her. So I have a good idea for you, why don’t you take her to a horseshow in Stockholm which is called Stockholm horseshow, you will have an excellent time with your daughter and see a smile on her face when she sees the horses running and performing on the scene.
Or you have a father who has not told you what he wants for Christmas, he always says “all I want for Christmas is to be with my family” but you still want to give him a special gift for all things he has done for you in the past years. A perfect gift that is not an expensive thing is to offer him a concert ticket or a good play or just invite him for dinner in your house or in a restaurant.
Made by Ammie Bäckström
The Achievements of Caratacus We live in a modernized world with increasing amount of stress and depression. In this world you can at times find yourself in situations where it is hard to believe how you could possible succeed. Then it can be inspirational to read this story of old, and know that you can, not only deal with it, but you can come out stronger. This tale is that of Caratacus who lived 10-50 AD and who ruled a part of Britain during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius in the first century. Therefore, it was he who led the resistance against the invasion of the Romans. This story begins when Caratacus established his supremacy by expanding his territories in Britain at the expense of his enemies. Therefore, one of the victims of his expansions, named Verica, sought the help of Rome thus justifying a Roman invasion. When the Romans first set foot on the shores of Britain it was Caratacus and his brother who lead the army who fought them back. However, his brother was slain early in the campaign leaving him to lead the army and protect his homeland on his own. The Britons were a barbarian people who mostly fought in a fashion more suitable for independent combat, preferably using large swords and axes, charging in a great horde of screaming men to strike fear into the enemy. The Romans on the other hand were disciplined professional soldiers who faced their enemy in formation, letting every man protect his next behind a wall of shields. They carried short swords since there is not space for more when the armies clash. For this reason, when the Britons met the Romans in the field of battle, they fought hard and fearsome, but could not break the Roman formations. This is why Caratacus had to utilize the circumstances at hand. Due to being in their homeland, he received great sympathy from the people, even in the areas where the nobility favored Rome. The Romans were also not accustomed to the local environment nor did they know the land. And lastly, the fact that Romans fought best in large numbers. Due to all this he could, with great results, engage them in guerrilla warfare, even though they still faced each other in open battle at times. Utilizing these tactics, he could keep the Romans from conducting any form of efficient expansion as they were forced to leave a considerable amount of men behind to keep the population in check and to protect their supply lines. Hence, for every mile of conquered territory, the Romans left men behind to avoid starvation. Therefore Caratacus managed to elude and disturb the Romans for a decade. The improbable feat of such a small nation having the ability to survive against Rome, the unstoppable empire of the time, was an achievement so great it made it into the history books. Despite this he was captured, in a battle in Herefordshire Beacon, located at the current southern border between Wales and England. However, he managed to escape only to be recaptured by the very people whom he sought sanctuary at, and was sent to Rome in shackles. Once they reached Rome he was displayed as one of the prizes in a general’s triumph, as it rode through the streets celebrating all that they had conquered during their campaign in Britain. At the end of the triumph Caratacus was allowed to speak directly to the emperor of Rome, and held a speech talking about
how his war effort in Britain only made the emperor and Rome seem so much greater, when they had a fit adversary and not just some barbarian rubble. Therefore he thought that his life should be spared due to his aid to glorify the Roman Empire, and to most people’s surprise his speech made such an impact that his wish was granted and he was allowed to live out his life in Rome.
