Life and style – parsian news

Christmas is a time for traditions. If yours is a nativity pizza, who am I to judge? | Jay Rayner

We may want tradition to be mystical and ancient but in truth it’s exactly what we say it is – be that Baileys, beef rendang or turkey and all the trimmingsIn early November, the nice woman at the checkout of my local Sainsbury’s pointed out a nearby s…

We may want tradition to be mystical and ancient but in truth it’s exactly what we say it is – be that Baileys, beef rendang or turkey and all the trimmings

In early November, the nice woman at the checkout of my local Sainsbury’s pointed out a nearby stack of Baileys. “Just £10 a bottle,” she said, with a cheery wink. “Proper bargain.” I smiled thinly. She clearly had no idea what sort of a person I am. Baileys? In November? Don’t be so disgusting. Baileys is for Christmas. The annual bottle comes into my house on 20 December and not a day earlier. Because Christmas is a time for traditions, and the pre-Christmas bottle of Baileys is one of mine. I am stone-cold certain it is exactly what the Baby Jesus would have wanted. Why? Because I say so.

The word “tradition” is solid and reassuring; the things that word refers to are often rather less so. To mix our cultural references, the point is best made by Tevye in the opening song to Fiddler on the Roof. “You may ask, how did this tradition start?” he says, having introduced the audience to his fellow villagers. “I’ll tell you – I don’t know. But it’s a tradition.” Indeed it is.

How we met: ‘When she walked past me it was like being covered in a soft blanket’

Shoba, 70, and Hania, 68, met in 1989 at a silent meditation retreat in Massachusetts. Their first date lasted three days and, now retired, they live together in PortugalAfter living in India with a Hare Krishna community, Hania didn’t know what to exp…

Shoba, 70, and Hania, 68, met in 1989 at a silent meditation retreat in Massachusetts. Their first date lasted three days and, now retired, they live together in Portugal

After living in India with a Hare Krishna community, Hania didn’t know what to expect from a conventional lifestyle when she moved to western Massachusetts in the late 80s. “I’ve always been interested in spirituality, but after a long time travelling and living away, I wanted to explore life at home while working as a political fundraiser,” she says. In the autumn of 1989, she decided to take a break and go on a 10-day silent meditation retreat near her home.

It was there that she first set eyes on Shoba. “I was living in Boston and working for an engineering firm,” says Shoba. “I was just learning to meditate, but I’d never done 10 days in silence before. I saw Hania on the first day and remember thinking, ‘She’s done this a lot.’” As the days passed, they noticed that they got up at the same time for meditation practice and their schedules were in sync.

Pop stars, actors and politicians we lost in 2023 – take the Thursday quiz

Fifteen questions on notable pop culture and political figures we lost this year. How will you fare?Something slightly different from the Thursday quiz this week, as we present the first annual in memoriam edition. To begin December, here are 15 questi…

Fifteen questions on notable pop culture and political figures we lost this year. How will you fare?

Something slightly different from the Thursday quiz this week, as we present the first annual in memoriam edition. To begin December, here are 15 questions about notable pop culture and political figures we lost this year. As ever, there are no prizes, but let us know how you get on in the comments.

The Thursday quiz, No 137

How Nicholas Winton saved 669 children (and counting) from the Holocaust: ‘He became everybody’s grandfather’

Four generations owe their lives to the man who brought trainloads of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia to Britain in 1939. The original refugees remember the Kindertransport – and the shy stockbroker who got them on itNicholas Winton didn’t like to …

Nicholas Winton didn’t like to make a fuss. The British humanitarian was a modest and unassuming man, who was loth to grandstand about his achievements. The fact that he helped to save 669 children from the Holocaust was a secret he kept for many years. “If there was something that needed doing and nobody was doing it, Nicholas would step in,” says John Fieldsend. “That was the motto for his life.”

Fieldsend, 92, a retired Anglican vicar who lives in London, was one of the children Winton rescued just before the second world war broke out. Winton, a stockbroker, went to Prague in 1938 to help refugees from the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), an area that had just been annexed by Germany. After seeing the awful conditions in the camps where they lived, he felt compelled to try to save the children from the threat of the Nazis. His remarkable story has now been made into a film, One Life, with Johnny Flynn and Anthony Hopkins playing the younger and older versions of Winton.

