Na15b

A day in Christmas Town It’s a chilly day in December. The sun is shining all over the North Pole and the glowing atmosphere tells you that it is not long until the big day. All over the place you can see tiny footsteps from hard working elves running around trying to get everything set. The smell of polka and rice pudding are welling out from the big house where the man of the holiday lives and works. We are in Christmas Town and Santa Clause is waiting.

As I first get out of my sleigh, two elves, dressed in green coats and hats, greet me with a sweet that tastes like dreams come true. Two more elves come to get the deer back to the stable where they are grooming them and brushing their teeth, prepping them for the big evening. I’m really glad I took my warmest beanie and mittens as they help me off my ride.

The jolly spirit of the house, that I would say is more of a castle, hits me right as I see it. There is a glow on the rooftop exuding out in the atmosphere making me wonder how it can be so cold in a place that looks so heartwarming. The castle is green with red details and the windowpanes are covered with frost making it difficult to look inside. Outside, elves are shoving snow to make a path from the front door to the stable to make it easier for Santa to find the way to the sleigh.

One of my elf guides brings out a big keychain with too many keys on to count. He pulls out the largest one and unlocks the door. Light hits me and it’s like he just unlocked the doors to heaven. After a few seconds my eyes have acclimatized to the bright salon, because it really is a great salon. The ceiling is high, the windows are framed with big-time velvet curtains and right in front of me a huge staircase in oak that splits in the middle are standing noble.

Everywhere elves are running around. Some are busy reading lists, others are carrying big packages up and down the stairs with what I guess contains presents.

I am informed that to the right all the gifts are made. Unfortunately I am not allowed through the doors for safety reasons, but I am allowed to look through the peephole and let me tell you, it is one of the most delightful sights I have ever seen. In an organized system, where every elf has only got one job, they are making dolls, rocking horses, chess boards and whatever things children could have wished for. The one thing that fascinates me the most is a checked colour they use as paint for the chess boards. They just dip their brushes in the paint, sweep the brush over the board and volià! It is checked and ready to wrap.

“Before the presents get into the sac”, my guide tells me, “Santa must give them OK”. He pronounces Santa’s name with pride, making me realize what dignity it carries to be Santa’s worker. Then he points at the big stairs and nods at me in approval. I now notice how warm I am. The chilly weather clearly isn’t brought inside the house. I remove my beanie, before I gather myself and find the courage to walk towards the stairs.

The steps creak as I slowly make my way up and I am overtaken by several elves stressing to get the presents to Santa in time. Upstairs I am met by a big, beautiful arch all decorated with bright red Christmas flowers. On the other side I can see Santa. He is old with a big white beard and all dressed in red, just like in the fairytales. He is sitting at a desk, surrounded by toys that elves are dropping at his feet before leaving just as fast as they got there. When I see him he is just approving a toy. It is a little propeller aircraft. He twists the propeller a couple of turns and then set it free. Like a swallow it hovers through the air in circles before it lands back on the table. “Ho, ho, ho”, Santa chuckles and presses a big OK on the back of it before he puts it away.

When he sees me, a big friendly smile takes place on his face. We introduce one another and shake hands. He has got a really firm handshake, just like you would think Santa would shake hands. We sit down and I ask him a couple of questions. He tells me it is a lot to do when you are Santa, especially now in Christmas times. Otherwise, it is still more work than one could believe. A part from making gifts and dropping them in the chimneys at Christmas Eve, he has to keep an eye on all the children around the world to see who has been nice or who has been naughty. “I’ve got my little workers for that though. I could never sneak around without getting caught!” he laughs. He tells me they come back with information to him and that he writes it down in a big book. “Then when all the wishing lists come in, I can just look in the book to see who shall or who shall not receive a present this year”.

It's surprising when Santa tells me it is as few as 41% of all children around the world that receives a gift every year. The rest doesn't make it to the nice-list. "But their parents usually buy them presents. That is why they cannot receive one – they are too spoiled!"

Unfortunately it is a very common problem nowadays. Children are getting used to get everything they want and when Christmas comes they make a list with an infinity number of toys and Santa only give away one toy per child, unless they have been remarkably nice during the year.

I am enlightened that being Santa surely is great, but it does come with a lot of responsibility.

Never could he be late, nor could he ever forget one single child on the nice-list. “Imagine if someone weren’t to get their present in time. What a catastrophe that would be! I could never forgive myself”.

I would love to continue my chat with Santa Clause, but unfortunately he must go back to work.

I leave his office with a great smile and a heart filled with happiness. The North Pole may be cold, but I have never felt so warm in my entire life. As I get up in my sleigh and the reindeer start to fly I know, this year it will truly be a merry Christmas!

By: Linn Bäcklin

A Jolly Christmas in Alster

By: Sofia Reiner

The small bonfires gleam from far away as we close in on the fair grounds. Before long we can see the red houses surrounding the Alster manor and smell the pleasant aromas coming from the small stands. We follow the steady stream of people and walk through the gates. To our right, two ladies in red Santa hats are handing out cups of steaming mulled wine. Santa Claus himself is walking around with his red cloak, wishing everyone a happy Advent and a choir is standing next to the manor happily singing Christmas songs. It is One thing all the stands have in common, is time for Alster’s annual Christmas fair and that they all display goods and crafts made in the atmosphere could not be more perfect Värmland. Out in the courtyard you can for example taste traditional candies made in The fair is a tradition going back a couple of Arvika or buy cheeses made with milk from years and it takes place at the famous farms in the area. This way, by buying from Swedish poet and writer Gustaf Fröding’s the stands you support your local artisans. birth place. It quickly became a popular You can buy socks made from Angora wool, event to go to with your family and friends, wreaths made of spruce or perhaps you and it attracts hundreds of people every year. would be interested in some handmade The fair always takes place on the Advent candles. However, if you do not want to buy weekend, Saturday and Sunday four weeks anything, why not head up to the barn and before Christmas, and it consists of stands watch the smith forge iron into beautiful coat where salesmen show their crafts to the hangers or visit the pastry chef who shows visitors. Some are spread out in the courtyard you how to make pigs out of marzipan! All of and others are located in the houses and these things are on full display at the fair. barns around the main manor. Anyone can rent a booth and the exhibitors change from year to year but there are always a great variety of goods and crafts. You will undoubtedly find something that suits everyone!

Of course there are things to do for the youngsters as well. Every year Sörmon riding school bring their small ponies and for a small fee the kids can enjoy a tour around the manor on horseback. The horses are normally a crowd favourite and usually have a flock of little admirers around them. And a tip for everyone with a sweet tooth: bags of candy are handed out by Santa’s little helpers up by the barn.

Finally, when all the stands have been thoroughly inspected and the crisp winter weather finally is beginning to take its toll, the manor café is open for everyone. There you can enjoy a hot cup of coffee and perhaps a traditional saffron bun whilst heating up.

To recap: the Christmas fair at Alster is truly worth visiting. Walking away at the end of the day you will find yourself in the perfect Christmas mood. The petite and homely stands, the bonfires and the carollers set the perfect atmosphere despite the lack of snow.

So put on your coats, gloves and your Christmas hats and visit the fair!

Christmas like Before A single snowflake falls from the sky; small, invisible gusts of wind cause it to motion in a swirling path toward my open hand. For a brief moment I am able to admire it’s pattern before it melts. Winter is coming.

“Come on, we want to set up camp before nightfall.”

I wake up from the trance caused by the snowflake when I hear Old Man Rob’s words echo, deep and hoarse, through the ruins. I catch up to him in the front.

“Are we already done for the day? We’ve barely found anything useful.”

“I figure we’ll find something around here when setting up camp.” He answers while inspecting some pile of rubble. “We’ll spread out here”, he says now adressing the group, “try to find something good while preparing for the night, yeah?” The group of about fifteen people start spreading out around the ruins, looking for anything remotely useful. This area has most probably already been scavenged, but we have been taught since birth that you could make use of almost anything. As Rob always says: “Someone’s trash is another one’s treasure”.

I wander around some old building. From what I’ve gathered of Before, this used to be a trading station. On some weathered counters lay some ancient money-boxes which have been forcefully opened a long time ago. A thread stretches above the counters, holding a very worndown string of letters and some broken plastic ormamets. You can barely read out “Merry Christmas” from the letters.

“We can probably make something out of this stuff, don’t you think Joyce?” Old Man Rob had entered the ruin while I was observing the Before decorations. “Some old electronics in here.

Surprised no one’s already grabbed them, but I guess they don’t look much valuable.” He was poking at what I figure is a toy resembling car from Before.

“Maybe no one’s passed this area yet,” I suggest.

“Perhaps, but that’s not very likely. It’s pretty close by to the trading route we followed a couple of days ago, remember?”

I nod. Trading routes between villages and towns spring up with a higher and higher frequency as time goes by. Rob says there was barely any at all when he was my age. Now you stumble upon the almost-real-roads more or less everywhere.

We both start checking the barely intact shelves for anything mostly whole in silence. A while later we’ve gathered a small pile of old toys. It’s a bit strange picturing a world where toys are an actual business. The children back in our village play with whatever they can find. Every once in a while someone brings home a toy from Before, and they immediately start fighting for it. Even the most roughed up teddy bear is better than a rock you fruitlessly tried to punch two holes in as eyes.

“All of these toys give me an idea.” Rob says while we’re inspecting the pile. “Say, have I ever told you about Christmas?”