This story shows how you can turn even the most unfortunate of situations to your advantage if you try hard enough. Caratacus shows to be able to do this with his ambition, power and will to succeed, and although he did this with great success, he too had drawbacks. The achievement of conquering an island so well that his enemies came crawling to Rome, and then manage to keep the Roman onslaught at bay for a decade, is a victory that placed him in an undesirable position that he handled with grace. Unfortunately for him he was captured, yet he managed to escape once and upon second capture convince the ruler of the men he had been killing and harassing for years to let him live out his life in peace, that is impressive. With this we can learn that you can turn any situation to your advantage, even when all appear lost, and that you should fight for what you believe in and by doing so achieve greatness. Kalle Thorsager NA13C
Christmas Christmas is a traditional festival celebrated at the end of December. Christmas festival is a religious tradition, and it is very differently around the world. Here in Sweden we celebrate Christmas in memory of Jesus birth in 25th December. We also have Christmas traditions Christmas tree, Christmas music and a very good food serving. In the middle of the 1700`s first dressed Christmas trees appeared in Sweden, in the 1800 s dressed trees became more common. Today it is more regular to dress the Christmas trees the days before Christmas Eve. In the 1930 s the families began an advent wreath having four candles. This Swedish traditional has spread worldwide. In the 1600´s people began Christmas presents. The Christmas gifts was going to receiver’s house and throw the gifts through the door then run away. In the 1800´s gingerbread, mulled wine and the red color became part of Swedish traditions. The television and radio began streaming commercials, movies and series about Christmas traditions. 1932 launched the first advent calendar. In the 60´s Donald Duck (Kalle Anka) was broadcast for the first time in Christmas Eve, which became a tradition At 15:00, every Christmas Eve telecast Donald Duck is broadcast. Another traditions is Christmas decoration. Its all start in November with Christmas music, Christmas food, Christmas ham, Christmas dinner table, saffron bun, nuts, root bear and Christmas magazines. Lucia means light in Latin and she’s a saint born in Syracuse, Sicilian at year 283. She died 304 also in Syracuse. Lucia was a maid, saint and a martyr. She’s celebrated within the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church at the date December 23th. The young maid Lucia died in a martyr way for the Emperor Diocletian’s persecution. Lucia is pictured with a wound in her throat and a sword in her hand. She’s also usually painted with her eyes in a barrel representing her giving her own eyes to the ones in need. The god mother gave her a pair of new eyes and even more beautiful some say. As an attribute she usually holds a palm branch, oil lamp or a candle in her hand.
Christmas Now and Then It’s a grey Sunday afternoon in November and I’m on my way to my grandmother. Even though the ground still isn’t covered in white, and the windows yet aren’t lighten up by shining stars and advent wreaths, I can feel the Christmas spirit getting closer. Grandma and I are going to talk about her childhood Christmases in the late 1930’s and the 40’s in Skattkärr, a small village in Östra Fågelvik, Värmland. We are also going to discuss how she thinks the holiday has changed since then. When I finally arrive at her house, I am welcomed with a smile and a hug. I sit down by her kitchen table and look around. Through the window I can see the wind tearing the leafless trees and people ruffling up in their winter jackets, but I still have this warm and familiar feeling. The kitchen is small but cosy and the lamp is spreading a warm light across the room. From the wall I can hear a clock ticking. Grandma sits down in the chair opposite to me and looks at me with curious eyes. I begin the interview. ”How was Christmas when you were young grandma?” When I ask the first question, I can see a twinkle in her eyes, it’s immediately clear to me that there are many precious and dear memories hiding behind those grey eyes. She begins to describe how Christmas worked in her family; only her closest family members celebrated Christmas Eve together, but on Boxing Day all the relatives were invited! The Christmas party was held in the homes of different families among the relatives every year, because it was quite a struggle to be responsible for the big family meeting. There was a great deal of traditional foods to prepare which often
was the women’s job to do. It was also her task to Christmas-decorate, while chopping down a Christmas tree and dress up as Father Christmas was the man’s job. As today, food was very important during the celebrations. “Fläskkorv”, lutfisk, rice pudding with almonds and brawn were a few of the most traditional dishes. Sadly, the family’s pig had to be slaughtered before the holiday. Grandma explains how she always created a bond to their pig, and how horrible it was when it was time to say goodbye. It never became a problem though when the Christmas ham was done; “You knew that you ate pork, but I never thought more about it.” When I ask what her favourite things about Christmas were, one of them was the season’s first sandwich with Christmas ham and mustard.
The Christmas decorations have not changed that much since the 1940:s, but there are some traditions that we’ve lost. Some because of less dangerous alternatives like electric lights instead of real candlelights in the Christmas tree.
