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X-mas Crossword

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Editorial

Dear readers,

Our school has always celebrated Christmas with a colourful bazaar. The E4 class of Ellinogermaniki Agogi decided to publish a newsletter for this year’s bazaar to collect money for people with special needs. We hope you will enjoy the result of this effort.

Now that Christmas is coming everybody wants to learn more about Christmas traditions all over the world. In this newsletter, we write about traditional recipes and customs in Greece and around the world. We also present interesting reviews for Christmas books and films. Finally, we hope our fun pages will entertain you and put you into the Christmas spirit.

At Christmas time, we celebrate peace and love and we can make it our goal to help our neighbour and give money to charities.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the pupils of E4!

Evangelia Babali

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Film Review:

“Merry Christmas”

(a true story)

At the beginning of the first World War in France, the Germans fight against the French and Scottish. There are dead people everywhere. The place is like a graveyard.

One day two German tenors come to the German camp. It was Christmas night. The Scots start playing Christmas carols with their pipes. Then the German tenors start singing along and go near the enemy camp. That wonderful night they all become friends.

But what will happen the next morning?

Tassos Alexiadis, A2

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The History of Saint Nicholas or Santa Claus

ST. Nicholas was born in 280 AD, in Patara, a city of Lycia, in Asia Minor. He became the gift giver of Myra. His gifts were iven late at nicht, so that the gift giver’s identity would remain a secret. St. Nicholas was eventually named the patron saint of children, sailors, Russia and Greece.

ST. Nicholas was a Christian priest, who later became a bishop. He was a rich person, and traveled the country helping people, giving gifts of money and other presents. St. Nicholas did not like to be seen when he gave away presents, so the children of the day were told to go to sleep quickly or he would not come! Nothing g has changed and Santa Claus will not arrive this Christmas unless the children go to sleep early.

A famous story about ST. Nicholas, is about a poor man who had no money to give to his three daughters on their wedding day. St. Nick dropped bags of gold into the stockings which the girls had left to dry by the fire. The sisters found the gold and ever since, children have hung up stockings on Christmas Eve hoping that they will be filled with presents by Christmas morning.

Panagiotis Tzoukas, A5

Konstantinos Liakopoulos, A4

Christmas in Greece

St. Nicholas is important in Greece as the patron saint of sailors. According to Greek tradition he has been working hard against the waves to reach sinking ships and rescue them from the angry sea. Greek ships never leave port without

some sort of St. Nicholas icon on board.

On Christmas Eve, small children to the beating of drums and the tinkling of triangles usually sing carols. They go from house to house and are given sweets or sometimes small gifts and money.

After 40 days of fasting, the Christmas feast is looked forward to with great anticipation by adults and children. On almost every table there are loaves of christopsomo or “Christ Bread”. This bread is made in large sweet loaves of various shapes and the crusts are engraved and decorated in some way that reflects the family’s profession.

Christmas trees were not commonly used in Greece in the past. In almost every home the main symbol of the season was a shallow wooden bowl with a piece of wire suspended across the rim; from that hanged a sprig of basil wrapped around a wooden cross. A small amount of water was kept in the bowl to keep the basil alive and fresh. This was believed to keep the Kallikantzaroi away from home.

There is a tradition kallikantzeri, where the mischievous goblins appear from the earth during the 12 days of Christmas.

Nowadays, in most Greek homes an evergreen tree is decorated with tinsel and a star placed on top. Gifts are exchanged on January 1st, St. Basil’s Day.

People greet one another by saying Chronia polla or many happy years. The table is filled with food, which may include dishes, such as kourambiethes, a Greek nut cookie.

Faye Mavragani and Natasa Kotsoni, A3

Christmas in Germany

Christmas preparation often begins before December 1st. many Germans set aside special evenings for baking spiced cakes and cookies, and making gifts and decoration. Little dolls of fruit are traditional Christmas toys. Germans makes tasty gingerbread and cookies. On December 6th is Nikolaustag, St. Claus day. A shoe or boot is left outside the door on December 5th with the hope that the following morning you will find presents, if you were good – or, unfortunately a rod if you had been bad. In Germany people believe in the Christ Child. He appears as an angel in a white crown, bearing gifts. It is the Christkind who brings presents to the people. Some homes in Germany have several Christmas trees, and in all towns across Germany, they can be seen glittering and glowing. In Germany they light one candle each Sunday and the last on Christmas Eve. Children cont the days until Christmas using a special calendar. They hope none window each day and find a Christmas picture inside. In some homes a room is locked up before Christmas. On Christmas Eve the children go to bed but are woken up at midnight by their parents and taken down to the locked room to be given their gifts. In Germany boys dress up as kings and carry a star round the village, singing carols.

Natasa Kotsoni and Fay Mavragani, A3

Christmas in China

In China there are many Christian Chinese celebrating Christmas. Others call this season the Spring Festival and celebrate their ancestors. The children get gifts and people eat delicious meals.

