Merry Christmas!

I've long neglected this blog, for which, I apologize to anyone who reads/follows it and to my friends and back in the States. Lately, I've been pretty terrible with keeping in touch and updating people in general. Blame it on my first year as a doctoral student, work, research, and social expectations.

Currently I hail from Sweden, where I'm spending my Christmas holidays. I will most likely be here for a combined total of 2-odd weeks before heading back to England. Getting off of a Skype-date with my family (mother and younger siblings), I feel oddly at ease with the fact that I'm thousands of miles away, celebrating Christmas my with distant Swedish relatives. Perhaps this new level of comfort is due to this Christmas being the fourth Christmas away from my immediate family members?

Whatever the case, I'm completely content and don't feel very homesick at all this year. In any case, I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!!!!! I should go back to helping prepare the julbord (Christmas dinner basically), but I'll be sure to try to update you on my holiday travels!

Today's Random Picture:

I want to do this one Christmas!

Athletes dressed as Santa Claus jump on the Mediterranean sea as they take part in the Copa Nadal in the northern Spanish port of Barcelona, Spain Sunday, Dec 25, 2011. The Copa Nadal (Christmas Cup) is a traditional swimming competition that takes place in Barcelona every December 25th, where participants swim 200 meters in the open sea in the port of Barcelona. (AP Photo/Emiliio Morenatti)

Last Day of Christmas

So today's officially the twelfth and last day of Christmas. Tomorrow, the Christmas markets will be closing until the next Christmas season here in Strasbourg and all the decorations and bright lights will be taken down. Kind of sad to think about. Icing on the cake, my final exams start today. Oh killjoy!

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are a Cute Christmas Card

You love the holidays, and it's hard for you to feel any sort of seasonal burnout. You're the person who thinks the holidays don't start soon enough. You have your Christmas cards picked out months in advance. The holidays make you feel happy and content. You're tickled by every gift you receive and every old friend you reconnect with. You are a thoughtful gift giver, and you take the time to make each object you give unique and special. You like to see someone's eyes light up when they open your present.

What Kind of Christmas Card Are You?

Eleventh Day of Christmas

In America, we stereotype Europe as being more "racist". I suppose this article about a Northern Italian town's idea of a "white Christmas" might add fire to the stereotyping flame.

Italy's Northern League in 'White Christmas' immigrant purge

By Michael Day in Milan

The local council of the northern Italian town of Coccaglio is dreaming of a White Christmas this year.

But Bing Crosby's schmaltzy song has nothing to do with their plans. Instead, local officials from the xenophobic Northern League party are relying on some seasonal ethnic cleansing to purify the town. They are launching an officially-sanctioned drive to identify and expel as many non-Europeans as possible before Christmas.

Operation "White Christmas", as it has been dubbed, will see officials calling at the homes of all 400 or so of the town's extracomunitari – as foreigners from outside the EU are known in Italy – between now and 25 December in order to scrutinise their papers.

Those whose residence permits are found to have expired six months or more before, and who cannot prove that they have attempted to renew them, will be shown the door. The town's Northern League Mayor, Franco Claretti, ordered the move after receiving new powers that entitled him to check the residency status of all foreigners in the town, which has a total population of around 8,500,

Northern League member Claudio Abiendi, the councillor in charge of security in the town, which is an hour's drive east of Milan, said that so far 50 per cent of those checked did not have permission to be in Italy. Commenting on the timing of the policy, he told La Repubblica newspaper: "For me Christmas isn't the holiday of hospitality, but rather that of the Christian tradition and of our identity."

The local opposition, led by Luigi Lotto, who until June this year was the centre-left mayor, attacked the scheme as propaganda designed to prey on people's fears. "I left the town united, with no problems regarding integration," he said.

Mayor Claretti denied that the purge was prompted by problems with law and order in the town. "There isn't any criminality here," he said. "We just want to start cleaning [the place] up."

Officials claim that mayors in neighbouring Northern League strongholds such as Castelcovati and Castrezzato are adopting similar policies. The Northern League is an influential member of Silvio Berlusconi's coalition government, and enjoyed a surge in support at the last election. Its tub-thumping leader, Umberto Bossi, has long been one of Berlusconi's confidants.

Today's Random Quiz:

You are Brightly Optimistic

During the holidays, you're the one who has a bit of cheer for everyone. Even when things get hectic and chaotic, you keep on smiling. You believe it's important to have a spirit of generosity and gratitude all the time... but especially this time of year. You get more satisfaction from giving than receiving. You're always going out of your way to improve someone's day a little.