“Only that the world ended that day.”

“Oh right, that little thing.” He says with a smile. Of course I’ve heard the story, everyone has.

Some people know almost nothing of Before, some, like Rob, strive to know everything, but no matter what, they all know about C-day. Rob tells his story the same way each year and I’ve heard it every time since I was born. I drift away, as I remember sitting with the other children listening to the old tale while the fire crackled in the background. The flames danced in the night, lighting up our faces while the darkness crept in the outskirts of the circle. Rob put on his story-telling voice and his deep tone sounded out the words.

A long, long time ago, in the time we call Before, the world was very different. Back then billions of people lived all over the planet. It was a good world. No one was starving and everyone had a roof over their heads. There were no wars and no one who wanted to steal all your possesions, like those bandits that come around here once in a while. The children laid in warm beds at night and their parents read them stories until they were asleep. But alas, all good things come to an end. People came to argue and fight over things we’d call nothing, because they had nothing else to do. They didn’t think about the tyrannies that had happened in the even furhter past, nor how their future would look. Conflicts started erupting between and in countries, and in their wake wars began plagueing the planet. We humans can be cruel if we don’t watch ourselves.

The children were worried about the future of the world, the one that they would live in. So in December they all wrote a letter to the man who had all the power to rescue them. “Dear Santa, I wish for peace on earth” a million letters read, all sent to this man who lived on the North Pole. Who was this man, you ask? Well, he was a legend, believed in for generations. On the holiday called Christmas, he would fulfill the wishes of children all over the world. They mostly just asked for toys, not something as big as peace on earth. But determined to fulfill all requests at any cost the man named Santa set out on the quest.

Santa tried to make people see reason. He met with the leaders of the world and spoke to the people. But it was to no avail; he was laughed at and mocked for wanting peace. For everytime he tried to reason with people, he grew more hopeless. Every solution he could come up with failed. When Christmas Day came millions of children would get nothing but dissapointment from the jolly man. Desperately Santa sought for some way to fix the world. The last solution is the one we taste today. He asked himself: If I cannot fix the world, should I instead start it anew? So on Christmas Day all these years ago, the nuclear arms of dozens of countries were set off with the help of Santa.

I don’t know how and why certain people would get to keep their lives and become the future, maybe we were just lucky. But I do know that many million people got another chance. Or well, at least that’s what my ancestors have told me. As you know the ones who survived C-day are long gone, and we only have their stories left. Some of them praise the happenings of C-day,

other condemn them, but all I will say is: learn from this children, make sure the mistakes from Before aren’t repeated.

“But that story you’ve already heard so many times. No, I mean have I ever told about what Christmas was for the people Before?”

I’m thrown back into the real world from the vivid memory. After a few too many seconds of interpreting his question, I answer: “Uh, no, I don’t think so. I’d remember” “You know that Santa used to bring children all around the world presents for Christmas from the story. But of course parents, relatives and friends wanted to give presents too. This here store, their word for trading post, must’ve sold toys and such that parents could buy their kids for Christmas.”

“So Santa didn’t bring all the presents?”

“No, no. We don’t really know who he was really, but it is doubtful that he would be able to give every child everything they wished for. But I figure that Santa would bring really special toys and presents to the kids, while the parents got the more regular stuff.”

“But he wasn’t like magical or anything, right?”

“Magical? Hardly!”, he chuckles, “I don’t believe in stuff like magic or anything. He was just some nice old man with a lot of resources. If he even existed.”

“He might not have existed?”

“Well, he wouldn’t live nowadays anyhow, so we can’t really find him and see for ourselves, now can we? So, no, he might not have existed.”

I haven’t really thought about that. Sure, the story of Christmas Day is a lot like a fairytale, and it was a while ago I believed it all true, but I’ve always thought there’s at least some truth to it.

Then again, I don’t think I want to know the real truth; I’m afraid I’ll find out C-day happened for nothing.

“I didn’t mean to get you all gloomy,” Old Man Rob says when he sees my pondering face, “I don’t want to ruin the spirit of Christmas! Now, I wanted to share an idea with you. How about we celebrate Christmas this year?”

“You mean we should celebrate the end of the world?”

“No, no, no. I mean Christmas like Before, Joyce! We could take home all these toyes and hand out to the children, get some nice lights up – if we’re lucky we might find some old Christmas lights and have Dan look at them, cook up some fancier food, let us all take a day off… It wouldn’t be Christmas exactly like they did it, we’ve lost the tradition, but it’ll be something nice for us all, to remember we have to live, not just survive.”

He paints a good picture. It does sound nice, having a celebration, even though it is for nothing.

Something to keep the mood up. I tell him I agree, and immediately we start packing up our loot so we can go searching for whatever else one could use on Christmas.

* Dan, our village’s electrician, has worked wonders helping us prepare. I don’t know how he did it, but he managed to get several strings of Christmas lights working. Old Man Rob and I ran around all night setting them up around the village square with his help. The square isn’t much more than this space of gravel and trampled dirt with an old tree in the middle, a fireplace, and some trading posts for when traders pass. Some houses surround it; the homes of a number of villagers. Still, it is the biggest spot where all inhabitants can gather, so that’s where we set up our little surprise. The scavenger hunt we went on was more fruitful than usual, but most of our party didn’t find that out. Instead Old Man Rob hid away the best stuff in his wagon, so that him and I could hand it out during the village’s first Christmas celebration. For now it was all stuffed away in Rob’s cabin until we finish setting up the square.

With the lights all set up, we start to clean and set up whatever chairs, benches or boxes we could for people to sit on. We stock up the fireplace with a good amount of firewood, and prepare some other smaller fires, seeing as it’s a cold season. A grand table is set together with furniture from Dan’s, Rob’s and my furniture. Rob says we’ll use it as a “smorgasbord”; all the food we’ll prepare (with a little help from Rob’s wife) will be put there and everyone can take whatever they want. Within reason, I hope.

Dawn is setting and when we look at the village square it looks a bit more like something real; like Before. We’ve decided to start celebration sometime in the afternoon, after the food has been prepared and everyone’s up and ready. They’ll probably notice that the square looks different, but hopefully they’ll not understand and be really surprised when Rob gathers us all and start handing out presents. I hope they’ll be happy, and if so, we’ll be able to do this every year. Dan returns home for some sleep, and suggests Rob and I do the same. The two of us sit at the base of the tree.

“Hey, Rob?” “Looks a bit more proper, doesn’t it Joyce?”

“It does, but I wondered,” I say sounding rather tired after the night of work, “how do we know that we’re celebrating at the right time? I know that Christmas Day is the 25th December, but we don’t know if it is.”

“It doesn’t really matter. We know it’s winter, the cold has been set in for a while. The nights are long and frostbitten. I’d say we’re probably in the right range of time, don’t you?”

“So, we’ll celebrate every year around when the days are short and cold? Doesn’t seem very festive to me.”

“But that’s when you need warmth and care the most. It’s easy to lose yourself in the dark when there’s no light around you. There’s no short supply of care in our little community, but bringing it up a bit more at this time of year can’t hurt anybody.”

“I guess you’re right – even if you sound preachy.”

He laughs, “might as well be preachy if it convinces you. Now how about you get some sleep before tomorrow?”

The cold starts getting under my skin after remaining still under the tree, so cozying up under some blankets and getting some rest do sound like a good idea. We start going separate directions to our homes. I look out at the square one last time and smile at Old Man Rob on the other side. Our village is lucky to have such a good soul living with us. * Stacked up on our improvised smorgasbord there’s meat, lots of bread, some stews and cooked vegetables. It’s probably not as grand as Before, but it is loads more festive than anything we’ve had in the past. I also happen to know that Rob’s wife has made sweets for dessert. She’ll not bring it out until later in the evening. I take a little less food anyways, just to save up space.

The lively conversations and laughter from the villagers make a pleasant atmosphere in the village square. The children are playing or eating, and none of them are being particulary annoying (hey, don’t tell me you’ve never been irritated at a screaming child). People walk up to Old Man Rob, thanking him for trying to bring some life into the winter season. He always directs them to his wife, Dan and I, telling them to be grateful to the ones who helped him. I slightly enjoy the attention I get, even though I’m not much of a social butterfly.

As time passes the sun starts setting. For a short while the color of the sky mimics the fires around the square, before it fades into black. Rob fetches Dan and I and tells us it’s time. Dan plugs in the Christmas lights, and at that moment, the square shines up. Among the branches of the old tree, between the roofs of the houses surrounding the square, a thousand tiny lights brighten up the night. The conversations silence as the people look in awe at these tiny stars. I felt warm even though I stand far from the fires as I look upon the people I share my life with.

My home.

After the captivation of the lights has faded, Old Man Rob steps up on a box so that everyone can see him, holding a big sack. The crowd looks curiously at it as he sets it down and begins to speak.

“Dearest friends, neighbours and family. Our first Christmas celebration is really a success I must say.”

Some cheers rise from the crowd, but Rob hushes them down.

“But, it wouldn’t really be Christmas without giving. You’re all already gathered around, so let’s get right into it. You see, the last scavenger hunt went better than we let on,” he winks at me, “so without further ado, let’s celebrate Christmas like Santa was here.”

He proceeds to open the sack, exposing an abundance of old toys, tools and clothing; pretty much everything anyone of us could ever need or want. The crowd is exploding with joy, the children already rushing to the presents.

“Now, let’s all calm down, and I’ll hand out presents to all of you.”

