The Comenian

Dongen – I welcome you all to read the second edition of The Comenian. In this edition many articles about Christmas. How we celebrate this feast in Romania, France and the Netherlands. But also personal stories and poems.

Unfortunately there are no articles from the United kingdom in this edition. But they ensured me that there will be in the next Comenian.

In the next edition we will also welcome students from schools in Germany and the Czech Republic. So we’re becoming more and more a European paper.

I hope you will all have a nice vacation and that I will hear from you next year. Mail your articles to w.teurlings@cambreurcollege.nl

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy 2006. Joyeux Noel, La multi ani.

A Christmas Story

Arad - Once upon a time, a little boy lived in a house which was not a nice view.

On one winter’s eve, when it was cold outside and huge, white snowflakes were falling from the sky, the little boy was home alone. He was watching the empty road through the window when, suddenly, a man, who was dragging through the rain a donkey loaded with little fir trees, appeared. He looked quite old with his white beard and he was covered in a big, red coat. That man, if you believe it or not,

was Santa Clause! He gave a beautiful, green fir tree to the little boy which he put it in his room and decorated with globes,

garlands and candles … Now the tree was sparkling.

When middle January arrived, the decorations were removed but the tree hadn’t even started to lose its needles; he was still as green as ever, only that he started growing! So he grew through the whole winter and in spring he was covered with burgeons… In three months he had already touched the ceiling making it impossible to cut or bunk it! The little boy didn’t want to give up of the fir tree so his parents wrote a letter to the mayor of the village:

Dear Mr. Mayor,

We have the honour to announce you the following facts: a fir tree has taken roots inside our home. He now measures three meters of height and four meters of width. He is due to grow and spread out. Because it is impossible for us to cut it down, we would be very grateful if you found us a new accommodation.

And this is how the little boy and his parents moved into a new appartment on the fourth floor of a new, white building.

But what about the fir tree? Well….he continued to grow and grow … The old house didn’t stand it longer and the roof was the first to give in; then the walls collapsed one by one without making any sound … After some days the only thing that was left from what had once been a

house, were the workers who were in charge of clearing the area so that a little park, having the magnificent, three meters high fir tree as the most beautiful decoration in its middle, could be settled.

Ioana Chivu, Romania

My very special Christmas

Storm in Disneyland

Dongen - It was Christmas 1999. I Was eight years old. And we were in Disneyland Paris. It was very beautiful and everybody was happy. We did go to a lot of attractions, and we saw Mickey and Minnie. After a long day we went back to our caravan because we were very tired. Late that night my mother shouted:

"the trees are falling down ". My father didn't believe her and looked out of the window. He said "she is right, the wind is blowing down the trees". We put our

clothes on and tried to drive out of the woods. But everywhere there were trees blocking the roads. So we couldn’t go further. Nearly everybody

was screaming. We took only the important things and ran out of the woods.

There were lots of people waiting to go with the bus to a Disneyhotel.

After a long time of waiting the bus took us to the cellar of one of the hotels,

the people there were very nice to us and brought a lot of food and drinks for everyone.

We slept in one of the hotel rooms. And after a couple of days we went home.

A few weeks later we received a letter from Disneyland, they offered us a free

weekend in their park with breakfast. So we went back to Disney, The weather was good now, only a lot of things were broken. But it was a good weekend.

I have never had a chrismas like that.....and I hope that there will never be a next Christmas as horrible as the one of 1999.

Joyce Loonen, Cambreur College,

The Netherlands

NOEL EN FRANCE

Le 24 Décembre :

Les familles se réunissent pour fêter le réveillon de Noël. La soirée commence vers 20 heures. Les gens boivent un apéritif. Ensuite, ils se réunissent autour de la table pour déguster un repas de Noël qui a été préparé spécialement pour cette soirée. A minuit, tout le monde et surtout les enfants, se réunit autour du sapin qui a été décoré quelques jours avant Noël.

Le père noël arrive enfin et distribue les cadeaux à tout le monde. La soirée continue dans une ambiance de joie. Les enfants jouent avec leurs nouveaux jouets.

Le 25 Décembre :

C’est une journée qui se passe toujours en famille. Le midi, les gens se retrouvent encore autour d’un bon repas de Noël. Dans certaines familles, on se déplace chez les grands parents pour voir ce que le père Noël leur a apporté.

Aurélie Blanchemanche et Stéphanie Pawleniak lycée Jeanne d’Arc, Vouziers. France

NOEL a la Roumanie

Arad - Dès que le mois de décembre commence (avec le premier décembre qui est la fête nationale de la Roumanie) tout le monde ne pense ici qu’aux fêtes d’hiver.