Grandma’s mother and father in their home in Skattkärr. Grandma tells me a lot about her mother Greta. She was very busy during Christmas, but she didn’t mind, because she loved the decorations, the food and the holiday spirit. In September she started making presents to everyone, because most of the gifts she gave away were homemade. According to Greta, it was not the size or the value of the present that mattered, it was the thought. Therefore, a homemade gift was much more precious. Grandma agrees. Suddenly I feel a bit ashamed; I remember all the homemade knitted socks grandma has given me through the years and think about how I’ve never really appreciated them enough. “Did you get many presents?” I ask. “No, but I was very grateful for those I got!” she says. Her favourite Christmas gifts that she can remember were a celluloid doll and a little story book which she adored. A very beloved Christmas memory, and the most important tradition there was according to grandma, was when her father
played the violin on Christmas Eve. All the family members would come together and sing Christmas songs and psalms. “Unity and family” is her answer when I ask her about what she misses the most from her childhood Christmases. “Somewhere on the way we’ve lost the unity and forgot the importance of being together”. I nod. “Most people are so busy these days because their jobs have become their highest priority in life and it should not be like that.” “Do you think Christmas has changed since then?” I ask her. “I don’t think it has changed that much” she says, “The Christmas spirit hasn’t changed, but the holiday has become much more commercial.” She also points out that most people seem to want Christmas to be too extraordinary and perfect. The biggest change is the approach to Christmas gifts according to her. People are focusing more and more on the presents, when it really is family and kinship that are important. On
the other hand, Christmas has become better in many ways. “More children today have the opportunities that I never had as a child” she explains. Grandma begins to describe one of her strongest memories of Christmas. The year was 1939 and she was 5 years old. It was the night before Christmas Eve, and her family was busy doing the final Christmas preparations. Her mom was ironing the last tablecloth for the kitchen table when grandma asked: “Mom! Why do the Christmas elves run so much on that cloth?” Her mother answered “It’s probably because they’re in such a hurry to get done before Christmas”. She took some paper ribbons which grandma had cut out and put them on the new tablecloth. Candlelights were set in place into the old wooden advent wreath. Her mother said tiredly, but pleased “Now, we’re done!” Grandma could hear her father stomping of the snow from his boots in their hallway. Soon he joined them in the kitchen. “Daddy we’re ready!” Grandma said. “Only the elves are in a hurry now!” Her father looked at them and said very gravely: “We should always remember this Christmas with gratefulness”. What grandma didn’t know then but have realized later in life was that her father was hinting at the imminent situation in Europe, that later would lead to World War II. He meant that they must be grateful for what they had at the time because they couldn’t be sure about having such a peaceful Christmas together again. When I leave my Grandmother’s house that day I have a lot on my mind. I think about everything that grandma has told me, and it has left a mark on me as the “Christmas-HoIic” I am. I no longer need
all those things that I wished for Christmas, I don’t really care about if I will watch From All of Us To All of You or not and I’m not panicking about what I should give my family as Christmas gifts anymore. Everyone has heard it before, and it might sound cheesy, but it’s the thought that matters. This year I am going to appreciate those things that actually are important: being together with my family and friends and the privilege of celebrating Christmas in peace. I agree with grandma when she says “Christmas truly is the greatest holiday!”
Can the joy of Christmas reach everyone? It would not be unreasonable to claim that Christmas is one of the most anxiously anticipated highdays. From the age of a child, Christmas is marked by the excitement of Santa Claus, gifts, food and family togetherness. The holiday has achieved a glow of happiness, affection and pleasure. However, this view is far from universal. More than a month before the day, we are being faced with an ever-increasing amount of advertisement on television and in the press. The storefronts fill up with tempting offers of potential Christmas gifts. Everywhere, we see an unceasing stream of creative Christmas concepts, all with the same theme, affection, happiness and unity. In all this shimmer and commercial noise, one could easily believe that Christmas is nothing other than the endless consumption of food and the exchange of lavish gifts, but among us there are people who can neither afford nor participate in the media’s image of happiness. The thought of celebrating Christmas inside one own’s home is nothing more than a distant dream to those who are homeless. Amid all the good cheer and music, it is easy to forget that the homeless exist. Under bridges and on doorsteps, you see cardboard boxes and old sleeping bags. One might perhaps see the trace of someone who has been sleeping rough but, to the vast majority of us, it is difficult to comprehend the difficulties of being on the streets. Nonetheless, the situation is looking up. People are inviting the homeless to their own celebrations’. Churches and local organisations are raising money for Christmas food and gifts, improving the situation for the homeless, making them feel that the happiness of Christmas is not as distant as it might seem. This generates a sense of hope, and fosters community spirit. The organisers of these projects agree that this gives their own Christmas more purpose, They feel that they are giving back something to their community. These kinds of initiatives appear to be increasing, not only in big cities such like London and Paris but also in isolated small towns like Karlstad. But it is important to remember that despite these efforts, no Christmas arrangements will solve the ongoing plight of homelessness. They live in this situation every day. With a problem like this, a few tolerable days a year becomes a welcome but inadequate exception. However, one hopes that this kind of initiative becomes more common, leading to an increasingly decent life for the poor and destitute. Wilhelm Thunberg Na13C
CHRISTMAS FOR EVERYBODY Christmas is wonderful, but it can be a tough time for some people. Especially tough is it for people who can´t eat wheat flour. Many Christmas traditions include bread and baking. In recent years, more and more have got the diagnosis gluten intolerance. Luckily it is not hard to bake nice and tasty breads and cakes without gluten. Just remember to follow the recipes carefully. Doughs with glutenfree flour mix are looser than wheat doughs which
Soft gingerbread
Ingredients: 3 dl gluten-free flour mix 2 dl sugar 1 ½ tbsp. gingerbread spice mix 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp psyllium seed husk 175g butter 1 dl yoghurt ½ dl hot water 2 eggs gluten-free breadcrumbs to the tube pan Preheat oven to 175 ̊C. Melt the butter. Put flour mix, sugar, gingerbread spice mix, baking powder and psyllium husk in a bowl and mix them together. Add the melted butter, the sour milk and the hot water. Beat the eggs and add them to the batter. Grease a tube pan with butter and then crumb it. Pour the batter into the tube pan. Bake in bottom rack position for 40-50 minutes. Serve with cream and lingonberry.