Old Man Rob seems to know everyone in the village, and that is really proven by how well he knows what to give to whom. Even trinkets without any real usability yields tearful thanks from the reciever. I’m beside him, helping however I can. I can’t stop smiling, seeing the spark in the eye of my friends and neighbors. This is a good day.

All presents are handed out and the people sit around in the square inspecting them and showing them off with pride to anyone remotely interested. Dan is tinkering on an old electronic device he got while a group of people watch and try to understand what he could possibly be doing. I’m still standing by Rob and the now empty sack by his feet.

“I’d say this was a success, wouldn’t you?”

“Definitely” “I’m not entirely done yet.” He reaches on his coat and pulls out a book. He hands it to me and says: “I knew directly when I found this one that you had to have it.” I carefully hold the book in my hands. It’s thick and heavy, much more so than the few books I learned reading from. I can slightly feel the crevices of the pattern on the cover and there’s even some color left. In large cursive letters the front reads “Christmas Stories”. I open it with care and flip through some pages. It feels so… genuine. My eyes start tearing up.

“Thank you so much.” I say to Rob. “It wouldn’t really be Christmas if my little helper didn’t get any appreciation, wouldn’t it?”

“I guess,” I chuckle through my tears, “But I haven’t given you anything in return.”

“Seeing all of you happy is enough for me.”

“It’s a bit odd, celebrating the end of the world.”

“I’d like to not think of is at that. I still tell the story of C-day so that you’ll learn something about the world and it’s people, even if might not be entirely true. But this day isn’t for the past, but for the future. Something to look forward to every year, and everytime we’ll try and make it better. Maybe one day this village will celebrate Christmas and the children won’t get old, worn toys, but teddy bears with soft fur and toy cars with wheels that actually work. The world is going to be a better place each year, and this is how we celebrate it. That’s what I think.”

“I think I’m going to steal that way of thinking and use it as my own.”

“You go ahead, Joyce, I won’t stop you. Now how about we go check out what Dan is doing. I have actually no clue what I just gave him.”

We walk up to Dan, observing with the group around him. A laughter erupts when he accidentaly throws a piece of the device in the air and it lands on his head. I laugh with them, happier than I’ve ever been before. I press my book close to my chest and a slight wind blows my hair. Another day I would’ve been freezing in this weather, but now I don’t even feel the cold.

A single snowflake falls from the sky; small, invisible gusts of wind cause it to motion in a swirling path toward my open hand. For a brief moment I am able to admire it’s pattern before it melts. Winter is coming, and it’s Christmas.

By: Elsa Danielsson

Boxing Day Football fixtures 2016

Wa ord FC ‐ Crystal Palace FC Wa ord is one of the biggest surprises this season and have developed to an outsider for next year´s Europa League. Walter Mazzari and his men have already beaten last year´s Premier League champions, Leicester City. As well as last season´s FA-Cup winners Manchester United.

Player to watch: E enne Capoue

A er losing their star player Yannick Bolasie to Everton and their replacement in Chris an Benteke hasn´t found the net among with a lot of injuries on keyplayers, Crystal Palace´s start to the 16/17 season hasn´t been what they hoped for. They are now figh ng to avoid relega on. With quality players like Yohan Cabaye, Wilfred Zaha and Loic Remy they have the poten al to turn this around.

Player to watch: Andros Townsend

Arsenal FC ‐ West Bromwich Albion

Arsenal is in a great form with only one loss in the opening twelve games. There is a lot of quality in their side but has as usual problems with injuries. Arsenal is predicted to be one of the contenders to this year´s tle. Alexis Sanchez and co. should not have any problems bea ng WBA at the Emirates Stadium

WBA is one of the most consistent teams in the league with their typical Bri sh style of play with a strong defense and a big target man, Salomon Rondon, up front. Tony Pulis’s side is not favorites, but should give Arsenal a tough match if they can hold the defense.

Player to watch: Salomon Rondon

Player to watch: Alexis Sanchez

Burnley ‐ Middlesborough

Burnley´s return to the Premier League has been be er than expected with a current 12th posi on in the table. They´ve had high performing players in Tom Heaton, Michael Keane and Sam Vokes. They should be able to avoid relega on and stay in the middle of the table. The game against another newcomer to the Premiership, Middlesborough, is predicted to be a ght game with both sides are looking for three points.

Player to watch: Tom Heaton

Boro has had an ok start to the season, remembering that they are newcomers. Aitor Karanka´s side has walked away with two draws against the two top teams Arsenal and Manchester City. Alvaro Negredo is the big name in Boro with his quali es inside the box. It’s a great chance for Boro to take 3 points and be able to advance in the table.

Player to watch: Gaston Ramirez

Chelsea ‐ Bournemouth

Title candidates Chelsea have opened the season strong and is currently at the top of the table. Antonio Conte has made a great job so far with his new club. A er their change from their usual 4231 forma on to Conte´s famous 343, they have just conceded two goals in 8 games. With a current streak of six wins in a row with Eden Hazard and Diego Costa back to their normal form, Chelsea are huge favorites to take home 3-points.

Player to watch: Diego Costa

AFC Bournemouth has made an expected start to this season. Without an enormous budget they have s ll been able to create a good team. They have many underrated players who can make a great impact on the right day, like in the last game against Liverpool.

Bournemouth managed to turn around from 1-3 to 4-3 in last 20 minutes (!), a real team victory. However, it will be a hard task to conquer Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge.

Player to watch: Callum Wilson

Leicester City ‐ Everton FC

Last season champions Leicester´s start to the season hasn´t been the same as they´ve hoped for. Both Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez who looked unstoppable last season have barely made an impact. Claudio Ranieri who gave his team a day of a week last season has certainly been affected by their double matching in the Champions League as well as in the Premiership.

Ronald Koeman´s Everton made a fantas c start to the season but a er they lost once they have had a really hard me, but it’s s ll a team who could fight for the Europa league spot. They have been struggling with the defense and a ack with Lukaku scoring half of all their goals so far. They will bring Leicester a ght and even game.

Player to watch: Riyad Mahrez

Player to watch: Romelu Lukaku

Manchester United ‐ Sunderland

20 mes champions Manchester United has spent a lot of money on star players like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, so far without success. Jose Mourinho has a lot to work on to make United a top team again.

If they would be able to win the tle this season it would be a minor miracle but they have all the poten al to rise and fight for one of the top places.

United should not have any problems bea ng Sunderland at home.

Player to watch: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The return to Old Trafford for the foreign United manager David Moyes will not be an easy task. Sunderland is one of the poten al teams to be relegated to next year’s championship.

Even though they have Jermaine Defoe who has been involved in 9 of 12 goals (7 goals and 2 assist) Sunderland has scored this season, he is the only one carrying the team.

Player to watch: Jermaine Defoe

Swansea City‐West Ham United

Swansea is at the moment last in the table. They have been able to win one game so far and currently nothing is improving.

There would not be a surprise if Swansea is one of teams relegated when the season ends. One player that has performed quite well is Leroy Fer. But even at home West Ham will be a hard task for them.

Player to watch: Leroy Fer

West Ham has not opened the season in level with the expecta ons. A er their fantas c season last year and their move from Upton Town to the Olympic Stadium many had very high thoughts about them. Dimitri Payet has not been the same as last year and that has affected their success rate. However, they s ll have a lot of quality and they should be able to win this fixture and turn this season around.

Player to watch: Michail Antonio

Hull City‐Manchester City

Hull is one of this seasons new teams from the EFL Championship and has been struggling, like new teams o en do, and like it looks now their heading back down to the second division. It’s not so much to be amazed of from their squad and they should have hard me bea ng Manchester’s blue side.

Player to watch: Robert Snoddgrass

Manchester City is one of this seasons tle race contenders and they have been a consistent team. They have strong a ack with Agüero on top, midfield with their playmaker De Bruyne and defense with Otamendi. Their new manager, Pep Guardiola, has done a good job with forming the squad. It should be an easy task for his men to take home three points.

Player to watch: Kevin De Bruyne

By: Jonas Linder and Måns Paulsson

The history of Boxing Day Boxing Day is an official holiday in England and Ireland. The holiday occurs on the 26th of December. If the 26th is on a weekend, the holiday is officially taking place on the following Monday. The tradition of Boxing Day has been around for about 140 years. A certain tradition ,that later has become history starts on a Wednesday in 1860 at Sandygate road in Sheffield. This Boxing Day was the hunting of foxes. This is a very old English tradition that took its start round the year of 985. The special thing about this hunting is that they don’t have guns, they hunt with their dogs. This hunting tradition met enormous protests. So therefore the tradition was banned in 2004. Even though it’s banned many people still go out hunting as a tradition.

The year is 1860 and the month is December, the match that is being played is afterwards going to be called Boxing Day. The 26th December 1860, the world´s oldest club Sheffield FC are playing against the second oldest club Hallam FC. Sheffield claimed a 2-0 victory in the Rules derby. This day was the start for the 150 years old tradition. The tradition is mainly celebrated in England and the name “Boxing Day” comes from the fact that people used to unbox their Christmas presents on this day. Many foreign players in today’s England think that England maybe should have a winter break as all other big leagues has. Even though a winter break is requested, this day is a really big part of the English football history. However, the Boxing Day is no different from all the other fixtures in the premier league nowadays except the historical aspect. But historically all teams used to play parallel to each other. From 1860 to 1957, the games were played on Christmas Day and on Boxing Day. After 1957 the matches are mainly played on Boxing Day and the 27th of December. 1963 is the most remarkable Boxing Day and the teams scored together 157 goals in 39 games. December in 1888 Preston North End´s “Invincibles” defeated Derby County 5-0 on Boxing Day. That season in 1888-1889 they became the first team ever to not lose a single game. After Preston North End´s season, Arsenal FC is the only team to be “Invincible”. So The Boxing Day is not just a regular fixture, but a day that is football history.

