SCHOOL NEWSPAPER 34 Primary School th
CHRISTMAS ISSUE
GRADE 6th
SCHOOL YEAR: 2017-2018
By Maritina, Ps.
CHRISTMAS IN STOCKHOLM – SWEDEN
Christmas in Stockholm is a time of cosiness, flickering candlelight, loads of food and drink, and some very special traditions. There’s a lot going on in Stockholm at Christmas time, but there are some things that visitors must experience when they’re in the city during the holiday season.
Walking in Galma Street (old town) There is a wonderful walking tour that takes people through the cobblestone streets by lantern light in Galma Stan during Christmas and there are a lot of things to do at this time of the year. The living Christmas calendar
Swedes love Christmas calendars and it’s a big tradition for big and small kids to wake up each day from December 1, open a window on their calendar, and enjoy
a sweet treat. Even the Swedish television each evening shows a Christmas calendar. Each day, a window somewhere in Gamla Stan will open at 6:15 pm and one or more heads will pop out like that of an actor, a singer or a storyteller and give people 15 minutes of fun.
Saint Lucia The Swedish celebrate the Lucia saint on December 13. This day the celebrations in Sweden start. Young women wear lit candles on their heads or carry handles while singing the Lucia song. This is a celebration to bring light to the dark winter days.
Ice skating Stockholm has some outdoor skating rinks where skaters can glide across the ice under the lights that are on all day because of the darkness.
By Billy, M. CHRISTMAS IN HOLLAND Christmas is an important holiday in the Netherlands on December 25 every year. People spend time with their family and friends. Many people decorate their homes and visit Christmas markets before Christmas. Then they prepare and eat a nice meal and may go to church at Christmas. The children leave cookies for Santa and treats for his reindeer. Children in the Netherlands leave their shoes stuffed with hay, and sugar cubes for the Sinterklaas* horse. In the morning, these are replaced with gifts for children. *Sinterklaas is a kind bishop. He wears red robes and a tall, pointed mitre on his head. Sinterklaas travels by ship from Spain to Amsterdam's harbor every winter. He brings his white horse with him and a huge sack full of gifts for the children. The mayor and all the people of Amsterdam go to the harbor to greet Sinterklaas when he arrives. The bells ring, the people cheer, and there is a band that parades through the streets. The parade stops at the royal
palace,
where
the
Queen
welcomes
Sinterklaas.
By Gus, Mp.
CHRISTMAS TREE CUSTOM Long before the advent of Christianity, plants and trees that were green all year had a special meaning for people in the winter. Just as people today decorate their homes during the festive season with pine, spruce, and fir trees, ancient peoples hung boughs over their doors and windows.
In many countries such as Austria and Romania it was believed that evergreens would keep away witches, ghosts, evil spirits, and illness Germany first started the Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century when Christians brought decorated trees into their homes. Some built Christmas pyramids made of wood and decorated them with evergreens and candles. It is believed that Martin Luther, the 16th century Protestant reformer, first added lighted candles to a tree. The first Christmas tree was on display in the 1830s by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, although trees had been a tradition in many German homes much earlier. In the 1840s Christmas trees were seen as pagan symbols and were not accepted by most Americans. Americans started decorating their trees mainly with homemade ornaments, while some German Americans used apples, nuts, and marzipan cookies. Later they used Christmas lights, making it possible for Christmas trees to glow for days. With this, Christmas trees began to appear in town squares across the country and having a Christmas tree in the home became an American tradition. In Greece we decorate ships and the Christmas tree has also become a tradition with the custom of Santa Claus. The Christmas tree most of the time is green but in our days we can also find it in many colors such as purple, white even blue. We decorate it with colorful lights or white, and with many Christmas ornaments like the Christmas balls. In our houses we decorate our trees on 6thof December when it is the name day of Saint Nicholas. So, even if the Christmas tree is an influence from Germany, it became a Christmas symbol for the whole world and it is not bad because the only thing that it brings is happiness and joy. Source: History channel.
By Nikos V., Michalis K. and Mathaios K.
A CHRISTMAS STORY They were two people from different “worlds”. The first person was poor .Every day Marshal went to his family bakery to help them .The bakery didn’t have much work so they didn’t have money. He had a big family and every Christmas they had a big celebration with all his family!!! The second person was rich .He had 56 companies all over the world. Every day Koper earned a big income of 12.000$.
Every Christmas Koper was alone because all his family was in other countries. One Christmas afternoon Koper went to Marshal’s bakery to buy a chocolate cake and he saw that Marshal and his big family having a great time .He said to Marshal to spend time with him and his family. So Every Christmas Koper spent it with Marshal and his family!!
By Iliana and Jenny.