The Christmas Tree Test

10th Day of Christmas

Did you get any unwanted gifts? I guess I did get a couple, despite my attempts to avoid this dilemma with an online list.

Aussies say "no thanks" to 20 million gifts

SYDNEY (Reuters) – How many unwanted gifts did you get under the Christmas tree? If you're Australian, the number is likely to be more than one, amounting to a nationwide total of 20 million "useless" presents, according to a survey.

The survey, commissioned by online marketplace eBay, found that although Australians spent A$8.5 billion (US$7.5 billion) buying gifts this Christmas, at least A$1 billion worth of these presents will either be left to gather dust in a cupboard, binned, regifted, exchanged or sold.

Examples of unwanted gifts ranged from underwear, socks, bath products and inappropriately sexual items to a tandoori spice rub for chicken given to a vegetarian and a dog bowl for a dogless recipient, a brick and cellulite cream, an eBay statement said.

The eBay survey of more than 1,200 people also found that more women than men received unwanted gifts this year, while youth aged between 18 and 24 years got the most unwanted presents, which they were likely to throw out or hide away.

An earlier survey showed that more than 825,000 gifts will go straight into the garbage bin in Australia this Christmas because their recipients just hated them.

With Australia's economy still battling to shake off the effects of the global financial crisis, more than a third of Australians had planned to spend less on Christmas gifts this year, compared with the previous year, according to a recent survey by the Melbourne Institute and Westpac Bank.

Today's Random Quiz:

Your Holiday Wish is Being with Family and Friends

The holidays are near and dear to your heart. You don't need much to make you happy this time of year. As long as you're able to be near the people you love most, you are content. It's really that simple. You want nothing more than a full house of people celebrating the season. It doesn't matter if it's your house or not, just as long as everyone is there. And if someone doesn't happen to be around during the holidays, you think about him or her often. You get very sentimental this time of year.

What's Your Holiday Wish?

Ninth Day of Christmas

Maybe someone is really scared of the Christmas goat?

Not again! Giant Swedish Christmas goat statue gets torched

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Arsonists set fire early on Wednesday to a giant straw statue of the Swedish Yule goat, a forerunner to Santa Claus in Sweden, defying security measures for a third year in a row.

Police in Gavle, north of Stockholm, said an unknown number of attackers had torched the goat in the early morning hours, leaving a blackened skeleton standing in the town square.

"It's a tradition to burn it down," Lofberg said. "It's happened an untold number of times since the 1960s ... it's been burned down more years than it's survived."

Burning the goat has been a popular, and illegal, tradition in Gavle since the 1960s when an advertising executive first came up with the idea to endow the city with a giant replica of the goat, a Christmas decoration common in many Swedish homes.

There were no witnesses, but a bottle of lighter fluid was found near the goat's frame, which stood about 12 meters tall at the apex of its horns, police told Reuters.

"We have some leads," said Stefan Lofberg, who is leading the investigation for the Gavle police.

Police have tried a range of tactics to stop would-be arsonists, including posting guards near the straw goat, coating it with flame retardant and training security cameras on it.

But vandals have usually found a way around the foils and their assaults have become more elaborate: in recent years the goat has been run over, dragged into a river and attacked by arsonists dressed as Santa Claus and the Ginger Bread Man.

Flame retardant coating thwarted attempts to burn the goat in 2006, but the group sponsoring it then stopped flame-proofing it because of the ugly, brownish tinge its straw took on.

Goats have special meaning in Swedish Christmas tradition. Before Santa Claus became ubiquitous at the turn of the 20th century, men would dress up as goats and hand out presents to well-behaved children. Bad children received lumps of coal.

(Reporting by Nick Vinocur; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Sending Christmas Cards

You are a nostalgic and caring person during the holidays. It's important for you to feel connected to other people this time of the year. You do your best to stay in touch with everyone who is important to you. Even a little note shows you care. Nothing delights you more than getting a card from someone you haven't heard from in a while. That's the true spirit of Christmas for you.

What Part of Christmas Are You?

Bonne année !

Happy New Year!
¡Próspero año nuevo!
새해 복 많이 받아!
Gutes neues Jahr!
Felice anno nuovo!
С наступающим Новым Годом!
Gott nytt år!
An Nou Fericit!
Szczęśliwego nowego roku!
Próspero ano novo!

May 2010 and the new decade bring you lots of fun and happiness!!! I wish you all the very best this year and the years to come! (And merry 8th day of Christmas!)

