1 What a difference a small change can make. Once he had traded his original mitre, bishop's robes and grey steed for reindeer, a sleigh, a red suit and a snappier name, Father Christmas became the world's greatest festive export, just about pipping to the post Mariah Carey's All I want for Christmas is you. However, across much of northern Europe, including the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary, good old St Nicholas still fills stockings with nuts and tangerines on his name day, December 6, rather than at Christmas. And, at least in parts of Switzerland, if you have been lazy or naughty, 'he takes you away in a big black bag,' says Lisi Ashbridge, who lives in Marlborough, Wiltshire, but is originally Swiss. Terrifying, really.'
2 As an alternative to a large whitebearded man that comes at Christmas, how about a lot of little white-bearded men that come at Christmas? In Sweden, tomte, as adorable as they are mischievous, appear everywhere, from curtains and tables to counters, walls and windowsills, and family members often wear tomte costumes. Dressed up or not, Swedes also eat copious amounts of ham during the festive season-served alone, with cheese, with meatballs and, in the ultimate porkfest, with sausages.
Denne historien er fra December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra December 13 - 20, 2023 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Happiness in small things
Putting life into perspective and forces of nature in farming
Colour vision
In an eye-baffling arrangement of geometric shapes, a sinister-looking clown and a little girl, Test Card F is one of television’s most enduring images, says Rob Crossan
'Without fever there is no creation'
Three of the top 10 operas performed worldwide are by the emotionally volatile Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, who died a century ago. Henrietta Bredin explains how his colourful life influenced his melodramatic plot lines
The colour revolution
Toxic, dull or fast-fading pigments had long made it tricky for artists to paint verdant scenes, but the 19th century ushered in a viridescent explosion of waterlili
Bullace for you
The distinction between plums, damsons and bullaces is sweetly subtle, boiling down to flavour and aesthetics, but don’t eat the stones, warns John Wright
Lights, camera, action!
Three remarkable country houses, two of which have links to the film industry, the other the setting for a top-class croquet tournament, are anything but ordinary
I was on fire for you, where did you go?
In Iceland, a land with no monks or monkeys, our correspondent attempts to master the art of fishing light’ for Salmo salar, by stroking the creases and dimples of the Midfjardara river like the features of a loved one
Bravery bevond belief
A teenager on his gap year who saved a boy and his father from being savaged by a crocodile is one of a host of heroic acts celebrated in a book to mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Humane Society, says its author Rupert Uloth
Let's get to the bottom of this
Discovering a well on your property can be viewed as a blessing or a curse, but all's well that ends well, says Deborah Nicholls-Lee, as she examines the benefits of a personal water supply
Sing on, sweet bird
An essential component of our emotional relationship with the landscape, the mellifluous song of a thrush shapes the very foundation of human happiness, notes Mark Cocker, as he takes a closer look at this diverse family of birds
