student blogger

With Christmas just a week away, our writers are giving their views on the festive season in a series of posts. Last week we had Colombian student Johanna describing her first Christmas in England and Erik explaining the tradition of St Nicolas' Day in his home country of Slovakia. Here Shaun Dent describes his relationship with Christmas:

"Christmas for me is a bit of a double edged sword. I love Christmas itself. Going right back to my childhood, it consists of getting new toys, spending time locked up in the warmth playing with new toys, and eating far too much. What more could you want with your time off?

I tend to work right up till Christmas so this is still very much a holiday for me, as I didn't like going to school a great deal either. Also no university essays are looming anymore, which is far more pleasant. The toys may change (tablet computers rather than Lego), whilst some stay the same (I have some gaming to catch up on...), but a lot about Christmas still feels as good as it always does.

With Christmas just round the corner, our writers are giving their views of the festive season in a new series of posts. Earlier in the week we had Colombian student Johanna describing her first Christmas in England. Here Erik describes the tradition of St Nicolas' Day in his home country of Slovakia:

"I knew that in the UK nothing special happens on the December 6th, but I hung my stocking in the window anyway. But Saint Nicolas did not show up. Maybe he didn't find the way as he doesn't visit children in the UK. Or, his sledge might have been shot down by the missiles installed before the Olympics. In the following article, I would like to describe to you the small pre-Christmas festival- Saint Nicolas' Day.

The Tradition of St Nicolas

Originally, Saint Nicolas is a Christian tradition, just like Christmas really. Nicolas was a bishop who lived in Turkey in the 3rd century. There was a poor family with three daughters living in the same city. I would say that no one would marry them due to their looks, but according to the story the family did not even have enough money to support a marriage.

With Christmas now less than two weeks away, our writers are revealing their opinions and experiences of the festive period in a new series of posts. Over the next week, we will be publishing posts from a number of writers from different backgrounds and cultures. First up is Colombian student Johanna. 

"Last year was my first Christmas in England. I was struggling to keep my mind working properly all through the premature nights of winter, when I started to feel a homesickness that only a Christmas tree can cause. Encouraged by the Christmas spirit, my English flat mate invited me to spend the days with her family.

I arrived on Christmas Eve and the welcome was warm and happy- I met her parents and her two younger brothers in the kitchen while they were cooking the dinner. During the dinner I talked about Colombian traditions and asked about English ones. The parents, one at each end of the large table, competed to try and monopolize the answers while their eldest daughter, my friend, tried to point out the mistakes of their opinions and remind them that there was a guest at the table.

There was a lot of talk this week about the New York Post and the papers' decision to publish a photo of Ki Suk Han moments before his death (above). Han was pushed onto the subway tracks in New York and was struck by an oncoming train. He died shortly after.

In my opinion there has been far too much attention and debate around the newspapers decision to publish the photo, rather than the tragedy itself. At the end of the day it is their job to publish news, however horrifying or ugly it might be. Did it need to be on the front cover? Of course not. Was it incredibly poor taste to run the picture with the headline "Doomed"? Definitely, but papers make money from printing the news so to argue that it's exploitative seems ridiculous to me.

The man who pushed Han, Naeem Davis, has been arrested and charged with murder, though it will of course be of little comfort to his family. The fact that he was able to slip out of the subway without anyone stopping him is shocking, but highlights the unfortunate truth that many people turn to sheep in crowded public situations. People have asked why no one did more to save him, but in all honestly how could you know what you would do in that situation? I don't blame them for not rushing to help Han, and I'm sure more than one of them regrets their decision

ForeignStudents writer Erik gives his opinion on two of last week's hot topics- Kate Middleton's pregnancy and the a controversial front cover of the New York Post. 

Kate Middleton and the Royal Family

Although the British sovereign does not use their power like previously in history, the monarchy still deserves respect. In the past many competent kings and queens helped Britain to become the strongest country in the world, which it really was until the second half of the 20th century.

Today, the goodwill towards the Royal Family lives off the achievements of their predecessors and their power now is merely ceremonial. However, they must still be careful in their private lives, because every single step is followed by the public.

Still, the royal family is a popular subject for the media, which is constantly lurking for gossip and scandals. I think that Kate's pregnancy will top the headlines for several weeks, or even months. On the one hand it reflects that people are interested in the condition of the Duchess, but on the other hand, she and her husband are only human and deserve privacy. Not to mention that the couple significantly contribute to the integrity of the monarchy and do not deserve too much rumour. Let the Prince continue in his career as a helicopter pilot and do not disturb the mother-to-be.