The Chinese Christmas trees are classed “Trees of Light” and Santa Claus is called “Dun Che Lao Ren” which means “Christmas old Man”.

Philippe Solakis, A3

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Christmas in England

The English enjoy beautiful Christmas music. They love to decorate Christmas trees and hang up mistletoes. Mistletoes are green leaves associated with peace and friendship. That’s why in England there is the custom of kissing beneath the mistletoe. The English gift giver is called Father Christmas. He wears a long red or green robe, and leaves presents in stockings on Christmas Eve. However, the gifts are not usually opened until the following afternoon. Christmas in England began in AD 596 when St. Augustine landed on the English shore along with his monks who wanted to bring Christianity to the Anglo-Saxons. Father Christmas delivers the gifts during the night before Christmas. The children leave one empty stocking or pillow case hanging on the side of the bed. In the morning, they hope it will be full of presents. In England, the day after Christmas is called Boxing Day because boys used to go round collecting money in clay boxes. When the boxes were full, they broke them open. In England Christmas dinner is usually eaten at noon on December 25.

Fotis Bakouros – Kouroupakis, A5

The Christmas tree

The Christmas tree is a wonderful decoration for every home. Without it Christmas wouldn’t be so amazing. The lights, the ornaments, angels and candles make it even more wonderful. The crib with angels, herdsmen, the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Jesus represent the time when Christianity was born. The Christmas tree makes us wish that every day were Christmas.

Maria Alexiadi, Athina Dremetsika, A2

Christmas has always been a great time

for eating! In Britain, Christmas would not be Christmas without…

A Yule Log

The ‘Yule Log’ is a large piece of wood which people in northern Europe put on their fires at Christmas time. It is usually burned on Christmas Eve. But sometimes the ‘log’ is a chocolate cake shaped like a log.

To make the cake, you need:

A flat, shallow tin

2 eggs

50 grams sugar

40 grams plain flour

1 large spoonful of cocoa

1 large spoonful of warm water

To make the butter cream,

you need:

100 grams butter

200 grams icing sugar

(1 large spoonful cocoa)

1. Grease some greaseproof paper, and place it in the tin.

2. Beat the eggs and sugar until they are thick and smooth.

3. Mix the flour and cocoa, and add the warm water.

4. Pour it all into the tin, and cook the cake in a hot oven for seven

minutes (200C)

5. Turn the cake out on to a piece of greaseproof paper covered

with sugar.

6. Cover the cake with another piece of greaseproof paper and roll

it up. Wait until it is cold.

7. Make the butter cream. Use a wooden spoon to make the butter

very soft and white.

8. Mix in the icing sugar. For chocolate butter cream, add on e large

spoonful of cocoa.

9. Unroll the cake and take off the greaseproof paper. Spread the

butter cream over the cake. Then roll it up again.

10. Spread butter cream over the log and add small pieces of holly

as decorations

Batman returns:

This is an old film made in 1992 by Tim

Burton with the strongest superhero of all “Batman”. The film has many scenes of adventure and suspense. The Christmas setting is really brilliant. The plot is about some Christmas days during which a secretary works hard in her job. Her boss is cruel and tries to kill her. But this woman has seven lives. She became a catwoman and with the Penguine from the drains try

to turn Christmas into a horrible

season and to destroy Gotham city.

Batman, the famous superhero must stop those criminals, “Catwoman and Penguin”, form destroying the world.

Polar Express:

Polar Express is a film about a boy who didn’t believe in Santa Claus. One night a train named “Polar Express” came and took him to the Santa Claus village. In the train, the boy made a lot of friends and experienced many adventures.

When he finally arrived to his destination, he met Santa Claus and from that moment on, he believed in him. After that, he took his first Christmas present.

Home alone:

The film starts with the hectic preparations of a big American family just a few hours before they leave for their Christmas holidays in Paris. When the family is ready to go to the airport, nobody realizes that the youngest son of the family is not with them. The little boy wakes up later and finds out that all the others have already left. How will the boy overcome all the difficulties with the two dangerous thieves who are planning to

rob his house? A very nice film for all the family, which

combines humour, emotion and suspense.

Papadopoulos Panos, A4

Lapland is a place in the Arctic, which contains the northern places of Sweden. Norway, Finland and Russia. The climate is polar. The winter there lasts 7 months. For the following 3 months, the sun remains permanently above the horizon. The residents live in small village wooden houses. To move from place to place they use sledges with reindeers. The province of Lapland is mostly known for its beauty: lakes, rivers, mountains and woodlands.

Lapland is also the town of Santa Claus with 200.000 inhabitants.

Andrew Lindas, A3

A letter to Santa

by Dimitra Chatzistefanou, A 4

Dear Santa Claus,

I’m writing from Greece. My name is Dimitra. I’m twelve years old and I have a sister. Her name is Barbara and she is nine years old. I hope you haven’t forgotten me. Last year you brought me a teddy bear but now I’m older.