Sheffield FC 1860

Christmas joy in small places I

f you set your mind to it you can do anything, or at least it’s said so, but if you are going to

celebrate Christmas the right way you can’t just set your mind to it. It won’t be a good Christmas. You need something more, the Christmas spirit, the thing that makes us all love Christmas. But how do you do it? Especially if you live on 29 m2? What if you don’t have an oven?

After a lot of planning we were finally on our way to Hanna’s place. We step in in a small hall, on our left there is a kitchenette to our left is the main room and in honor of the day she has rearranged it, a big table are standing in the middle of the room and around it are two beds and six chairs. We are eight persons and the chairs weren’t as popular as the beds so we all ended up in the beds when we sat down. Hanna’s apartment is 29m2 and she lives here with her friend who has said that we are allowed to do whatever we want, as long as we don’t sit on her cactus.

When everybody has arrived we begin. We all knew that we would be making all candy in the microwave but we can’t find the microwave, so we ask Hanna were it is and she answer – Oh! It’s in here! And she opens a cupboard, and there it is, on a shelf over towels and clothes is a brand new microwave ready to make our Christmas candy.

Malin is the best of us on baking so she directly takes the lead, and lucky for us! She takes us over every hurdle on our way to tasty holiday candy. Even if she never have done something similar in a microwave before does she make every step look simple. -What is your secret tip? I ask. –Read the recipe trice! And sure she did, but then it turned out amazing as well!

We started with the Fudge, and while Malin was doing all the hard work with the cooking, the rest of the group contributed in their own way. Johanna is spreading laughter around her since she has already eaten half of the gingerbreads and at least five glasses of julmust - no, it was 3 or 4, not five! Gustav is looking after everyone so we are having a good time. And I ask Viktor how the snowballs of white chocolate tasted, as he sits and snitch the half ready candy. –It’s yummy food at its best, he answers.

The evening continues until life knocks on the door and we all need to go to our trainings. But our evening, in between school and trainings, we manage to find an oasis, a room for happiness, laughter and friends. Where we can forget that we stand a lot of people in a small room and that everything isn’t perfect, with the three things named above it somehow makes a perfect Christmas afternoon, with a little too much sugar.

By: Sara

Christmas in China Christmas the Western Christian tradition that celebrate the birth of Jesus is quickly gaining popularity in an official atheist nation where most people are not even Christians. Why the Chinese people embraces Christmas is very interesting. It is possible to say that China has imported Christmas from the west and it is very true. Every year plenty of Americans and Europeans visit China and influence many Chinese with western traditions. That explains why Santa Claus is better known in cities in eastern china where there are more foreigners.

If you have happened to grow up with a visit from Santa Claus every year chances are that someone told you Santa lives and produces presents at the North Pole. Most people realize when they age that many parts about Christmas is made up, such as that Santa does not exist. However the fact that the fake stories are describing a happy utopian world is very funny when compared to reality. Those of us that tends to get most presents at Christmas are children and what do children want? They want toys and where are most of the world toys made? There is only one answer and that is China, because of the nasty and dangerous way that toys are made it’s cheaper to have them produced in China. The lack of regulations that protect local environment are almost nonexistent which means factories are free to dump any toxic waste that is created from the production of plastic cars and dolls. Workers have little rights and often work in hazardous conditions for little wage, all this means that it becomes very cheap.

Well who is to blame for this? The answer is very simple, everyone that buys the products made from these factories. As long as there is a demand for a certain product it will always be a supply but why don’t we produce Christmas stuff in the US or a similar nation where there are regulations that protect workers and the environment? The biggest reason has to do with money, it’s much cheaper to buy goods from China than for example Canada. Everyone wants to pay as little as possible and any that thinks otherwise is probably lying. We humans are narcissistic creatures, other people except those who we can benefit from or are part of our family don’t matter.

There is a city in eastern china called Yiwu that is famous for its large production of Christmas decorations, about 60% of the world’s Christmas decorations are made in that city. That is what I would call centralized production. There is a huge market there where many of the local companies sell and show their products, however most of the visitors are not consumers but rather other companies that want to buy these products to sell in their own stores. Almost everything made in Yiwu is made for export outside China. A funny thing is that many of the workers have little to no knowledge at all about Christmas, this is a great example how global trade influences the world. Toys are also made in huge quantities in China.

Few Chinese people know about Christmas but its quickly gaining popularity due to the fact that the world has become smaller in a sense. The hilarious thing is that almost everything we use at Christmas comes from China even though Chinese people have little to no idea of what the products they are making are for.

Anton BergstrĂśm NA15B

Christmas gifts tips For your girlfriend: Do you also have a girlfriend who always stick her cold feet next to you under the blanket and force you to warm them up, a girlfriend who makes you freeze all night this time of the year?

If you can relate to all this, then a pair of slippers is the perfect gift for her. Otherwise she maybe likes to decorate her room or looking forward to move out and get her own place. Then you can give her some decor, for example a cute pillow or a beautiful candle. Something which always works is a romantic evening at a restaurant.

For mommy: All mothers always insist that they don’t need any presents and that they are happy anyway.

But wouldn’t it be fun to indulge her for once? To make her feel special and loved. Almost everyone should be grateful for a beautiful jewellery and to make it more unique you can engrave for example your own and the rest of the family’s names or first letter. If she’s not that type who uses jewellery you can give her an experience, maybe a day or weekend at the spa, or just a cinema night together. If your money already has run out you can always make her and the rest of the family a beautiful dinner at home.

For the brother or dad: To buy presents for the kids is easy, they get happy for almost anything. You can give them some Lego or just some pens and a colouring book. But it’s in the older age it’s getting harder. You can give them for example a perfume or a nice looking shirt or T-shirt. To your dad you can buy almost the same things, a shirt or a perfume will make him happy!

For the partner: Do you want a strong healthy boyfriend or girlfriend? Or do you want company when you hit the gym, then a double gym card for the price of one would be the best Christmas gift. With this present you can hang out and spend more time with each other and you can enjoy it for a whole year.

For the juice fan: Do you also have that friend who has followed the stream and become a vegetarian or vegan?

Who always buy healthy smoothies when you're out and eat a cozy lunch. Then the juice maker is the perfect present for your friend. With this they can make their own juice and save a lot of money.

For the booklover: A gift which always is appreciated by the reading people is a book. The three most read books at the moment are, 1. “The girl on the train” which is a radical book where the tension escalate until the terrified end. 2. “Me before you” where the unemployed Lou Clark takes the job as a company woman to the wheelchair bounded Will, and none of them knows that they both are going to change their lives. 3. “Stalker” is a thriller where someone has filmed a woman through the window and sent it to the police. And the other day the woman has been murdered, and when the husband comes home and found his wife he was in chock. A psychologist try to hypnotize the man who maybe has something to say about the murder.

Top 10 most memorable football matches on Boxing Day 10. Sheffield Wednesday 3-3 Manchester United, 1992 In the first Boxing Day after the creation of the Premier League, Manchester United managed to came back from 3-0 down against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. Full of big players United managed to secure the draw after two goals from Brian McClair and a stunning goal

by Eric Cantona in the last 25 minutes.

9. Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal, 2008 In the hunt for Champions League, Aston Villa came back from a 0-2 down to 2-2 at Villa Park. After two goals from Abou Diaby, Martin O´Neill´s team brought themselves together. Gareth Barry scored a stunning longshot goal and Zat Knight claimed the draw after a beautiful cross from Stiliyan Petrov on stoppage time.

8. Manchester City 5-1 Hull City, 2008 While Aston Villa was rescuing a draw against Arsenal at Villa Park, Hull´s boss Phil Brown was busy giving one of the more unorthodox team-talks seen in recent time. After 4-0 down at Ethiad Stadium in the half time, Brown held a three-minutelong team-talk in front of their own supporters. Unfortunately, this only resulted in one consolation strike from Craig Faragan in the second half.

7. Bolton 4-3 Newcastle, 2002

5. Coventry 3-2 Arsenal, 1999

On this year´s Boxing Day the defense coaches were given Christmas off. Unbelievable three goals were scored in the first 10 minutes of the game at Rebook Stadium. After the entertaining opening, Bolton managed to claim their second home victory for the season after two strikes from Michael Rickett.

Coventry against the title challenger Arsenal at Ricoh Arena, no one in the football world thought Coventry could defeat Arsenal on this Boxing Day. The Sky Blues had a 2-0 lead at the break after goals from Gary McAllister and Mustapha Hadji. They managed to keep their lead after an intense stoppage time strike from Robbie Keane.

6. Everton 2-6 Manchester United, 1977 This year was Everton´s year. They were going to the title and they were huge favorites against 14th-placed Manchester United at Goodison Park. Unfortunately, there was a dismal Boxing Day for the title candidates. After 6(!) goals from United they managed to win in front of 50000 Everton fans.