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Coffee

You are stubborn and tough. You tend to push yourself to the limit. So even if you've been out drinking all night, you aren't going to let it slow you down. A couple cups of coffee and you're good to go. You can push through any hangover. You're perfectly comfortable burning the candle at both ends... as long as you have a candle to burn!

What Hangover Cure Are You?

Sixth Day of Christmas

This is probably one of the cutest Christmas stories I've heard or read in a while!

Italy toy store opens at 4 a.m. to help frantic mother

ROME (Reuters) – An Italian toy store opened at 4 a.m. on Christmas morning to help a frantic mother whose gifts for her children had been stolen from a basement.

After putting her two toddlers to bed on Christmas Eve, the mother went down to the basement storage room of the apartment block in northern Italy where she had hidden them, only to find that they had been stolen, according to Italian media reports.

Police found out about the theft while the mother was frantically making the rounds of all-night petrol stations looking for substitute gifts so her two daughters would have something under the tree when they woke up on Christmas morning.

The police contacted the owner of a toy store in a small town near Turin, who opened his store at 4 a.m.

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Christmas Eve

You are a patient person, and you would agree that anticipation is sometimes better than the main event. There's something magical about the night before Christmas - when it feels like anything could happen! You are a somewhat quiet and spiritual person. You need a lot of alone time to process what's going on around you. You are optimistic and idealistic. You can't help but feel like things are going to work out.

Are You Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

Banality of Divorce

Personally, I think marriage and divorce are societal inventions that have really little actual meaning left in them these days. If approximately 50% (or 51%) of marriages end in divorce, is it really meaningful or worth it to get married in the first place? Especially since most marriages end in the first 5 years? I don't know. But while reading this article, it just brought up some questions on whether or not marriages and divorces have just become social banalities today.

Happy Christmas honey - here's a divorce voucher

LONDON (Reuters) – Stuck for Christmas gift ideas? Is your marriage or a friend's going through a rocky patch? How about a divorce voucher?

In an unusual take on the season of giving, a London law firm is offering Christmas gift vouchers for divorce advice.

The firm, Lloyd Platt & Company, which normally charges 325 pounds ($530) an hour, said it had been swamped with enquiries since it launched the vouchers early last week.

So far, more than 60 have been sold -- a snip at 125 pounds for a half hour session with a divorce lawyer.

The firm's founder, Vanessa Lloyd Platt, said she had been amazed at the response to the vouchers. "They seem to appeal to an enormously widespread spectrum of people looking for that 'must have' gift for Christmas," she said.

A spokesman for the Church of England called the vouchers sad.

"Divorce is a very personal matter and not really suitable for the idea of gift vouchers which are presents from other people," he said.

Demand for the vouchers could soar over the next few weeks.

Christmas tends to be a particularly stressful time for families, with a huge rise in people seeking advice each January, Lloyd Platt said.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Fullerton; Editing by Steve Addison)

Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Dependable and Trustworthy

You approach the holidays with drive and determination. You're usually the one who does all of the organizing and work. You love being in charge of Christmas dinner, decorating the tree, and picking out presents. You know that everything will be perfect, as long as you're the one behind the wheel. Of all the types, you're the most likely to search far and wide to find the best deal on the gifts you give. You're also the most likely to have a very detailed system for how you wrap and label presents.

The Wrapping Paper Test

Fourth Day of Christmas

This article reminds me so much of last year when I was in Mali! I remember being at a conference in Ghana... and hitchhiking there! =) Good times... good times... I'm so glad President Mills is so intense about fighting corruption! Hahah, good for him!


Ghana's Mills spurns Christmas hampers on graft fears

ACCRA (Reuters) – Ghana's President John Atta Mills is refusing to accept traditional Christmas gifts such as hampers this year because they may be efforts to corrupt him, a spokesman said on Thursday.

It is common practice in Ghana for individuals and businesses to send hampers packed with gifts to friends and people in authority during the festive season.

While some gifts signify traditional sharing, others are given out in appreciation of past or future favors -- something Mills's government has vowed to stamp out since he became leader of a nation set to become Africa's next oil producer in 2010. "He has made it clear that it was not his disposition to accept Christmas hampers and other gifts," said presidential spokesman Mahama Ayariga, adding that disappointed gift-bearers had handed some presents out to presidential staff instead.

"(Mills's) disposition is that you never know what is in the mind of the giver of the gift, so it's always better not to accept them," Ayariga said.