CHRISTMAS RECIPES
TURKEY RECIPE Turkey is a traditional Christmas recipe that we can find all over the world including England and Greece! In the USA they make turkey not only on Christmas day but also at Thanksgiving. In our country we have many Christmas recipes, especially for sweets. We have Kourampiedes, melomakarona and diples. On Christmas day, here in Greece, both Vasilis and I eat turkey with our families. Below you will find a traditional English recipe. Ingredients 1 free range turkey weighing 4kg/8lb 11oz salt and freshly ground black pepper 175g/6oz unsalted or lightly salted butter. For the bread sauce 450ml/15fl oz full cream milk 1 small onion 4 cloves 75 100g (2½ to 3½ oz) fresh white breadcrumbs freshly grated nutmeg , to taste 40g/1½oz butter or 2 tbsp double cream cayenne pepper , for sprinkling Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180o C. Check that you have not left the plastic bag of giblets inside the bird. Put the turkey in a large, deep roasting tin. Season
generously all over with salt and pepper and massage the seasoning into the skin. 2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Fold the muslin in four and lower it into the melted butter, pushing it in so that it soaks up all the butter. 3. Lift out the butter soaked muslin and lay it over the turkey, making sure that it completely covers the breast and upper thighs. 4. Pour about 300ml/½ of water into the roasting tin and slide it into the oven. Cook for approximately 3 hours 20 minutes. 5. Test that the turkey is properly cooked in just the same way as you would a chicken. Pierce the thickest part of the thigh to see if the juices run clear, then the turkey is done. If they are pink, slide it straight back into the oven for 15 more minutes before testing again and continue to do this until they run clear. 6. Once it's done, transfer the turkey to a large serving dish and leave in a warm place to rest for at least half an hour. Cover with foil to stop the meat going cold. 7. While the turkey is cooked, make the bread sauce. Pour the milk into a heavy based saucepan. Stick the four cloves into the onion, add to the milk and bring very, very slowly up to the boil, so that the milk has plenty of time to absorb the flavors of the onion and the cloves. 8. Remove the onion and cloves and stir enough breadcrumbs into the milk to give a thick sauce. Season to taste with nutmeg and salt. Stir in the
butter or cream then spoon into a warm serving bowl, sprinkle with a little cayenne pepper and place on the table. In Greece with don’t make bread sauce. We stuff the Turkey with rice, raisins, plums and with quince. Our family makes this recipe once a year because it is special and we want it only for Christmas. This is our tradition.
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BY Kalliopi and Billy
CHRISTMAS PUDDING Ingredients
1 lb (450g) mixed dried fruit 1 oz ((25 g) candied peel (mixed varieties, finely chopped) 1 small apple (cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped) 1 tablespoon orange zest 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest 2 tablespoon orange juice 1 tablespoon lemon juice 4 tablespoon brandy (plus a little extra for soaking at the end) 2 oz (55g) flour (self-raising, sifted) 1 teaspoon mixed spice (level, ground) 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (ground) 4 oz. (110g) suet ( beef or vegetarian, shredded) 4 oz. (110g) . brown sugar (dark, soft) 4 oz. (110g) bread crumbs (white, fresh) 1 oz (25g). almonds (whole, shelled, roughly chopped) 2 large eggs (fresh) Method Lightly butter a 2 ½ pint (1.4-litre ) pudding basin. Place the dried fruits, candied peel, apple, orange and lemon juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the brandy and stir well. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to marinate for a couple of hours, preferably overnight. Stir the flour, mixed spice, and cinnamon together in a very large mixing bowl. Add the suet, sugar, lemon and orange zest, bread crumbs, nuts and stir again until all the ingredients are well mixed. Finally, add the marinated dried fruits and stir again.
Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl then stir quickly into the dry ingredients. Now is the time to gather the family for Christmas pudding tradition of taking turns in stirring, making a wish and adding a few coins. Spoon the mixture into the greased pudding basin, gently pressing the mixture down with the back of a spoon. Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, then a layer of aluminum foil and tie securely with string wrapping the string around the basin, then loop over the top and then around the bowl again. This will form a handle which will be useful when removing the pudding from the steamer. Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 7 hours. Make sure you check the water level frequently, so it never boils dry. The pudding should be a dark brown color when cooked. The pudding is not a light cake but instead is a dark, sticky and dense sponge. Remove the pudding from the steamer, cool completely. Remove the paper, prick the pudding with a skewer and pour in a little extra brandy. Cover with fresh greaseproof paper and re-tie with string. Store in a cool, dry place until Christmas day. Note: The pudding cannot be eaten immediately, it does need to be stored and rested then reheated on Christmas day. Eating the pudding immediately after cooking will cause it to collapse, and the flavors will not have had time to mature. On Christmas day, reheat the pudding by steaming again for about an hour. Serve with brandy or rum sauce, brandy butter, or custard . Leftover Christmas pudding can be reheated by wrapping tightly in aluminum foil and heating through in a hot oven.
By Kalliopoi & Billy
SCHOOL NEWS On December 21, 2017 our A1 and A2 classes had a celebration for Christmas at the school theatre. On December 22, 2017 our B1 – B2 classes will also have a Christmas celebration at the school theatre. The collection in the museum of Paleontology and Geology, which our 6th grade classes visited, includes fossils of animals which lived 300 million years ago. The national museum of modern art collection, which our E1 and E2 classes visited, is formed around a very important nucleus of works of both Greek and foreign artists such as Stephen Antonakos.
By Evangelia & Ilianna
MERRY CHRISTMAS
HO – HO - HO