makes them stickier. That is just as it should be. Do not add more flour mix, then the bread will taste bad. In these recipes gluten is replaced by a small amount of psyllium husk to get an elastic texture. Psyllium husk are seed coats from herbs that form a jelly substance in contact with water. You will not need much; a tablespoon is enough since it swells.
Saffron buns 25g yeast 75g butter 2 dl milk ½ tbsp. psyllium husk 1 dl quark ½ g saffron ¾ dl sugar ½ egg 6-7 dl gluten-free flour mix Preheat oven to 250 ̊C. Crumble the yeast into a bowl. Melt the butter. Add milk and heat until lukewarm, 37 ̊C. Pour the mixture over the yeast. Stir well until the yeast dissolves. Add psyllium husk and leave it to swell for 10 minutes. Add quark, ground saffron, sugar, egg and most of the flour mix. Mix into a dough. It will be a little bit stickier than ordinary dough. Cover the dough and let rise for 30 minutes. Shape them as small S-es and decorate them with raisins. Place them on a baking sheet and cover them with a towel. Let them rise for 30 minutes Glaze buns with beaten egg and bake in middle rack position for 810 minutes or until golden on top.
TIP: 1 dl= 0,4 cup 250 ̊C = 482 ̊F
175 ̊C = 347 ̊F
Saffron cake Ingredients: 200g butter 2 eggs 3 dl sugar ½ g saffron 1 sugar cube 1 ½ dl milk 4 ½ dl gluten-free flour mix 2 tsp baking powder 1 ½ tsp psyllium husk Gluten-free breadcrumbs to the tube pan. Melt the butter. Preheat oven to 175 ̊C. Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until they are fluffy. Use a pestle and mortar to grind the saffron together with the sugar cube. Then add the saffron, the milk and the butter to the fluffy eggs.
Whisk the flour with baking powder and add this to the batter. Grease the inside of a tube pan lightly with butter. Then crumb it with gluten-free breadcrumbs. Pour the batter into the tube pan and bake in bottom rack position for 50-60 minutes. Serve with cream and fresh fruit.
Julia Nystrand
Murderous cows? The first studies that showed the lethality in high milk consumptions were introduced in 1980. Now, over thirty years later, new studies show that high intake of cow-milk is connected to faster aging for adults and bone fractures.
The history of consuming milk from other mammals began in South-West Asia at around 9,000 B.C, during the Neolithic revolution. Since then milk drinking has spread across the world, but it wasn’t very popular to drink regular milk until the industrial revolution, when milk could be mass-pasteurized and shipped in cool train cars. Before that it was often called “the white poison” for having a tendency of spreading diseases like salmonella and tuberculosis.
A new study made by Uppsala Universitet, which followed 110,000 people during a 20 year period, shows that milk devouring may lead to higher risks of cardiovascular diseases and bone fractures for women and higher risk for cardiovascular diseases and prostate cancer for men. This new study is particularly for cow’s milk, as it contains more cholesterol and lactose compared to many other mammal’s milk. The recommended intake of milk is now 1-2 servings a day (one serving≈ 200ml). Pros/cons of drinking milk (cow’s milk)
1
Picture by Bill Frymire
Not only humans are fond of milk, cats are often seen as milk lovers, though many adult cats aren’t fond of drinking it.1
Pros: 1. Drinking 1 glass of milk will give you many of the vitamins and minerals you need, like calcium, potassium, and d-vitamin, which is vital during winter when you’re not exposed to the sun very often. 2. Milk is a perfect recovery drink after a light workout, giving you both carbohydrates and protein. 3. A British study shows that milk actually makes you concentrate better.
Cons: 1. Milk has now been proven bad for your bone structure, being oxidizing, it actually may lead to fragile bones instead. 2. Milk may cause some types of cancer (but hey, what doesn’t give you cancer these days?) 3. You might get more vulnerable to cardiovascular diseases, like heart attacks. 4. Milk will quickly add much calories, 4 servings a day of milk (1,5% fat) may add up to 400 calories, so if you’re on a diet you should watch out! 5. Some might think that drinking other mammal’s milk is unethical. 6. There are better (scientifically more healthy) sorts of milk than cow’s, e.g. goat or horse milk.