Mills, who assumed office in January on a pledge to wage a "relentless war" against corruption, is generally regarded, even by his critics, as a modest leader and not corrupt, compared to his predecessors.

However, his present-snubbing was not praised by everyone.

Vitus Azeem, the head of Ghana Integrity Initiative, the local chapter of Transparency International, said the president's actions would do little in stemming corruption among fellow government officials.

"His campaign would have been more meaningful if he had given out specific directives to his ministers and other top officials to also turn away the hampers and the goats driven to their homes and offices," said Azeem.

Opposition to the president's initiative also came from James Agbagana, a traditional chief, who warned that he was going too far with his anti-corruption drive as he might destroy the Ghanaian tradition of hospitality in the process.

Ghana is seen as one of West Africa's most attractive investment destinations, largely due to political stability and the prospects of oil starting to flow in 2010 from its Jubilee oil field, which is estimated to hold some 1.8 billion barrels.

Given the negative impact of oil in other oil-producing nations in West and Central Africa, Ghanaians are watchful of the impact on corruption, once the coffers start swelling with petro-dollars.

(Reporting by Kwasi Kpodo; Writing by David Lewis)



Today's Random Quiz:

You Are Milk

Your holiday personality is innocent. The holidays make you feel like a kid all over again. You love every part of the holidays, and you anticipate Christmas morning. You enjoy getting presents as much as you did when you were young!

What Holiday Drink Are You?

Third Day of Christmas

The secret of Xmas crackers -- pull downwards

LONDON (Reuters) – A British department store has worked out a formula it says will make sure festive feasters are never again left holding the short end of a pulled cracker.

"Success is mainly down to the angle, grip, cracker size and 'lines of failure' or where the cracker is likely to tear," said Debenhams.

When pulled, a cracker will always rip at a weak point connecting the reinforced barrel section to the tails, the store added.

By pulling backwards and down at the same time, it is possible to concentrate the force across the top face of the opponent's line of likely failure.

The cracker should be gripped about an inch from the end of the tail closest to the barrel. The tail should be kept in line with the barrel as it is pulled backwards and downwards, with an even force.

For the serious puller, the store has worked out a mathematical formula: O = 11xC/L + 5xQ, where O is the optimum downward angle for pulling the cracker.

C stands for the circumference of the barrel, L is the barrel's length and Q is the quality of the cracker -- pricier versions are often made from stronger material which will increase the optimum angle of pull.

Q has a value of one, two or three depending on whether the cracker is cheap, standard or expensive.

Debenhams said the formula should produce a two-digit figure between 20 and 55 degrees, which is the optimum pulling angle below the horizontal.

"Don't worry, it's less complicated than it looks," it adds.

Today's Random Quiz:

You are Multicolored Lights

Your holidays are a time for cheer and excitement. You love the holidays so much and everyone perks up a little from your happiness. You try to be grateful for what you have this time of the year. Even if things have been tough, you can't help but be joyful.

What Color Christmas Lights Are You?

Second Day of Christmas

In times of old, Christmas lasted 12 days. Actually, even now in some parts of America/in certain Christian communities (i.e. the Amish communities), they still celebrate Christmas for 12 days. So, in light of old, I decided to continue wishing people Christmas! Not only that but today is a holiday in Alsace known as St. Étienne (St. Stephen's Day a.k.a. the Feast of St. Stephen), which is basically a day you gather family, just like on Christmas, and eat a lot of Baekaofe, which is basically pot roast, but with lamb and pork in addition to beef. Besides, there are so many cute Christmas stories showing up online that I have to share them with you.

Like this man... who is now one of my idols. I want to do what he did one day!

Australian man turns Santa, gives away belongings
SYDNEY (Reuters) – An Australian man has embraced the spirit of the season, taking on the role of a real-life Santa and giving away his possessions as gifts for the second Christmas in a row.

Last Christmas, Dennis Stevenson opened his home and gave away all his belongings. This year, he opened a makeshift shop in the Gold Coast in Queensland to again distribute seasonal cheer and invited others to donate as well.

"It's a lovely thing to do to continue the spirit of Christmas," Stevenson told Reuters on Thursday.

Stevenson opened The Spirit of Christmas shop on December 22 and says that 90 percent of his goods had been taken.

On Christmas Eve the shop was "absolutely packed" with last minute gifts, said Stevenson.