4. Oldham 3-6 Manchester United, 1991 Manchester United with their young team and the former Oldham player Dennis Irwin in the team won an entertaining match with a lot of feelings. Dennis didn’t just score once, he scored twice and gestured wildly after the both strikes in his return to Boundary Park. It wasn’t only Dennis who was on fire. The young talent Ryan Giggs silenced the critics by scoring the sixth goal.

3. Charlton 4-2 Chelsea, 2003 This was the first year and the first Boxing Day for the new Russian owner of Chelsea.

Unfortunately, it was a miserable first Boxing Day. It only took Charlton 42 seconds to score at Valley. The start was too tough for Claudio Rainieri´s team and they didn’t manage to bring home 3 points after 3 more goals from Charlton.

2.Chelsea 4-4 Aston Villa, 2007 As usual, Aston Villa was involved in another Christmas cracker as they severely dented Chelsea’s title aspirations at Stamford Bridge. After a double from Shaun Maloney before the break, Villa was looking to bring 3 points home. These sights were gone when Zat Knight received a red card. Chelsea managed to equalize to 3-3 when only 10 minutes were left. With only 5 minutes left, Michael Ballack scored a stunning free-kick. This wasn’t the last word in the game and in the last minute the hard-working defensive midfielder Gareth Barry rescued O´Neill´s future from the 11 -metres spot after a hand from Ashley Cole.

1. Derby 4-4 Manchester United, 1970 Denis Law, George Best, Bobby Charlton, Dave Mackay and Archie Gemmill. This big clash at Pride Park Stadium was full of legends. Lucky enough the game lived up to the expectations. Law scored twice along with Best to help United come from 2-0 down to 3-2 lead. The ram hits back and minutes later it is lead to Derby with 4 -3 but once again with help from Brian Kidd could United manage to equalize in the most entertaining and memorable match on Boxing Day.

How to get in the right Christmas mood Christmas is a time when you’re supposed to relax and just enjoy the Christmas spirit. However, a lot of us feel a bit stressed out during December – there’re so many things that need to be done.

However, don’t worry. Because here’s a Christmas guide just for you. Read this and you will guaranteed get in the right mood.

At home: The first thing to do is to turn on some Christmas music. This will automatically help you get in the right Christmas mood.

Then it’s time to find some delicious Christmas candy. I recommend you to eat “Rocky Road” or “saffron buns”.

What to drink? Some hot chocolate with whipped cream, no doubts about that!

Third: Put on your coziest clothes, wrap yourself in a blanket and lay down in the sofa. (If you have a fireplace in your house, now is the time to use it!)

Now you’re lying in the sofa with the candy and the hot chocolate next to you, right? Sorry to break it to you but now you actually have to make a decision on your own, I can’t do everything for you. Be calm though, it’s not a life changing decision that is going to be made. Do you want to…

1. Watch a movie?

Then you could watch: •

The Holiday

•

Love actually

• National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2. Read a book?

Then you could read: •

Harry Potter

•

Pride and Prejudice

• A detective story is never wrong 3. Just relax?

•

Just do it

Decided? Go for it

Outside/in action Not feeling for staying inside? No problem, because there’s a lot of Christmas related things on the other side of the front door too.

1. Find your nearest Christmas fair. At these you can often buy candy, craftsmanship, decorations, food, drinks and maybe a Christmas tree. There might also be choir singers, activities for children and other Christmas related stuff to do. Perhaps you will find Santa Claus (tips: read the article “Alsters Christmas fair”).

2. Go to IKEA. It may not sound like one of the most funny and cozy things to do around Christmas, but I actually think it is. At the department store there’re Christmas decorations everywhere and it’s packed with people. It’s simply something about it that makes me feel that it really is Christmas.

3. Wait until it’s dark outside and then go to the city nearest you. Often it’s decorated with a lot of lights and the shop windows are also decorated in the spirit of Christmas. Just walk around and perhaps you find some Christmas gifts for your family, friends or yourself.

4. In case of snow: Take a walk and build a snowman or two.

Hope these tips will help you and make your time around Christmas a little bit more Christmassy.

Merry Christmas!

By: Frida Wistfors

Three types of Christmas Cookies Chocolate Dream Cookies Makes 15 cookies 70 g softened butter 100g brown sugar 45 g of granulated sugar 55 g egg (1) 120g plain flour 40g cocoa 2 g of salt 5 g of baking soda 50 g dark chocolate 50 g of milk chocolate 50 g white chocolate A handful of mini marshmallows

Snowflake Cookies About 50 cookies 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 2 cups white sugar 1/2 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Mix butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar fluffy in a bowl. Beat in the egg.

3. Stir the dry ingredients and work into a dough.

4. Coarsely chop all the chocolate and work it into the dough. Continue with the marshmallows.

5. If the dough feels sticky: wrap it and leave it in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

6. Divide the dough into 15 pieces, roll the pieces into balls and place them on the baking sheet with parchment paper.

7. Flatten the piece of dough a little and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes.

8. Let the cookies cool slightly and move them to a wire rack.

1. Mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture.

3. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

5. Line the cookies on a sheet with parchment paper. Roll dough into one inch balls.

6. Coat each ball in confectioners' sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

7. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

8. Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

Candy cane chocolate cookies 8-10 large cookies 175 g dark chocolate (70%), chopped 25 g salted butter 30 g all-purpose flour 1/2 ml baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 1 large egg

Chocolate Dream Cookies

75 g granulated sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 100 g milk chocolate Crushed candy cane 1. Melt 100 grams of the chocolate and the butter in a double boiler. Let cool.

2. Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside until later.

3. Beat egg, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy, about 8-10 minutes.

4. Stir in chocolate mixture and 75 g chopped chocolate.

5. Add flour mixture and stir until completely smooth. Let mixture rest in room temperature for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 175°C (350F).

6. Spoon about 2 tbsp of dough for each cookie onto a sheet with baking paper leaving some space between each cookies. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

7. Dip cookies in milk chocolate and then in the crushed candy cane (or sprinkle candy cane on top).

8. Put cookies on a wire rack to harden.

Enjoy!

Snowflake Cookies

Candy Cane chocolate cookies

By: Frida Asker and Moa Andersson

Snow and ice festivals in Christmas Christmas is now celebrated by people around the world, not just by Christians. It's a time when family and friends come together. It's when they meet together and remember the good things they have. Children also like Christmas as it's a time when you give and receive presents. But it's not only children who like to receive presents, it's adults too. And it's not really easy to decide what to buy every Christmas for your family and make them satisfied.

But here I got you a good – and maybe a new – idea.

The ways people do celebrate Christmas have become a tradition and something they just repeat every year. So why don't you get out of that and get yourself a new way?

Snow, Ice and Christmas often go together, and it's obvious that if you are going to decide to celebrate Christmas outside of your house it's going to be in a restaurant or a place where you can feel the warmth and joy. But why don't you go somewhere where there is snow? Maybe go to a snow and ice festival? Sounds like a good idea, right?

The art of ice carving has moved out of the kitchen, and in these festivals you will have the chance to build large snow and ice sculptures for example, even if you aren't an artist.

If you search you will find lots of winter and ice festivals held all over the world, and I'm going to give you some advice about some festivals and their activities usually held during Christmas.

Some festivals that I would recommend are Winter festival north Tyeside and Liverpool's ice festival. And the second one is for sure a famous festival where you can go with your family, children and friends.

In Liverpool for example, there will also be rides and games to keep children entertained including a Victorian Helter Skelter, Christmas snow globe, Santa’s Dumbo ride, Santa’s sleigh, Santa’s toy ride, Rescue Rudolph and snowman games plus Penguin Party dodgem car ride.

Not only will you be able to take to the ice and try out the ice rink, slide and bar there. You will also be able to taste a variety of street food and wintry treats in the kiosks.

Get yourself over to the food and drink stalls to warm through after all that festive fun. With a swing grill full of burgers, there’s chips, peppered steak, crepes and a coffee house serving cakes and cookies too.

Much more is happening there, and not only during Christmas, you will have the chance to go there at Valentines day and at Winter Carnival too! So go there and tell us about your new adventure!

Horoscope

Capricorns (22 December- 19 January) The best is to get as much work as possible done, because you will have a lot to think of during Christmas time and not feel very motivated. The Christmas night will come with a wonderful greeting from one of your closest friends.

Aquarius (20 January- 18 February) You will have a bright month in front of you. You will be surrounded by people you love and celebrate an amazing Christmas. But you have to be careful and don’t take these people for granted. Be thankful for what you have right now because your next Christmas may not be this good.

Pisces (19 February- 20 mars) You will have good luck because you've got enough motivation and power to do what´s important. It will be a great month for you to look for the object you would like to receive this Christmas.

Aries (21 Mars- 19 April) This month you will be able to have many irons in the fire. This will make you do great progress because you really know what you want, this will make it easier to see the possibilities and use them. You have easy to collaborate with others and you will hang out more with friends.

Taurus (20 April- 21 May) This Christmas is going to be special, a lot of unpredictable happenings will show up. If there is one time you should gamble, it is now! Your lucky number is 39. Dare to take the risk!

Keep your eyes open, you will realize something.

Gemini (22 May- 21 June) This Christmas you will have everything under control, you will have a lot of spare time and make sure you use it well. Maybe everything seems to be perfect but make sure that you know who your true friends really are.

Cancer (22 June- 22 July) Some concurrence might show up but there will be a friendly concurrence, which will be in a friendly way about helping each other. By the second part of the month you will learn new things which will ease during Christmas.