Interstellar Movie Review. Winter and Christmas is coming soon and with them the winter movies are coming too. One of the biggest and most anticipated movies of this winter is Interstellar. Interstellar came out a few weeks ago and it has got varied criticisms. Some say that is bad and some say that it is good. In this review I will talk about my opinion on the movie and why I think as I do. Interstellar is directed by Christopher Nolan. And it contains actors such as Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and many more. The plot is hard to explain without spoiling too much, but basically it can be described as this. Earth is no longer habitable and the humans need to find a new planet to live on. I will start with the good things about Interstellar and then talk about the bad. First of all and the most impressive thing with this movie is the acting. Anne Hathaway gives one of her best performance ever, the rest of the cast is also very good. However the most outstanding performance in interstellar comes from Matthew McConaughey. His acting has never felt as real as it did in interstellar. According to me this is his greatest work ever. Apart from the acting there are a lot of other great things about Interstellar. The CGI (computer-generated imagery) is one of them. It felt so real that it was impossible to tell if it were real images of space or CGI. Interstellar also has an amazing soundtrack. Almost all the bad things with Interstellar comes towards the end. Without spoiling too much I can safely say that the ending is a bit convenient. It did not have the sort of mystique that I was hoping for. It can also at times feel a bit predictable. Interstellar also has some minor problems such as exposition dialogue. However these are as I said minor and you will not notice them unless you try to. Overall I still think Interstellar is a great movie and I strongly recommend that you see it. Interstellar is a great gift for someone that is interested in space or good filmmaking. I will give Interstellar 7/10 points. By Rasmus Dahllรถf
No friends but the mountains
On the 16th of September, 2014, on the slopes of the great mountain of Mashtat Nour, a new history was about to be written. An unforgettable threat had emerged, threatening to commit another genocide of Kurds since the massacre of Halabja. The siege of Kobani had begun.
The Islamic state of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have since 2012 been attacking the Kurdish town of Kobani, but it wasn’t until in June 2014, after the Iraqi army consisting of a personnel of 20 000 soldiers deserting and fleeing the city of Mosul, leaving behind heavy weaponry and armored vehicles, when ISIL began to launch offensives against Kurdish populated areas. Realizing the threat, The President of the Kurdish Regional Government, Massoud Barzani, declared the threat of ISIL as an act of war, mobilizing the Kurdish army – Peshmerga, to be deployed at vulnerable territories. Perceiving the deployment of Peshmerga, ISIL revamped their plans, resulting in a mass offensive directed at the Kurdish-Yezidi area of Shingal, which lead to a mass-exodus of several thousands. As of the threat of several thousand being slaughtered, Kurds all around the world were demonstrating and manifested against the brutality of ISIL, leading to the UN to intervene with aid and provisions for those several thousand who were stranded without food and water on the mountain. While the attention was directed at Mount Shingal and its areas around it, the Islamic State and Levant, took advantage of the situation and began its siege of Kobani, resulting in a mass transportation of mercenaries, to be deployed at the outskirts of the Kurdish city, which is located at the Syrian-Turkish border. Within days several thousand had immigrated from Kobani for the sake of their lives, fearing that ISIL would put them to death. With YPG/YPJ (The Kurdish-Syrian Army, Men and Women) being only left protecting the city, the battle of Kobani was about to take place. As of the offensive took place, Turkish soldiers who were deployed at the border between SyriaTurkey, had received orders directly from the Turkish President Recep Erdogan, to close the border, resulting in a non-possibility of entering nor exiting Turkey, excluding the idea of Kurdish reinforcements to enter Kobani and aid its remaining courageous soldiers. This led to the surviving soldiers left in the city, without additional aid in terms of weaponry, reinforcement and ammunition to fight on their own for several weeks. With the help of Kurds around the world and the importance of media, manifestations and demonstrations around the world took place as well as of online, all trying to inform the world of the act and behavior of Turkey against Kurds. As of the information regarding the siege of Kobani were spreading, politicians and members of the EU-parliament as well of Western-countries, all showed their displeasure against Turkey and supporting the great cause YPG/YPJ were fighting for. Within weeks after the outbreak of information and with hundred thousands of people signing petitions regarding the closure of the Syrian-Turkey border, as well as a military intervene; the leverage had succeeded. A coalition force was established to aid the Kurds through military intervenes, training of Peshmerga and care-packages consisting of weaponry and ammunition.