On l’attend impatiemment, on y rêve, on pense aux cadeaux qu’on va offrir ou bien recevoir.

Tout d’abord, dans les grandes villes, on commence à installer au dessus des boulevards, dans les arbres, de beaux éclairages. Mille petites lumières tout comme un ciel étoilé, annoncent le grand événement. Puis ce sont les vitrines des magasins qui s’habillent comme pour un jour de fête, qui s’ornent avec des rubans rouges et blancs, de petits sapins scintillants, des cadeaux qui attirent les regards.

Le soir , les rues s’animent de ceux qui ont la patience et le plaisir d’entrer de boutique en boutique pour trouver le cadeau idéal pour ceux qu’ils aiment La veille du Noel, on reste d’habitude à la maison pour faire des préparatifs, pour cuisiner – les meilleurs repas de l’an, pour orner le sapin. Vers le soir , les jeunes vont en groupes chez des amis, chez des parents, chanter des noels. Ils sont reçus chaleureusement en chaque foyer, avec un verre de vin, avec des gâteaux, avec de la joie. Ils chantent, même en sortant de la maison, et ils se dirigent vers une autre maison. S’il y a de la neige, alors cette promenade qui dure presque toute la nuit est super !

Le jour de Noel les gens vont d’habitude à l’église pour écouter la messe religieuse puis prennent un déjeuner de fête en famille. Pendant l’après-midi, habillés de neuf, ils vont visiter des tantes et des oncles, des cousins et des cousines, des amis.Ce sont des moments uniques, de

bonheur indicible, où l’on a l’occasion de se sentir plus près de ceux qu’on aime, de se rejouir ensemble de partager avec eux la joie de vivre.

Et puis peu à peu la magie fond comme la neige entre les paumes chaudes d’un enfant, et il n’en reste que le souvenir et l’espoir que le Noel qui viendra sera encore plus beau et plus généreux.

Pour le Nouvel An et pour la nuit de Réveillon, en ville, on organise des fêtes ,

des banquets, des festins qui sont couronnés, à minuit, de beaux feux d’artifices.A ce moment tout le monde s’embrasse, trinque des verres remplis de champagne et chante LA MULTI ANI ! (Joyeux anniversaire !)

Diana Pantea, Lycee Moise Nicoara, Roumanie

My Christmas feeling

Dongen - When the summer is gone, autumn is coming.

And when it is December the days are short, and it’s nice to sit around the fireplace while the candles are burning.

There are many lights outside.

It’s cold and sometimes snow is falling.

Then you know it’s Christmas time!

Every year we go to the church with our family, my father, mother, brother and I.

We go to the late evening mass

This is a traditional Catholic happening with a choir and musicians.

They pray and sing and for example: Jingle bells, Silent night- holy night, A child is born, and other songs. And we like to sing with them. My grandmother is singing in the choir.

After the mass, we go to her home.

There is my grandfather waiting for us, and he has prepared a late evening meal for us.

All kinds of things are on the table.

For example: sausage-rolls, stew, biscuit with sugared caraway-seeds, (because of the new born child)

So we eat and join together to celebrate Christmas!

That is my Christmas feeling!

Marlieke van Gool Cambreur College the Netherlands

UN MENU DE NOËL FRANÇAIS

As we all know christmas has a lot to do with eating. This is a Frech Christmas menu.

Apéritif :

Accordé de petits toasts sympathiques.

(Toasts au pâté, terrine, mousse de canard, mousse de crabe ou poisson, œufs de lump…)

Entrées froides :

- huîtres ou crustacés ;

- foie gras accompagné de toasts grillés ;

-Saumon fumé.

Entrées chaudes :

- bouchées à la reine ; -escargots

.

Le tout accompagné d’un bon vin blanc pour les adultes.

Trou normand :

Glace au citron recouvert d’un alcool fort. Cette préparation a des vertus digestives.

Plat de résistance :

- gibier ou pintade

- purée de carotte, de pomme de terre, de marron

- pomme aux airelles chaudes, sortant du four.

Plateau de fromages variés accompagné d’une salade verte.

Dessert :

Bûche de noël pâtissière ou glacée.

Champagne, café.

Aurélie Blanchemanche et Stéphanie Pawleniak, lycée Jeanne d’Arc de Vouziers ( France).

Christmas with sister Elisabeth

Dongen - A few days before Christmas we decorate the Christmas tree.

Unfortunately we haven't got a real one. The reason is that there will be so many pine-needles on the floor in our house after a while.

The same day we put up the crib, my brother and I do that together.

My grandparents, aunts and uncle come to us at Christmas Day. It’s always very pleasant with them. In the evening they stay and we have a delicious diner together.