How Nicholas Winton saved 669 children (and counting) from the Holocaust: ‘He became everybody’s grandfather’

The experts: money gurus’ 20 failsafe, frugal tips to keep Christmas overspend at bay

It’s tempting to spend more than you can afford in December. But there are ways to avoid the festive hype and still enjoy yourself – from DIY cards to gifts of timeIt may be too late to save for the festive season, but it is still possible to ignore th…

It’s tempting to spend more than you can afford in December. But there are ways to avoid the festive hype and still enjoy yourself – from DIY cards to gifts of time

It may be too late to save for the festive season, but it is still possible to ignore the marketing hype and reduce spending, which will be better for the planet and your pocket. Frugal experts share their advice on how to save money this Christmas. –

The experts: money gurus’ 20 failsafe, frugal tips to keep Christmas overspend at bay

It’s tempting to spend more than you can afford in December. But there are ways to avoid the festive hype and still enjoy yourself – from DIY cards to gifts of time

Trafalgar Square Christmas tree must cut its carbon footprint, says Oslo mayor

Anne Lindboe to look at transport plans for Norway’s annual gift to UK, but insists tradition will not stopIt is a long-cherished Christmas tradition: a tree sent to London every December from Norway to thank Britain for its support during the second w…

Anne Lindboe to look at transport plans for Norway’s annual gift to UK, but insists tradition will not stop

It is a long-cherished Christmas tradition: a tree sent to London every December from Norway to thank Britain for its support during the second world war.

But felling a decades-old 20-metre (66ft) spruce in the woodlands near Oslo and transporting it by road and sea to Britain to light up Trafalgar Square, only for it to be turned into woodchip a month later, could hardly be described as environmentally friendly.

Tell us: have you ever won a small victory?

We would like to hear about the time you successfully took a stand – even if it was a very minor oneHave you ever had a tiny win? Has an errant apostrophe on a public sign changed as a result of your efforts? Have you successfully changed a small but s…

We would like to hear about the time you successfully took a stand – even if it was a very minor one

Have you ever had a tiny win? Has an errant apostrophe on a public sign changed as a result of your efforts? Have you successfully changed a small but significant piece of company policy, or school rule? Or has your perseverance in a customer complaint finally reaped rewards?

It could be something seemingly minor but the principle meant a lot to you and the win felt glorious. If so, we want to hear all about it.

How can you tell an atheist? Watch at penalty shootout | Adrian Chiles

There are times when everyone resorts to prayer. Just ask Oti Mabuse or Martin and Shirlie KempEach to their own, and all that, but I do occasionally enjoy challenging those who profess to have not one iota of religious belief. Nothing too heavy, you u…

There are times when everyone resorts to prayer. Just ask Oti Mabuse or Martin and Shirlie Kemp

Each to their own, and all that, but I do occasionally enjoy challenging those who profess to have not one iota of religious belief. Nothing too heavy, you understand, as serious theology is quite beyond me. And I’m certainly not evangelising; often as not I’m just trying to keep a conversation ticking over. I restrict myself to a single aphorism, which goes like this: there are no atheists in a penalty shootout. I contend that most fans of the teams involved engage in something approximating prayer. The only exception, generally, will be the fans behind the goal who support the team whose goalkeeper is attempting to save the penalty about to be taken. As the player prepares to strike the ball, these fans may well pause their prayers to make hostile noises and obscene hand gestures in an attempt to put the penalty taker off. But by the time a player on their team is preparing to take the next penalty, they will silently resume praying.

This aphorism began life in the context not of sport, but war – although nobody seems sure which one. I thought the contention that there were no atheists in foxholes was first expressed at the time of Vietnam, but it turns out there are examples of its use in the second world war and, albeit referencing the trenches rather than a foxhole, in the first world war. The same idea was alive and kicking in the previous century too, when sinking ships were cited as a good place for faith-testing. Before that, I suppose the idea that there wasn’t some deity in charge of things was thought too absurd to merit challenge.