Leo (23 July- 22 August) During Christmas it’s important for you to follow your heart and don’t stop fighting, it will be worth it in the end. Your relation with a Taurus will change, you will get a lot of chances to getting to know each other better, take them! You will notice something special about this person.

Virgo (23 August- 22 September) This month you will work harder than you are capable for so take it ease and listen to your body. Make sure that you take time to take care of yourself. But keep your eyes open soon you will meet someone who will give you a new perspective of your life.

Libra (23 September- 22 October) Take all chances you get to visit parties, you will find someone there who will be very important for you the upcoming year. But be careful what you say, it might hurt someone.

Some stress may show up but don’t worry, with the right attitude everything will calm down.

Scorpio (23 October- 22 November) Try to be more positive and see things from the bright side, it will be a big advantage in the long run. From this you will learn something new and give you a richer social life. By this you will meet new people and this month will be quite eventful.

Sagittarius (23 November- 21 December) During Christmas times you will be very optimistic and people will look up to you. By the first 12 days of the month you will end up in interesting discussions, take these chances to make your voice heard and don’t be afraid of losing them!

I love Christmas Days get shorter and colder. The leaves are starting to fall and it means that winter is coming. Some trees are completely bare.

But people can feel warm inside. Where comes that heat from? Yes it comes from Christmas.

about something that I couldn’t see between my people. It was about a little boy who did not believe in Santa Claus, but eventually he got to meet Santa. The movie was really exciting and even got me to believe that there really is a Santa Claus.

Actually I was going away to Iran for Christmas holidays but unfortunately for some reason I can’t. So first, I was disappointed for what happened but now I have decided to celebrate a better and more glorious Christmas instead with my buddies. Personally I always liked Christmas since I was little in a country where no one celebrate Christmas there. It was something that really made me miss the Christmas there. Christmas came always like a snowman in my fantasies and lit the candle light. For example I can’t describe the feeling that I got when I watched "The Polar Express" in Christmas 2010. The movie affected me much, it was

Another thing that gave me a real good picture of Christmas was a short story “The Gift of Magi” written by O’Henry. In this story I really understood what the meaning of love is. It was about Jim and his wife Della, They have only two possessions between them in which they take pride, Jim's gold watch, which had belonged to his grandfather and Della’s beautiful, long hair. In Christmas Eve, Della goes to the barbershop near her home and sells her hair for $ 20 and buy a gold watchband as a gift to Jim. Then Jimmy comes home, he was surprised to see Della without her hair then, Jimmy shows his gift: two hairpins, for Della’s long hair he couldn’t make a

better gift to her, but now Della's hair was short. Della got upset at first, but then she said: "James, my hair will be long and grows; let me show you your gift" and pulled the gold watchband to show. For a while, James said nothing but after a while he smiled and said: "I sold the watch to buy this expensive hairpins for you my dear! This was a sad story. But I like it maybe because there is some kind of happiness in spite of everything in their poverty. That the Christmas could bring

happiness into their life.

At that time, I lived not in Sweden but yet Christmas had a unique meaning! On all past three years, I celebrated Christmas and I am going to celebrate it this year too.

I actually feel calm and happy on Christmas. When the lamp is lit behind the window, and the snow covers the streets in my little Karlstad. When everyone is full of energy. Every Christmas is unique, new year with stories with its own beauty.

Christmas is beautiful! I love Christmas.

Hussein Yasemi

Interview with Santa Claus Two students from Älvkullen, Karlstad, traveled together to the North Pole for an interview with Santa Claus. When they got there they received a warm welcome from Mrs Santa with hot chocolate and freshly baked gingerbread, they also got to meet the elves and deer before meeting Santa. They met him in his cabin next to the toy factory later and sat down for an interview.

What does the day before Christmas look like for you?

The day before Christmas is a very hectic day. Much to do and much to keep eye on. For example I have to make sure that the deer are fully ready to fly the next day. I need to feed them, comb them, take them for a ride and just make sure that they have everything they need. Despite that, I need to make sure that all 24 elves are doing good as well. This is the day that all the presents are wrapped and sorted to the specific house they are going to be sent to, so they have a tough job this day. Apart from that, they also have to keep an eye on the naughty list, do the children really behave the day before or do they break it? Mrs Santa Claus´s job this day is to firstly take care of the elves. She needs to make sure that they eat, drink and don´t lose focus and keep up a positive spirit, which is very important. To keep that Christmas spirit she usually bakes something. Either its gingerbread cookies or saffron buns, she also serve mulled wine or Christmas soda.

Do you listen to any music? And if you do, do you listen to Christmas music?

During the Christmas holidays I, like everybody else, like to listen to Christmas music. It’s without doubt the best music! I have actually tried to make my own music but as you may know I am not an artist, so that didn´t go too well.

Don’t you ever get tired of listening to the same music every year?

I do understand that you, like all humans wonder if I ever get tired of listening to same music every year.

Of course I understand you, but new music is made every year. There is a huge variation of Christmas songs, and I mean I am Santa Claus, how can I ever get tired of “my” music?

Do you have any kids?

No my beautiful wife and I only have the elves. The elves are like my children, and the deer are like my pets. They are all the family I need.

How did you and Mrs Santa meet?

Actually there is a funny story to that. The day before Christmas, as you may know, I deliver presents to all the children in the world. I know which houses to go firstly because we have all the information about that back in the north pole, the elves keep control over that and they send me the addresses on my way there.

This information is always right and reliable but this night the communication didn´t work so well so I had to rely on my Santa skills. Luckily all the families that get presents either put out cookies and milk on the fireplace, or they put out a bowl of oats on the porch for me. This way I can sense in which houses children live. But one house though, that I thought was a children family, turned out not to be. As I went down the chimney and landed in the living room I realized that it wasn´t a family house. This house belonged to a lonely lady with no family. She came down, hearing that I was in the living room, and I will not lie to you when I say that is was love at first sight. Of course I knew I couldn´t stay long so I took her with me in my sleigh and brought her back to the north pole where we still live together today.

What do you do during the summer?

From April to august I take my wife, the 24 elves and the nine deer to my summer house in Jamaica. After the stress in December I like to get away from the snow and chill on the beach. The elves like to play in the water while Mrs. Santa Claus and I lay in sunbeds with drinks in our hands. The reindeer, who are used to cold weather, have to be trimmed because of the climate change so they can enjoy the holiday too.

Are you sponsored by Coca Cola?

Yes I am sponsored by Coca Cola. We have a long history going back all the way from early 1900. They said to me that they could fresh up my boring and grey cloth style, and in return I would do a commercial with them. As you all know I wear red clothes and that was their style choice. I am really happy with our collaboration and we still work together.

Do you know the other three legends?

Yes I know all of them. I know the Easter bunny a little better because he comes and visits my Jamaican house one week every summer. The tooth fairy I sadly only meet when the elves lose a tooth, because she is never on vacation and her job is very hard. The sand man I only meet once a year because once a year we all four legends have a secret meeting about everything. We talk about the world and how our lifes is, the location is sadly secret and I can´t tell you when it is.

When did you first celebrate Christmas? And how old are you?

I have been around for a really long time, I have given presents to people like George Washington, Gustav Vasa and every pope there ever been. To be honest I don’t really remember but probably around the year 300. Sadly I never met Jesus, people didn’t celebrate Christmas at that time. I think it´s rude to ask about someone’s age but you can probably tell that I have been around for a long time.

Written by Frida Ekman and Filip Ivansson.

Miss Snow It was in mid-November when Miss Snow grazed our sullen lands for the first time this winter. She descended down from the heavens in a flurry, highly unexpected, bringing chaos in her wake. The traffic in some of our larger cities was left in a complete disarray; people even died. But I could not help but imagine that Miss Snow merely found the predicament of us mortals to be rather comical, for it got worse. However, in less than two weeks, she had disappeared without a trace, replaced by the saving grace of endlessly pouring rain – the trademark of our season.

People could finally breathe out in relief, for things could finally return to their designated state. My father had even reasoned that if she came too early in the year, one could not help but grow tired of Miss Snow halfway through the winter. I supposed that was so, yet I couldn’t help but feel rather morose when I was not greeted by her blinding presence any longer, but rather with the glumness of muddy boots and soaked clothes.

Her return was, of course, guaranteed to be.

For when December came around, so did she; it was a given. Serenely tumbling down from the cloudy sky, came her little gifts of wonder.

The children would be overjoyed, screaming about running outside to build the loveliest snowmen, despite the ground still displaying more splotches of green than white. This time, she had arrived in a more gently manner.

Once Christmas arrived, you would be met with the most wonderful sight once your gaze wandered to the outdoors; the most feathery cover of snow dressing otherwise naked tree branches in their winter garbs, as well as the now completely white ground. Miss Snow had managed to bring joy right in time for the festivities, leaving her more loved than ever before.

My H.

However, the following year, the snow never came. No matter how many days, weeks, even months that we waited, Miss Snow never danced across the skies above our cities, nor through our forests. Instead we were forced to embrace a harsh cold that I had never had the displeasure of experiencing before. The ground was frozen to a solid and cold mass – very distinctly different from the soft, slightly warm earth that I knew from sunnier times.

How I longed for warmth that winter. The cold would leave me tossing and turning in my sleep, trying to burrow myself deeper into the numerous blankets sprawled across my bed.

Come morning, I would always feel like remaining inside of my cocoon of warmth and some form of comfort, rather than venturing outside, away from what felt safe.