At Boxing Day there is always something to do. My parents think of something special and try to make a good time for everyone. During Christmas we always go to the chapel of sister Elisabeth in Tilburg.

We' re going there to watch the big crib (which is build by my father), and we play Christmas songs on our instruments.

Maarten (my brother) plays saxophone and I play recorder.

It sounds great in that chapel and sister Elisabeth loves to hear us play.

But this year will be the last time, because the academy of music has taken the chapel from her. It is terrible, especially for the sisters Visitandinen of course.

After Christmas we help to pull down the crib. It' s very pleasant in the chapel and we love to help with the job.

When we’re finished, we have got a great feeling.

And that' s how we celebrate Christmas.

Marjolein Smolders Cambreur College

The Netherlands

Quelques mots sur Saint Nicolas

In our last edition there was an article about saint Nicolas in the Netherlands. We thought this was a Dutch feast but saint Nicolas is also known in Romania where he arrives 6 December. Children don’t only have to be nice to get presents in Romania, they also have to get good marks at school and visit the church every week.

Arad - Saint Nicolas a toujours été un des Saints les plus populaires dans la vie d’un chrétien. Il est un protecteurs des hommes.

Chaque année il arrive chez nous le 6 décembre. Les petits enfants et meme les parents l’attendent chaque année à minuit. Oui , imaginez-vous, il arrive le soir. C’est bizarre, je le sais....mais comme ça, il peut nous donner un sentiment de joie, de peur , de surprise. Bienentendu que les enfants adorent cette fête et c’est normal, d’après moi ! Je me demande pourtant pourquoi les

parents aiment, eux aussi , cette fête ? C’est peut-être parce qu’ils revivent chaque annee le souvenir de leur enfance ! Et aussi dans l’âme de chaque parent vit l’enfant qu’il a été jadis. C’est vrai, n’est-ce pas ? S’il existe une fête qui attire la sympathie, alors c’est bien la Saint Nicolas, la fête des enfants. Car en fait, Saint Nicolas , le saint, n’est qu’un personnage chrétien, qui a permis de rendre acceptable par l’Eglise la survivance des coutumes populaires.

Pour recevoir un cadeau de saint Nicolas, on doit être sages, on doit aussi aller à l’église et aussi avoir de bonnes notes à l’école.

Roxana Radac, Roumanie

Christmas the funniest party of the year

Dongen - When you come to Holland when it’s Christmas, you see in every city or village little lights in trees and houses. People in Holland love lights because it’s

cosy. People in Holland have Christmas trees in their houses, with lights and Christmas decorations. Religious people go to the church when it’s Christmas, they pray for Jesus Christ. I don’t go to the church. When it’s Christmas, I go with my family to a restaurant and have a delicious meal. After that, we give presents to each other. It’s very enjoyable! We have many Christmas CD’s with songs like Jingle bells and Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. Christmas days in Holland can be very romantic, because sometimes it snows! In Holland, Christmas is a religious feast. But more and more people forget that. They celebrate Christmas the American way: with trees, Santa Claus presents. At school, we have a Christmas evening, we eat together and we sing Christmas songs.. The school is very beautifully decorated in the real Christmas style! People who don’t like Christmas go on Winter sport. They go skiing. In Holland, people wish each other a nice Christmas with carts, that’s fun!

Many little children believe in Santa clause, you can compare him with the Dutch Sinterklaas, he gives presents to the children when they’ve been sweet the whole year. Christmas is the funniest party of the year!!

Merry Christmas! And a happy New Year!

Britt Cozijnsen Cambreur College The Netherlands

A Christmas Poem

Dongen - I celebrate Christmas with my family and friends, with good food and a

poem. Especially, for The Comenian I wrote this poem about Christmas time.

Christmas is a time for love and fun,
a time to reshape souls and roots and skies.
A time to give your heart to everyone

freely, like a rich and lavish sun.
Like a burning star to those whose lonely sighs show need of such a time for love and fun.

For children first, whose pain is never done,
whose bright white fire of anguish never dies.
It's time to give your heart to everyone.

That not one angel falls, to hatred won
for lack of ears to listen to her cries.
Or arms to carry him towards love and fun,

Or friends to care what happens on the run.
To adult life, where joy or sadness lies
it's time to give your heart to everyone.

For God loves all, and turns His back on none,
Good or twisted, ignorant or wise.
Christmas is a time for love and fun,
A time to give your heart to everyone.

Lizzy Boudewijns, Cambreur College The Netherlands

Suggetion box

A lot of Christmas in this Comenian but I hope you liked reading all these stories. If you hate Christmas; stay in your bed sleep a lot, read a good book, think about this paper, how we can make it even better and remember…. it will all be over again in two weeks. Hope to hear from you next year!