With discontent regarding the border issue, the Turkish-government through pressure from the UN and EU-parliament members revoked the order concerning the closing of the border and opening up the possibility of The Kurdish Regional Government sending Peshmerga to aid the brave YPG/YPJ soldiers.
The Kurds, who are the largest ethnic group without an independent country, are shattered around across the world, mainly being based in The Middle East. The Kurds have long struggled for their rights and independence, and their dream of uniting their Great Kurdistan, is a desire worth struggling for. The Kurds land is divided and included in four different countries, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey, with the majority of Kurds living in Turkey. After the Arabic Socialist Ba’ath Party with Saddam as head of state, took the control of Iraq in the late 70’s, the Iraqi-Kurds’ situation began to go awry. With the commencement of the Al-Anfalcampaign (1986-89), Saddam with help from his Minister of Defense, Ali Hassan Al-Majid, launched an operation against the Kurdish town of Halabja, ordering to bomb the town with chemical gas, killing thousands of women and children. With the outcome of Al-Anfal, the UN with help from United States, intervened and declared a vast territory as a buffer-zone. Today this large and vast area is known as Kurdish Regional Government, an autonomic region, home for millions of Kurds. Since 1991, after this region was declared as a de-facto-state, it has proven to be a safe haven for millions of refugees trying to escape the brutality that has and is occurring in the Middle-East region.
Article written by: Saman Sharif. Date and time: 2014-11-16, 23:42.
Roséns Secret Meatball Recipe.
1 dl of milk. ½ dl of water. 1- ½ teaspoon of salt. 1- ½ minced turkey or beef. (Your choice) 1 teaspoon of chili sauce. (Optional, for taste) 1 teaspoon of ketchup. (Optional, for taste) Half a fine hacked onion. 2 cloves of garlic.. 1 stock cube. Two tablespoon’s of Tex-Mex mixture
This will create meatballs for 4 people. If you want to make for more people you can still use this recipe by simply increasing the ingredients to the number of people you are making the meatballs for. Start off by taking out a large or medium bowl, preferably a large bowl as it makes it easier to handle, and to be a little more violent. Combine the milk, water, salt and the two different onions in the bowl. Start working on the minced beef or turkey and the get it mixing with the Tex-Mex mixture in the medium bowl. When there is no lose mixture left and everything looks like it is on the beef or turkey you start crumbling it into smaller parts. When you feel like you are done crumbling you spread the beef/turkey in the large bowl. Now the large bowl should contain water, beef/turkey, garlic and onion and milk. Now you pour in the other ingredients, specifically the different sauces and the stock cube. The reason the stock cube is in the mixture is because of the great taste it provides. When everything is in the mixture you start working it with your hands until it starts losing the water and becomes more solid. This should take an average of ten to fifteen minutes depending on your technique and speed, but remember that it is more important to work the mixture so it becomes more solid than it is to be quick about it. Now you are going to start rolling your meatballs. The most common way of doing this is make them small and round, and this is the normal way of making them, but honestly do as you wish. You can make them however you want, but It becomes harder to know the exact amount of time you need to cook them if you make them in different sizes, therefor for your own timesaving and to just make it easier, make them in the same shape. Now when you have made the beautiful and tasteful meatballs it is time to either cook or just fry them, some ever prefers to steam them, but that requires a more specific set of tools that I will not be covering in this recipe. I mostly prefer the cooked meatballs as those in my opinion have more taste but they also take a longer time to prepare. If you decide to cook them, place them in the oven for 4-6 hours depending on the size and put the oven on 50 degrees Celsius for the most taste. If you are planning to fry them you put them in a frying pan and just make sure they all get some color for a good ten to fifteen minutes. Now you have created your very own perfect meatballs. But what do you have with them? First of all you need some cream sauce and some cowberry jam. And with these two wonderful additions you definitely need some creased potatoes. And for this you need potatoes that you peel the skin of, then you boil it for a few minutes until the potatoes are nicely cooked. Take out the creaser and start creasing your potatoes. Then you serve it all with a good drink and some nice company. And there you have yourself a dinner made for a real party. Well Done!
