Nightwishers

TO ALL NIGHTWISH FANS: TAKE A LOOK AT THIS BLOG! YOU CAN FIND NEWS AND PHOTOS! ENJOY IT!

http://nightwishers.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/un-set-di-foto-del-concerto-milanese/

Pics From Sardinia

View from the road

Winter sea

"La Pelosa"

On the road to Castelsardo

Stintino Beach

"Coscia Di Donna"

A street of calstelsardo

"Coscia Di Donna"

View from Castelsardo

"La Pelosa"

Porto Torres

A nice street of Castelsardo

Ferries And A New Beginning

Well, first of all: Merry Christmas!!!

Today I'm going to Sardinia with my friends. We'll spend there 4 days and we'll celebrate the new year!

Departure: tonight at 8.30 p.m. from Genova
Arrival: tomorrow morning at 9.00 a.m. at Porto Torres

11 hours on a ferry: help me!
We are going to ''sleep'' in a sleeping bag, on the floor...I know, it's a new experience, but I think that my back will not be very happy tomorrow.


So...2011...a year full of experiences, I hope that the new year will be even more great and fantastic :)


Happy new year, see ya in 2012!!!

Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies

Ingredients

63g butter, room temperature
85g light brown sugar
150g sugar syrup
420g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2.5 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
70ml water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree C.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt & spices together.
3. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, add molasses and cream till well mixed.
4. Add in the flour and water alternately and mix till combined.
5. Rest mixture for 10-15 minutes.
6. Roll dough on a very lightly floured surface or waxed paper and cut into your desired design.
7. Bake for between 10 - 12 minutes depending on the thickness of your cookies. Cookie is done when it springs back lightly when pressed.
8. Leave to cool completely before decorating with icing. 

  I really want to try to cook those cookies for Christmas :)

 

 

 

 

 

Sweet Christmas

Today I found those sweet Christmas pics :)

 

Saint Lucia

Today is my name day: Saint Lucia, I want to share the story of the Saint with you. Here there also an explanation of the celebrations they do in Sweden :) 

Saint Lucia's Day is the Church feast day dedicated to St. Lucy and is observed on the 13th of December. Its modern day celebration is generally associated with Sweden and Norway but is also observed in Denmark, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Hungery, Malta, Bosnia, Bavaria, Croatia, Slovakia and St. Lucia, West Indies. In the United States it is celebrated with cookies on the mantel in states for a large number of people of Scandinavian ancestry, often centered around church events.

In traditional celebrations, Saint Lucy comes as a young woman with lights and sweets. It is one of the few saint days observed in Scandinavia. In some forms, a procession is headed by one girl wearing a crown of candles (or lights), while others in the procession hold only a single candle each.

Some trace the "re-birth" of the Lucia celebrations in Sweden to the tradition in German Protestant families of having girls dressed as angelic Christ children, handing out Christmas presents. The Swedish variant of this white-dressed Kindchen Jesus, or Christkind, was called Kinken Jes, and started to appear in upper-class families in the 18th century on Christmas Eve with a candle-wreath in her hair, handing out candy and cakes to the children. Another theory claims that the Lucia celebration evolved from old Swedish traditions of “star boys” and white-dressed angels singing Christmas carols at different events during Advent and Christmas. In either case, the current tradition of having a white-dressed woman with candles in her hair appearing on the morning of the Lucia day started in the area around Lake Vänern in the late 18th century and spread slowly to other parts of the country during the 19th century.

In the Lucia procession in the home depicted by Carl Larsson in 1908, the oldest daughter brings coffee and St. Lucia burns to her parents while wearing a candle-wreath and singing a Lucia song. Other daughters may help, dressed in the same kind of white robe and carrying a candle in one hand, but only the oldest daughter wears the candle-wreath.

The modern tradition of having public processions in the Swedish cities started in 1927 when a newspaper in Stokholm elected an official Lucia for Stockholm that year. The initiative was then followed around the country through the local press. Today most cities in Sweden appoint a Lucia every year. Schools elect a Lucia and her maids among the students and a national Lucia is elected on national television from regional winners. The regional Lucias will visit shopping malls, old people's homes and churches, singing and handing out pepparkakor (gingerbreads). 

Nowadays boys take part in the procession as well, playing different roles associated with Christmas. Some may be dressed in the same kind of white robe, but with a cone-shaped hat decorated with golden stars, called stjärngossar (star boys); some may be dressed up as "tomtenissar", carrying lanterns; and some may be dressed up as gingerbread men. They participate in the singing and also have a song or two of their own, usually Staffan Stalledräng, which tells the story about Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr, caring for his five horses.

A traditional kind of bun, Lussekatt ("St. Lucia Bun"), made with saffron, is normally eaten on this day.

Although St. Lucia's Day is not an official holiday in Sweden, it is a popular occasion in Sweden. The evening and night before (so called "Lusse-vigil") The Lucia Day is a notoriously noisy time. High school students often celebrate by partying all through the night. At many universities, students hold big formal dinner parties since this is the last chance to celebrate together before most students go home to their families for Christmas.

The Swedish lyrics to the Neapolitan song Santa Lucia have traditionally been either Natten går tunga fjät (The Night walks with heavy steps) or Santa Lucia, ljusklara hägring (Saint Lucy, bright mirage). There is also a modern version with easier text for children: Ute är mörkt och kallt (Outside it's dark and cold).

Target: Christmas Presents

Christmas is coming, I see little pieces of it when I'm walking or when I'm driving.
I can see Christmas decorations everywhere! Trees full of colorful and bright lights, comets hanging from balconies, Santa Claus...
Today I went to go shopping with my sister. 
We had a mission: find the perfect Christmas present for our parents.
As soon as we entered the mall we looked at the shop windows, took a look to the clothes, shoes and...
...and we haven't bought anything...well, not for the others.

I know we are terrible, we went shopping to buy a Christmas present for our lovely parents and we bought clothes, shoes and hats for ourselves...
Really bad daughters... 
But I don't give up, I'll go again there and this time I'll not buy things for myself. This is the target.
Wish me good luck ;D


Ps. I have a photographic project for Christmas, I hope to complete it!!!