Miss Snow wouldn’t return for many years.

We had grown accustomed to these snow-less winters, but would always begrudgingly comment on the lack of white covering the ground. Our children failed to understand the reasons behind our complaints, for they had never known the joy of snowy winters. Instead, the season failed to be anything but lukewarm and mundane, dark and depressing. Although there were the holidays, which were still celebrated during these times of darkness, winter would never be quite the same.

All too many years later, when I had long forgotten the sensation of treading upon creaking, feathery light snow, Miss Snow returned. She rendered us speechless, many in tears. I, personally, felt an indescribable joy, as if angels had descended from the clouded-over skies and declared that the world would have to experience war and suffering no longer.

Maybe they did. Either way, the return of Miss Snow amounted to one thing, for me; a true Christmas.

FUDGE Ingredients:  1 can Sweetened Condensed milk  2 cups chocolate chips  1 teaspoon vanilla extract  A pinch of salt

1. Put the chocolate and condensed milk in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Put it in the microwave oven for 1 minute, stir and put it in again for 30 seconds and repeat until all the chocolate is melted 3. Stir in the vanilla and salt 4. Pour the mix in the pan and put it cold until it thickens.

Snowballs Ingredients:  1 cup White Chocolate  1.5 tablespoon lemon juice  1 cup desiccated coconut

1. Melt the white chocolate in the micro.

2. When it is all melted and smooth stir in the lemon juice and most of the desiccated coconut.

3. Make small balls and roll in coconut to make it look like snowballs

Butterscotch Ingredients: • 1 cup of Light Syrup.

• 1 cup of Caster Sugar.

• 1 cup of Heavy Cream.

Directions: 1. Place small paper cups in lines on a parchment paper.

2. Blend all the ingredients together in a microwavable bowl.

3. Put the bowl in the microwave oven on the highest effect for about 10 minutes.

4. The Butterscotch may have to be some more time in the microwave oven. Make the Ball test* to see if the Butterscotch is ready.

5. Fill the paper cups with the mixture of Butterscotch.

6. Let them harden. Enjoy!

7. * The Ball test: Fill a glass with cold water. Take a little part from the mix on a tablespoon and dip in the cold water. Take the mix with your fingers and try to make a ball. The ball should have the same consistence you like the Butterscotch to have.

By: Malin Jonsson

Peppermint kisses Ingredients: • 1,5 cup of powdered sugar • 0,5 cup of water • ½ tablespoon of vinegar (12%) • 3-4 drops of peppermint oil • 2 ounces of dark chocolate Directions: 1. Blend the powdered sugar, the water and vinegar in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Heat the mixture in the microwave oven on full effect until it reaches 118 Celsius or until it forms thin threads when you press a drop of the mix under cold water.

3. Let the sugar mix cool down a little and stir down the peppermint oil. Stir until the mix get white and thick.

4. Spoon out small circles on a parchment paper and let them harden.

5. Melt the dark chocolate in the microwave oven on low effect.

6. Spoon the melted chocolate onto peppermint kisses.

7. Let the chocolate harden.

Enjoy!

By: Malin Jonsson

Christmas Traditions: the Origins Today we have certain traditions at Christmas; a decorated Christmas tree in the living room, a parent dressed as Santa Claus. But why do we have these traditions? Where did they come from?

Hopefully you will know at the end of this article!

Fir and pine trees and spruce are one of the Christmas signs that can be seen decorated all over the world in different sizes and locations. They spread the spirit of Christmas wherever they are and fascinate those who see them with their beauty. As a Christmas sign the fir certainly isn’t known for being around Jesus Christ when he was born, so where exactly did it come from and why is it a Christmas tradition today?

Just like people today decorate their homes during Christmas with pine and fir trees, ancient people hung evergreen bough, but instead did so in order to keep witches, ghosts, evil spirits and illness away as it was believed in many countries. The traditions of some ancient cultures show similarities to ours, such as in ancient Egypt; the mythological figure Ra was worshipped as the sun god. At the solstice when he was believed to be at the weakest but was recovering from illness, the Egyptians filled

their homes with green pine as a symbol of the life overcoming death. The citizens of the ancient civilization of Rome used the fir to decorate their temples during the festival of Saturnalia.

It’s uncertain when fir was used for the first time on Christmas as we know it today.

Both the cities of Tallinn in Estonia and Riga in Latvia claim that they had the first tree, respectively in 1441 and 1510. They say the tree was set on fire and danced around by merchants known as the Brotherhood of Blackheads. The first person believed to bring the Christmas tree into the house is Martin Luther. Story says that one night before Christmas, Luther was taking a walk in the forest and as he looked at the sky he saw it filled with shining stars through the tree branches. He took a tree home and told his family that it reminded him of Jesus who left the stars for Earth.

The first Christmas trees were decorated with edible food, such as apples and oranges which were later on turned into the decorations we have today by glass makers.

The figure of baby Jesus used to be put on top of the tree but over time it changed to an angel or a star like the one that led the Three Wise Men to Jesus’ birth. Christmas trees were also often decorated with candles since Martin Luther used them according to his Christmas story. The candles were used until the ending of the 19th century when they were replaced with the safer electric Christmas lights we use today.

Just like the Christmas tree, there is another famous Christmas sign that has a long history. It’s a fat man with a big white beard wearing a red and white suit, famous for

being the one that gives children presents on Christmas if they have been good. You might know him as Santa Claus. He’s a fictional character with a not so fictional origin; the one of Saint Nicholas who lived in the fourth century. St. Nicholas was a very rich bishop because he inherited all the money of his parents when they died in his early years. He was a very kind man and was known for helping poor people in need.

There have been many legends about Saint Nicholas but the most famous one of them is the reason people decorate the fireplace with stockings. The story tells about how a poor man was struggling to pay the dowry for his three daughters to get married. One night Nicholas dropped some gold down the chimney which happened to land in the stockings that were put up to dry. This was repeated again for the other daughters until the poor man discovered Nicholas and spread the news - even after being asked not to.

Later on in the 19th century many poets and writers managed to revive St. Nicholas’ legacy as the kind fat man who delivers presents for good kids. As for the famous image of Santa known today, we’d have to thank Thomas Nast for that. Since 1863 Nast drew a yearly illustration for Santa Claus based on historical information and the poem “A visit from St. Nicholas”. Nast’s most famous Santa drawing was published in 1881 having a big bellied Santa in his red and white costume with many toys smoking a pipe – although he was pictured as much smaller and “dwarf-like” compared to today’s image of Santa. The illustration was then used by Coca-Cola after enlarging Santa and exchanging the pipe with a Coke, giving us the Santa we know of today.

Thomas Nast’s famous Santa Claus drawing

Stockings by the fireplace. Maybe there’s some coin in them?

Therefore St. Nicholas was celebrated for several centuries as the gift bringer at the 6th of December. However after the Protestants’ reformation, saints weren’t as revered any longer but people still wanted someone to bring gifts for their beloved children. So the responsibility fell on baby Jesus and the gifts were given on Christmas instead.

Christmas for whichever reason is an event to celebrate. Now knowing some of the history of this holiday I hope you appreciate it even more and enjoy a Merry Christmas!

Andre Koj

http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/fatherchristmas.shtml http://www.historytoday.com/matt-salusbury/did-romans-invent-christmas http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/trees.shtml http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/12/131219-santa-claus-origin-historychristmas-facts-st-nicholas/ http://www.history.com/topics/christmas/santa-claus

Movies to watch during the Christmas Holiday!

After you have been outside in the cold, beautiful, winter weather. It can be cozy to spend some time inside in the sofa with your friends and family. Here are some tips on Christmas movies that will put you in the right Christmas mood.

The Holiday: Two women, Amanda and Iris feel like they have to get away from all of the responsibilities and problems in their lives. They swap homes and countries over the Christmas holiday. In the beginning it´s hard to adjust to the new changes. But in the end the swap turns out to be an eye-opening experience for both of them and they find love and new friends for life.

Notting Hill: The life of William Thacker completely changes when Anna Scott, the most beautiful woman and best liked actress, walks into his, not so successful book-shop. They encounter each other once again. Somehow they seem to be in each other’s lives for some reason. But it´s not easy to date the most wanted woman in the world, not around your friends nor the intruding press.

How the Grinch stole the Christmas: The magical land of Whoville exists inside a snowflake. In Whoville the Whos live. The Whos love Christmas more than anything, but something or someone is secretly planning to steal it from them. The Grinch is a nasty creature who lives just outside Whoville. He hates Christmas and the Whos, but yet a small child, Cindy Lou Who, tries to befriend him.

The Polar express: This is the story of a young boy who jumps on board on a magical train on Christmas Eve. The end station is Santa Claus´s home, the North Pole. He is taken on a journey of self-discovery which shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believes.

Elf: After incidentally causing chaos in the elf community, due to his ungainly size, Buddy is sent to the U.S. to find out who he really is. Buddy was an orphan who got stowed away in Santa´s sack and ended up at the North Pole. He got raised by elves and had a great childhood. But now as an adult human Santa allows him to go to New York City to find his heartless jerk of a dad.

Home Alone: The McCallister family accidently forget the youngest child Kevin at home during Christmas. The family was in a rush to make it to the airport and the airplane that was taking them to Paris over the holiday. This means that Kevin now has the house all to himself, a dream come true for a child. All is good, all is well until Kevin discovers two burglars, that are about to break in on Christmas Eve. With ingenious traps Kevin does his best to bring the burglars to justice.