Santa Claus One of the most important imaginary figures on this earth, who has had a big influence on almost every child around the world, is Saint Nicholas, or better known as Santa Claus, who is notorious for bringing gifts to children that have been good to their family and friends all year. Santa who is known for having a huge belly and a heart just as big, brings hope to kids who are hopeless and smiles to those who have lost theirs. While snuggled in their bed, desperately trying to catch a wink of sleep, children around the world await the arrival of St. Nick. Dressed in red with a beautiful old smile, he manages to fulfill the dreams of kids throughout the entire world. Shortly said, without Santa, Christmas would not have been the same for the children. Despite his big belly and his bag of gifts, St. Nick succeeds to fit down all types of chimneys. Quickly yet quietly, he sneaks in and out of houses, leaving gifts, milk stains and cookie crumbs just so that the children will know that he has been there. And then he sets off to the next house hoping that he will not wake anybody up. The task of fulfilling the dreams of millions of children is not an easy one. It requires many trusted helpers. But as you know Santa has his helpers. He has his elves and reindeer. The matter of fact is that the reindeer are Santa’s closest friends and without the famous Dasher, Dancer, Rudolph and the others Santa would never be able to make it to every house in one single night. Santa, the elves, and the reindeer work together to make our Christmas as good as it can be!
The Buy Nothing Christmas What is the quintessence of Christmas. Is it the sensation constituted of cuisine, a cohesive family and harmony, or is it the ever increasing consumption of “things”. A matter of opinion one might argue, however, there is no doubt that the overwhelming majority would find it burdensome to refrain from the latter. Consumption and gifting of presents have become an integral part of Christmas celebration in the western hemisphere. But there are those who oppose what they believe is “the commercialization of Christmas”. These people refer to themselves as the Buy Nothing Christmas movement and are dedicated to abstaining from purchasing anything that is not a necessity during the month of December. The movement traces its origin to 1968 when Ellie Clark and her family publicly denounced the commercial aspects of Christmas. Contemporarily a movement spawned, ignited by her initiative and lead by a group of Canadian Mennonite Christians. However, it took them a wholesome 33 years to receive any serious acclamation. Today, their message of a more compassionate and affordable Christmas can be found on their website www.buynothingchristmas.org. Contrary to what one might believe, the organization has generated serious opposition. Sophia Tungsten, manager and company owner operating in British Columbia, has published a series of strong worded open letters criticising what she considers to be “a disconnection from reality”. She asks the movement whether they comprehend that Christmas consumption is crucial to her and her employer’s survival. In an interview with Vancouver Times she asks “What do you have against capitalism?”. A response to Sophia’s assessments can be found on the website: “In a nutshell, Capitalism favours the rich, abandons the poor, is heartless, and is based upon the assumption that people buy things out of self-interest.” To conclude, with the increasing fixation on gifting some have taken it to themselves to protest by abstaining from participating in “the shopping frenzy”. They call themselves the Buy Nothing Christmas movement. However, some business owners have expressed concern as they believe that it might hurt the local economy. Recently the movement claimed to have increased with a total of 10,000 members. Co-founder Wigdor von Yodel has commented the success saying that: “Not everyone can afford to buy luxury consumer goods for Christmas. We merely provide them with a solution by making it acceptable not to max out their credit cards in the months leading up to Christmas.” Gabriel Shafiq Ahlgren 2014-11-20 gabriel.barbra@gmail.com
The Nightmare Before Christmas The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorite movies, it’s animated and was made in 1993. It’s a stop motion musical fantasy movie. (Stop motion is a technique used to make static objects appear as if they were moving, most often by moving the objects in increments while filming a frame per increment). The movie is directed by Henry Selick and produced and co-written by the fantastic Tim Burton. There are two themes, both Halloween and Christmas. So if you like autumn and winter, you will absolutely like this movie. Well… it’s also an advantage if you are into creepy things. This movie is quite weird and creepy in many ways, and with many scary monsters in it. So a good question is; should we let smaller children watch it? The story is about Jack Skellington, the main character also known as “The Pumpkin King”. He lives in Halloween Town, a world full of weird creatures – monsters, ghosts, witches, vampires and werewolves. All the citizens are organizing the annual Halloween holiday together, with the same traditions every year. But this year Jack gets tired of the normal and boring happenings, so he wanders away in the forest with his dog, Zero, all confused and longing for something he doesn’t know what it is. And suddenly he stumbles across some doors in the middle of the dark forest! The doors turn out to be portals to other holiday towns; two of them are Christmas Town and Easter Town. By mistake he ends up in Christmas Town, and there he finds an incredible world! He becomes so fascinated and all stunned, so Jack then decides that he is the one who should take care of Christmas this year… There are a lot of scary monsters and creatures in this movie, and a lot of other things that could scare children. Even I find it pretty scary sometimes… Jack actually looks quite terrifying; it is probably his empty orbits and his long arms and legs that make him look like that. Even though he is a very kind, gentle and a very loveable character, his special smiles do make him look frightening to some people.