Today's Random Quiz:

You Spread a Lot of Holiday Cheer

During the holidays, you represent the true spirit of Christmas. You give freely, and you enjoy this special time of the year. There's a good chance that you spread cheer every time of the year... not just during the holidays. You're kind, upbeat, and generous. Anyone who crosses your path is lucky.

Do You Spread Holiday Cheer?

Joyeux Noël !

Merry Christmas!
¡Feliz Navidad!
Frohe Weihnachten!
매리 크리스마스!
Buon Natale!
С Рождеством Христовым!
God jul!
Crăciun fericit!
Wesołych świąt!
Feliz Natal!

Antarctic expeditioners to have a truly white Christmas

By Pauline Askin Pauline Askin – Thu Dec 24, 2:29 pm ET

CAPE DENISON, Antarctica (Reuters) – The closest Australian expeditioners to Antarctica will get to a nativity scene this Christmas is watching thousands of Adelie penguins tending to newly hatched youngsters.

There are no Christmas carols, no avenues lined with decorations and certainly no pine trees on the icy, eastern Antarctic plateau where the 10 members of the Mawson's Huts Foundation will be spending the festive season this year, about 3,000 km (1,870 miles) away from any Australian mainland.

Being summer, the daylight here also lasts for 24 hours.

Archaeologist Jody Steele is used to spending weeks at a time in isolation in remote areas of Australia's bush, but this will be her first Christmas at Cape Denison, working with others to preserve the relics of Australian explorer Sir Douglas Mawson's 1911-1914 expedition to the area.

Although the area is a world away from her home in warm Victoria state, Steele said she was delighted to experience her first truly white Christmas.

"This will be the first time I will wake up to snow and ice, so it's a whole new world for me," she said as she washed clothes in a bucket of hot water usually used for showering.

"I'm hoping to have clean, well cleanish, thermals for Christmas day."

Mark Farrell, a carpenter from Tasmania, is also excited at the prospect of a postcard-perfect Christmas.

"I'm 43 years old and this will be my first white Christmas. I usually don't get too excited by Christmas but I'm pretty sure it will be a bit more exciting down here," he said.

Chief conservator Michelle Berry, a veteran of Christmas in remote places, plans to infuse a medieval theme into Christmas Eve by making a night-cap of wassail, a warm, spicy alcoholic punch for which she will bake apples, and which will be passed around in its large pot for all to share.

All work will stop on Christmas Day and the expedition members will spend the day relaxing in their small home, which also serves as the eating hall and the office. A small, fake Christmas tree takes pride of place in the modest hut, and tinsel decorations are strewn around the room.

Everybody said they planned to wear Santa hats and toy reindeer antlers.

Christmas lunch is set to be a relatively lavish affair, given the lack of fresh produce, with a starter, roast lamb and ham with accompanying vegetables, followed by Christmas pudding and brandy butter. Wine will also be served and a "Santa" will appear to hand out presents.

It's tradition at Cape Denison to play a game of pseudo-cricket, which usually ends quickly, and with little ball chasing, because the polar clothing and the ice make it quite difficult to run.

The weather is also not ideal for Christmas outdoor sports -- Friday's forecast for Cape Denison is a temperature of about 0 degrees accompanied by a bitter wind.

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Today's Random Quiz:

Would Be a Conventional Santa

Truth be told, you're pretty happy with Santa and Christmas as they are. Why mess with a good thing? Traditions are traditions for a reason. And you're happy to participate in all of them. You even believe in Santa a little. You think that old fashioned holidays with old time values are nice. It's all about family and togetherness. You think that too much commercialism and greed are naughty. It breaks your heart when the holidays bring out the worst in people.

The Santa Hat Quiz

Agog for the Holidays

Christmas in Strasbourg is truly beautiful. I loved biking to and from classes and now that classes are over, I'm happy to roam the streets to go grocery shopping, walking to and from work, or Christmas shopping for last-minute presents. All the decorations just make me agog for the holidays; I mean, if scenes like these:















... don't put you in a holiday mood, I don't know what will! Compared to relatively low-scale decorating in most American cities, Strasbourg is really serious about Christmas! Makes sense though, considering it's self-proclaimed title of the world's "Christmas Capital".


Today's Random Quiz:

You Are A Reindeer

You are a solid, dependable person. You are more likely to act than talk. You have a lot of endurance and grit. You can work well into the night if you need to. You are cooperative and competent. You like being part of a team, especially if everyone is pulling their weight. You are energetic and hyper. You don't like to stay still for to long, and you're always ready to go somewhere new!

Are You An Elf or a Reindeer?