These are all my tips of movies to watch during the Christmas holiday. So go get the mulled wine and the gingerbread and let the marathon begin!

By: Hanna Engblom

The hunt for your perfect Christmas tree About three millions Christmas trees are sold in Sweden each year. Finding the best spruce is something that requires a keen eye and knowledge. There are a lot of types of Christmas trees with different abilities. Smell, color, density and how often they are shedding their needles are the main differences.

To find the perfect Christmas tree for your requirement, you proceed from six different guidelines, here’s a checklist: Placement – Choose a Christmas tree which fits the space in diameter so you can get all around and dress it from all sides. Remember that the fir shouldn’t be too tall, it will probably have a Christmas tree stand, you may have something to place on the top.

Dense or straggly – If you have a big area where the Christmas tree is in the focus and all relatives comes with a lot of Christmas gifts. Then a dense spruce is an awesome sight. These dense types tends to cost lot more. If you just have a Christmas tree as a tradition it may be enough with a straggly type. These types cost often not more than a few hundred.

Choose a fresh fir – For how long the spruce lasts depends much on the sort of Christmas tree. It’s especially important because if you want the best spruce you have to be in good time and at the same time you want it to last through the days between Christmas and New Years.

An easy way to test if the Christmas tree is fresh is to pound it to the ground and if it’s shedding many of is needles you know that the tree is not very fresh.

Get used to the environment – It’s important that you let your Christmas tree get used to the new indoor heat and climate. If you suddenly temperature shock the tree, it will result in a lot of needles on the floor and a spruce poor of needles, you should be especially careful if it’s below zero outside. You shouldn’t place the spruce too close to any heat source either.

Preferably about five meters away.

Plenty of water – A tree needs a lot of water. It’s very important the first two days when the Christmas tree can drink up to five liters. After these two days you should continue to irrigate regularly. Make sure the fir always has access to water.

(In special cases where you are very allergic, you can choose plastic spruce. But this possibility should be avoided as far as possible.)

Did you know that?

- A large proportion of the Christmas tree buyers are waiting until December 23th.

- Approximately every fifth spruce in the Swedish homes is stolen.

- A fir can be up to 60 meters high and around 400 years old (very seldom older).

- The world’s oldest spruce is called Old Tjikko and grows on Fulufjället in Dalarna. Its root system has been dated to have an age of 9550 years, which makes it to be the oldest living organism.

- In south and middle Scandinavia the fir is one of the youngest immigrants among trees.

- Naturally spread you can’t find the spruce in large parts of Sküne and not in parts of Halland and Blekinge.

Old Tjikko in the winter.

By: Gustav Hedenskog

Christmas workout

When Christmas is around the corner, you may not always prioritize to exercise. But with this guide you can do your workout in the kitchen while preparing the Christmas food. You can also entertain you family and arrange a competition with these exercises while waiting for Santa Claus.

The movements can be varied in many different ways, just use your imagination.

Squat with Christmas ham. Stand up in a strong position, keep your head straight and hold the Christmas ham with both of your hands. Have your feet as wide you feel stable, the wider the more you use muscles back of the leg and closer with the feet activates front of the leg. Point the toes slightly outwards and make sure your knees point in the same direction and don´t cave. Bend the knee-joint and go down as deep as you want to but you don´t have to go all the way to the ground.

Remember to keep your back straight and heels to the ground during the whole exercise. If this is too easy you can challenge yourself and keep the Christmas ham with straight arms in front or above you.

Joggling with oranges. Hold an orange in one hand. Throw it in a sweeping motion past the navel to the other hand. Do the same motion back and forth and try to keep the orange in the same height as your eyes with your hands low. Take one orange in each hand and throw one of them exactly the way you practiced. When it is on the highest point you throw the second orange and catch it with the opposite hand you thrown it with. Take three oranges and put two of them in one hand and one in the other hand. Continue as you did earlier and throw one orange from the hand where you had two.

When the first orange is in the air you throw the orange from the other hand and when that one, thus the second, is on the highest you throw the third.

90˚ against the wall. Sit against a wall with your knee-joint bent 90. Push the back to the wall so there´s no distance between. Keep your knees straight over the feet to avoid injuries. Tighten your entire body and keep the position as long as your item is in the oven.

Pushups from the countertop. When you are doing pushups there are a few things you need to have in mind. Your back should always be straight and in the same position during the pushups. In the start position, lower your shoulders because it´s a better work posture for your shoulders and will help you to both keep your back and neck straight. The further from the counter your feet’s are the tougher the pushups are.

Biceps curls with grocery bags. It’s easy to swing the bags up, but try to keep your body still and just work with the arms. Keep your elbows locked close to your torso. As always, drop your shoulders and have a straight posture. Curl the bags while contracting your biceps until your hands are at shoulders level. Then slowly lower the bags back to the starting position.

Standing side crunches with grocery bags. Grab a grocery bag in one hand and put the other hand on your hip. Stand with feet shoulder –width apart and toes pointing forward and keep your core tight. When leaning to a side try keeping your hips from not falling out on the other side. Then raise and slowly lean down again. When you are done with your set on one side, switch side and repeat.

Lunges to the fridge and back. Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up, keep your eyes at the fridge to focus on your goal. When stepping forward make sure that your front knee is directly above your ankle and not pushed out too far. Push back up and then step forward with your other leg in to the lunges position.

By Frida Asker and Moa Andersson

The only consistency in universe is change What´s the matter with people nowadays? For many years we´ve celebrated Christmas in the same ways.

The pure point of tradition is, after all, consistency! However, in recent years it has been common to adjust the traditions, to adapt them to the present.

Like it would be acceptable to throw everything we have accomplished and created away, just because it doesn´t fit our everyday lives!

The noble art of making Christmas candy has been degraded to a simple task, where the only difficulty is to figure out how to use a microwave oven! All the skills mastered by our ancestors will soon be lost in favor of a lazy and hurried society. I´m gravely alarmed by the fact that this seems to be a common part of our world today. There are constant reports of development and alterations on the news, and it´s not in a good way.

Everything around me is in change. Our planet is experiencing a huge transformation. A revolutionary change where the temperature is rising, and the polar-ice vanishing. Whole football fields of tropic forests are being cut down every day. It´s obvious that the human race is destroying its own habitat and straining itself to extinction.

Everything around me is in change. A substantial amount of people are fleeing their homes for the sake of rebellions and military forces. There are 60 million refugees worldwide, much more than it used to be. The changes are obvious for

the persons themselves but furthermore, they´re leaving a trace of differences in the whole world! And despite the previous pride of humanity, we now seem to focus on ourselves and our ownings. The formal compassion seems long gone!

Everything around me is in change.

Democracies all over the world are trembling in constant insecurity.

Nationalistic and egoistic thoughts are becoming the norm. The world has been divided into Us and Them. The most powerful man on earth has great issues with both women´s rights and religious freedom.

Everything around me is in change! We need to seek comfort in our traditions. To really embrace the things we have. How fortunate that we´re still able to make our own Christmas candy.

Hanna Olsson NA15B

A Christmas dream When celebrating times draw near,

What if instead of all this stress,

A perfect picture is then drawn,

They just sat down and breathed a bit,

In peoples’ minds it echoes clear,

And peace would come without the mess,

A flawless time of peace and song,

For peace is brought when people sit,

But when the days are closing in,

So drop the picture, let it be,

Then people suddenly go mad,

Time’s much more pleasant, when you’re free…

They flap around like crazy hens, To try match the dream they had,

Christmas food and candy in different countries There are different sorts of Christmas food and candy in different countries, every country has their own idea what to eat for Christmas. One thing that all Christmas traditions around the globe have in common is that they always are full of food and candy. In this article I will write about Christmas traditions in three countries. If you are tired of the Christmas food and candy you eat every year, you maybe want some new idear what to make for Christmas. In this article I will write about Christmas food and candy in other countries.

The food we eat for Christmas here in Sweden we call “julbord”. It includes herring, “Jansonsfrestelse”, ham, meatballs, and beetroot-salad. Jansonsfrestelse is a typical dish for Swedish holidays. It is made of potato sticks, anchovy, onions and cream. To desert we often eat “risalamalta”. Risalamalta is made of rice pudding and cream. A typical tradition for us Swedes is to bake “lussebullar” and “pepparkakor” for Christmas. “Lussebullar” is a saffron bun with raisins in it.

“Pepparkakor” is Swedish for gingerbreads. The gingerbreads we make her in Sweden are crispy and shaped in many forms.

In Britain it is very common to eat roasted turkey with roasted vegetables and 'all the trimmings' for the Christmas meal. With 'All the trimmings' they usually mean vegetables like pears and carrots, stuffing and sometimes bacon and sausages. There are very many different Christmas deserts, Christmas cake is the most typical one. The traditional Christmas cake is a rich fruit cake with a cover of marzipan and icing. Christmas pudding and Trifle are a couple of other popular English desserts.

The main Christmas meal in France is eaten in the evening. It often contains turkey like in Britain, but they also eat goose and oysters, foie gras, lobster, venison and cheeses. Foie gras is a dish made from fatty duck live. In francs thy have a tradition to serve 13 deserts at Christmas. They are often made from fruits, nuts and chocolate. A good example on a desert from France is Buche de Noel. Buche de Noel is a desert that looks like a log, it is made of chocolate and cream.