There are rather many scenes in the movie when the monsters for example rip off their arms and heads, and scare the small children on Christmas Eve with horrible toys and tricks. There is also an evil scientist, Doctor Finklestein, in the movie that can open his head and scratch his brain, and that is kind of disturbing… That got me a little frightened! Another example is a scene where the military tries to shoot Jack down when he flies in the sleigh with all horrible Christmas presents. And they did shoot him down with big weapons, and I think that is a little too violent for children to watch. I think that this scene might have a bad influence on children, especially younger ones. It shows that even in a world full of fantasy, the humans are the ones who are the most violent and drastic in their ways of solving problems. This is one off all the terrible things that happens in our real world, but I think that children should learn these things in other contexts, and not in this type of movie. It doesn’t matter for us who are older; we know what the reality looks like… But, this is actually a family movie, and I personally think that smaller children can watch this – as long as they don’t think that it is too scary, and if they watch it with an adult! I showed some scenes from it for my little brother who is almost five years old, and he didn’t think it was too scary. He actually wanted to watch more of it; I think that the fact that it is quite spooky excites him (and probably many other children). And the movie actually includes many good messages and role models. One lovely role model is Sally; she is a rag doll who was created by the evil Doctor Finklestein. She doesn’t let anyone stop her from what she wants to do, and she is the only one who tries to stop Jack from making mistakes. But she is also the one who helps him fix his mistakes, so she is very kind and thoughtful. So, this lovely and joyful movie is a perfect Halloween- and Christmas movie that has some good messages. Some of them are that you should think before you act, that you learn from your mistakes and that you should be grateful and happy for what you have. With some scary creatures and surroundings, combined with the fantastic and playful music - it becomes a wonderful piece of art!
Felicia H na13c
I decided to visit the class with the most Christmas spirit at SÄG, to ask them a few questions. The first thing I see when I arrive at Älvkullen High School is NA13C, all joined around a table, making this year’s first Christmas cards. I ask three of them if it is okay that I interview them for just a minute. The participants to this ultimate Christmas interview are Rasmus Dahllöf, Ammie Bäckström and Felicia Haglund, all a part of NA13C. They ask how long they will be gone for. They do not want to miss out on all the fun. How do you feel about Christmas? R: I like that you get time off school, and the food. I don’t really care about the traditions though. It’s not a big deal. A: I think it a fun holiday! It’s very cozy and it’s a great way to spend some time with family. Sometimes I get stressed about gifts if I feel unsure what to buy…. F: I’m excited! I love Christmas. It’s a cozy and nice holiday. What is the best part of Christmas? R: Definitely food, and gifts. A: To get gifts and spend time with my family. It’s a great Christmas spirit in the family and the food is also very nice. F: I don’t know, I think it’s the Christmas spirit. It’s so beautiful and warm, not outside of course, but inside with lit candles. What do you usually eat on Christmas Eve? R: Ham, bread dipped in ham stock, fish pâté, meatballs, Jansson’s temptation, salmon and pickled herring. A: Jansson’s temptation, meatballs, salmon and other typical Swedish Christmas foods. We also eat candy, foam brownies, toffee. F: We eat meatballs, potato gratin, salmon, chipolata sausage, and the usual Christmas food.
How do you spend Christmas Eve? R: With my family. Sometimes we spend it with cousins and grandparents and sometimes without. We eat rice pudding in the morning, and then we drink coffee. After the coffee we take it easy and prepare the food, I usually play computer games. Later in the evening we eat dinner. We always eat after Donald Duck’s Christmas, even though we don’t watch it. The dinner lasts for about four hours and after that we open gifts while drinking coffee and eating candy. A: We eat, the kids watch Donald Duck’s Christmas, Santa Claus comes to our house with gifts and we open them. Later we play family games and have a great time. In the morning we get Christmas stockings and rice pudding. Every other year we spend Christmas with my mom’s parents and the next we spend with my dad’s. F: With my family, at my grandmother’s house. Big part of the family gathers there. We watch Donald Duck’s Christmas and open presents and eat. We also spend time with each other. When do you start buying gifts? R: I usually start one month ahead, but sometimes I buy the last gifts on the day before Christmas. A: In December. I always buy them pretty late. F: Very often too late, so it can be quite stressful, but I usually start in the beginning of December. As soon as the interview is done the youths are eager to get back to their classmates. I thank them for their time and as soon as we are done they run to their classmates so they can join them in the Christmas workshop. It has been lovely meeting these young adults. The happiness that they spread is wonderful and I guess the Christmas spirit is pretty contagious because I am definitely starting to feel it. By Anna Marble