Yesterday I saw a documentary on children of the third world in Africa. Those children were suffering form diseases and malnutrition. I hope, Santa, you can make my wish come true this year. Please, could we have peace and love and respect for one another all over the world.

I hope you will find the time to reach all the children of the world and spread love and joy to the most remote places in the globe.

Yours sincerely,

Dimitra

“Christmas Spirit”

a story by Jason Krontiras, A1

It is a windy day in North Pole and while Santa Claus is ready to start his trip to give presents to the children he falls down and his leg is broken. And now who will give the presents to the children? Three billion children are waiting for him. Now Santa Claus is really unhappy. What can he do now? One moment later everybody else are trying to find what to do?

Suddenly, something unusual happens, a reindeer called Rudolf says: “I can give the presents to the children and I take the responsibility, I can do it”. All the elves burst into laughter. Only Santa Claus didn’t laugh. “Well”, he said. “It isn’t a bad idea, but you must be careful”.

So the reindeer loaded the presents and began the difficult trip. When he arrived in America, it was raining. The reindeer was scared, but he didn’t give up. With all his powers, he gave the presents and then he went to Europe and then to Africa and all over the world. Every moment he thought about the children who were waiting for Santa Claus and that gave him more power. After twelve hours he arrived back to North Pole and all the elves and Santa Clouse gave him a big “BRAVO!”

Now all the children around the world have presents and at this night Rudolf managed to save Christmas and make the children happy. So my friends that’s the Christmas spirit!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

In this issue you can find:

1. The Editor’s letter to the readers. Our Editor Evangelia Babali talks about our Newsletter and sends you her warm wishes.

2. Christmas around the world

Our journalists have collected information on Christmas customs and celebrations around the world. In this section you can find:

a. Christmas traditions in Greece by Natassa Kotsoni & Faye Mavragani

b. Christmas customs in

- Germany by Faye Mavragani

- England by Fotis Bakouros –Kouroupakis

c. Santa Claus: Who is he?

d. The Christmas tree brightens our Christmas

e. A Christmas recipe that will open your appetite!

3. Film reviews: Tassos Alexiadis reviews the film “Merry Christmas”, while Panos Papadopoulos gives us the best X-mas films to choose from

4. X-mas travel: A trip to Lapland

Andreas Lindas travels us to Lapland for a visit to the house of Santa Claus.

5. X-mas Quiz: ”How much do you know about Christmas?

6. “A letter to Santa” by Dimitra Chatzistefanou.

7. X-mas story by Jason Krontiras: “Christmas Spirit”

8. X-mas survey: “Do you believe in Santa?” & find out what kids want for Christmas this year.

9. X-mas jokes

10. Crossword

Issue No. 1

Dec. ’05

Price: 0,80 Euro

X-mas survey

“Do you believe in Santa?”

This is a question people often ask children. Do we believe in Santa? In our survey we asked 54 pupils in the 1st grade of Junior High School to answer this question. And here is what we found:

1/3 of the pupils believe in Santa Claus and think that he brings them presents every year. 67% don’t believe in Santa and think their parents buy them presents. What do you believe?

We also asked our classmates to tell us what they want for Christmas. Here is our top 5 list:

1. Videogame

2. Skateboard

3. Bicycle

4. Mobile phone

5. A pet

* Someone even wished for a car! Better

get your driving license first!!!

Christmas Jokes

1. What does Rudolf want for Christmas?

A Sony Sleightstation 2.

2. Where do snowmen go to dance?

To a snowball.

3. Who delivers presents to baby sharks at Christmas?

Santa Jaws

4. Who says oh oh oh?

Santa walking backwards.

5. What do monkeys sing at Christmas?

Jungle Bells, Jungle Bells.

Thodoris Karnahoritis, A1

Panagiotis Kapositas, A1

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X-mas Quiz

How much do you know about Christmas? Fill in this quiz and find out!

1. Which of these names does NOT belong to one of Santa’s reindeer?

a. Comet b. Prancer c. Blitzen d. Klaxon

2. At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath which plant?

a. Ivy b. Yew c. Holly d. Mistletoe

3. Which of the following names does NOT belong to one of the Three Kings?

a. Caspar b. Balthazar c. Teleost d. Melchior

4. One of the most loved Christmas books is A Christmas Carol. Who rote it?

a. Mark Twain b. Charles Dickens c. Hans Christian Andersen d. Thomas M. Sawyer

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1. We decorate it for Christmas

2. He also visited Jesus in the crib

3. Another name for Santa

4. We light in on Christmas Eve.

5. Santa gives out the gifts on a …..

6. They live in the sky

7. This is the colour o Santa’s clothes

8. They are bad spirits coming

out at Christmas.

9. Santa …

10. Santa’s helpers.

Roberto Kontonis, A2

Tassos Alexiadis, A2

Special thanks to:

- our school and our teacher Ms Angelidou for all their help

- Mr. Babalis for his help with printing

- Ms Eleni Vagena for typing this newsletter

- our classmates for participating in our survey

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