Five Christmas Classics To Keep You

by Nada Abdelkader

Now that you’ve seen the reds and greens filling up the air, you must know that the holidays are upon us and, yes, tis the season to be jolly and rock around the Christmas tree with all your family, friends, and loved ones.

Of course, this holiday season will be a bit special, considering the global circumstances, but if 2020 has taught us anything, it’s to find the simple joys around us.

There’s nothing that speaks to the small simple joys around us more than the joy of reading, but come Christmas and the holidays, the average reader might find that they don’t want to read up too much.

Rather, you’ll want to drop all your romance novels and murder mysteries and such to experience the holiday fever. We’ll tell you now a little secret, though—you can still get the full holiday experience and fulfill that reading need of yours with classics that simply spell “jingle bell rock”!

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas Toeing the line between the sentimental and the thrilling, Hercule Poirot’s Christmas, written by Agatha Christie, is a holiday-flavored mystery novel that is just as good, if not better, than the mysteries we’ve all always loved reading.

The story is about Simeon Lee, an elderly man, who invites his estranged family to his home for a Christmas celebration. A series of events, suspicious and infuriating happen, as Simeon and family fight over the family inheritance and Hercule Poirot is invited to solve a crime.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas Another classic we all know and enjoy, How the Grinch Stole Christmas is the perfect book to read when you want a fun time littered with laughs and nostalgia.

Similar to A Christmas Carol, the story itself is about the Grinch, the constantly grumpy, cave-dwelling creature, and his hatred of Christmas that eventually becomes anything but. Unlike Scrooge who simply didn’t like the holidays, the Grinch actively forms a plan to ‘steal Christmas’ from Whoville, hiding all Christmas-related food, presents, and trees. Once the Grinch sees how Whoville reacts, by still remaining hopeful, he becomes Christmas’s number one fan and brings the celebrations and joy back to the Whoville Christmas.

The Tailor of Gloucester Written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, The Tailor of Gloucester is a quaint, whimsical tale about a tailor and his cat, Simpkin. The story is quite simply your perfect 3 remedy for a quiet holiday evening.

After being sent by the Gloucester tailor to buy food and silk for an important waistcoat, Simpkin, the cat, comes home to find that the tailor accidentally set loose all the mice he’d kept imprisoned under a set of teacups. In retaliation, Simpkin hides the silk.

After this, the story goes on about reciprocating the kindness you’ve been shown and how people should generally ‘pay it forward’ as the mice, grateful for being rescued, help the tailor finish the important waistcoat and all is well!

A Christmas Carol How can we not mention the Christmas gift that keeps on giving? Written by literary genius Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol is one of the 4 most memorable novellas about the holidays. Divided to five chapters, or ‘staves’ according to Dickens, the story is about the all-too-infamous Ebenezer Scrooge, a mean miserable man who loathes Christmas and, well, everyone else.

Through the course of the story, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old business partner followed by the ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, who show him how people feel about him, the holidays, and how Scrooge needs to change his ways. This whirlwind of a story, with all its morals and lessons and simple fun, makes for one holiday classic you won’t tire of reading. The Chimes 5 Another Dickens’ Christmas classic, The Chimes is an underrated holiday novella that is among the first stories to insert the dream-within-a-dream narrative, but that’s not even remotely the most intriguing thing about this plot.

The story is about a man called Trotty and his family, outwardly, as they try to manage their destitute life by being caring and sharing their kindness with all those around them. Distraught in the holiday season, Trotty is given a vision by the church bells in the church near his home that shows him how life would be if he lost his faith that people are kind and that every cloud has a silver lining.

With its perfect ending set, The Chimes encapsulates the feelings of the people who tend to get ‘the holiday blues’ perfectly, all while giving everyone a renewed sense of hope.

Nestled by the Carpathian Mountains, Romania is one of the most underrated southeastern European countries out there. This gem, also known as The Land of Count Dracula, is known for its preserved medieval towns, fortified churches and castles notably associated with the Dracula Legend. Romania comes with a lot of attractions, landmarks, and a lot of history that makes it a country many would love to visit again and again.

VISA

To visit Romania, you’ll need to get a Romanian Tourist Visa that allows you a maximum of 15 days stay. Currently, Romania is not part of the Schengen agreement. Don’t worry Schengen Visa holders don’t need another visa as long as theirs allows entries in Schengen space.

To get the Romanian Visa, you need to go to the your travels with all the required documents, as well as 75 USD for the visa fees. You should deliver your application personally. It will take about 3 to 7 working days for the visa application to get processed. 50 December 2020

WEATHER If you want to truly experience Romania at its zenith, it’s best to visit in either mid-spring during April or early-fall during September. In April, Romania’s tree and wildflowers bloom and are beautifully complemented by the Easter festivities. While in September, the ultimate best timing, Romania has Romanian Embassy in Cairo at least four weeks before

its best weather.

Romanian weather ranges from -6 °C to 0 °C in the winter with heavy rainfall and snow. During spring and summer, the rain becomes even more bountiful. In early fall, though, the weather is mostly warm and pleasant, with temperature around 11 °C to 25 °C.

FOODS TO TRY In Romania, the only other thing more popular than the Legend of Dracula is the local cuisine, an unmissable experience that mixes its Balkan, Turkish, Serbian, German, and Hungarian cuisines.

Sarmale A popular Romanian comfort food, sarmale is made of minced meat mixed with spices, rice, and onions that’s rolled up in cabbage leaves, which is then boiled for hours in a special sauce. You can also try it with vine leaves.

Mămăligă Made of corn-flour boiled in water with a pinch of salt and drops of sunflower oil, mămăligă is a common side dish served plain with sour cream Cozonac On the sweet side of things, cozonac is a sweetbread filled with sweet walnut paste, poppy seed paste, and raisins/Turkish delight.

Papanasi Another popular dessert, papanasi is a northern and Romanian cheese.

Romanian confection that’s essentially a donutshaped mix containing both cottage cheese and semolina that is then fried and covered in sour cream and (usually blueberry) jam.

PLACES TO VISIT Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral Completed in 1659, the Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral is still furnished with all of its original interior paintings and icons, all still intact. It’s not just a landmark, though it’s an active church as well.

Danube Delta Europe’s best preserved delta, the Danube Delta flows over three-thousand kilometers from its source in Germany, covering ten countries. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the delta is populated by much

Peles Castle Built in the 1870s, Peles Castle is not only richly decorated but it’s also the first European castle to have electricity. When visiting, you can also peruse the arts and antique collection, including more than four-thousand arms and armor. Sighisoara Beautifully preserved, Sighisoara is best known as the birthplace of Count Dracula but it’s much more than that, too. In this town, you’ll get your fill of architecturally pleasing towers and ornate churches.

Bran Castle wildlife that you can easily observe.

Speaking of Dracula, Bran Castle is the infamous castle where the world’s most famous vampire (based on real-life ruler Vlad the Impaler) resided. With its haunting towers and domineering stature, the castle is a strong attraction for all visitors.

Maramures Get culturally immersed in the most medieval parts of Romania, Maramures County. In this region, traditional Romanian culture is alive and well, with large wooden churches decorating each village as a testament to the popular tradition of woodworking and colorful cemeteries as the Romanians believe the afterlife is only the start.