My predictions about a quiet start to the year proved to be wrong. It seems that plenty of people in Nynäshamn found money to spend on fireworks and midnight was greeted by an avalanche of noise and colour in the skies. I have heard people say that buying the fireworks really helped the people in the lands where the tsunami hit as they manufacture them. Wrong! The ones imported here actually come from China (there was a long interview in our local newspaper with the Swedish importers), so that reason doesn't hold water.

People in Australia may not know that in Sweden, there are not the big organised fireworks on New Year's Eve. Sales of fireworks have been stricly controlled in Australia since the 1960's and most of us barely remember a time when we could go out and buy crackers. For most of us, fireworks are huge community gatherings, organised by the government or a radio station to celebrate an event. While the biggest ones are reserved for Australia Day (Skyshow 21), there are still big displays around the country on New Year's Eve. You can see some of them in this photo gallery from SMH.

When I lived in Adelaide, most New Year's Eves were spent with good friends and our families in a beachfront apartment at Glenelg beach. We'd wander down to the carnivals and enjoy the summer evening, then sit on the beach with the kids sipping champagne and watch the fireworks. It was great, because not only did we get to see the Glenelg ones, but because of the curve of the shoreline, we often also saw Henley Beach and Semaphore's displays in the distance as well. Then we'd go back to the apartment and cook up an enormous batch of Fried Koay Teow for our midnight feast.

But here, everyone buys their own fireworks, including huge rockets and the sort of thing that would never be openly sold back home. And yes, there are injuries and deaths every year from accidents with fireworks. Sadly, a 17 year old boy lost his life in Stockholm from a rocket injury on Friday night.

I guess the fireworks went on for about 40 minutes. We stood on the balcony and watched for a while, but it was freezing cold so we bought our glass of champagne inside. On Saturday, when we went out for a walk, we saw the aftermath of the night before. Smashed bottles littered the main street and the supermarket carpark was full of litter from the fireworks:



This is only a small portion of what was strewn everywhere. I really wonder about people sometimes, especially when the recycle bins for these containers are about 20 steps away! While we were photographing in the car park, a man who lived opposite approached us and told us how unhappy he was about the rubbish. He went on for quite a while about it, then suddenly asked "Are you from Nynäshamns Posten?" (the local paper). I then realised he was hoping to get himself in the paper and mistook us for reporters :)

The festivities must have been confined to centrum as it was clear around the parks and harbour areas. Everything was quiet around town and flags were all at half mast as January 1st was declared a national day of mourning.

People are slowly beginning to realise the impact the tsunami has had on Sweden. This is a small country of 9,000,000 people, so the loss of over 3,000 people is felt very keenly. Not that they are ignoring the plight of those living in the region at all - the Swedish people have been very generous to agencies collecting for work in the stricken areas. But the loss of so many citizens has left the country reeling. It's difficult to explain that to people not living here and who don't understand how shocked and stunned the country is. One thing that has been shown is the power of the internet to help in such a catastrophe. I've been amazed at how fast information is able to be transmitted and people are able to search for family and make donations. Many pages are also supporting buttons to donate, including Australians Abroad. So perhaps this event may bring people together.

It is hardly winter weather here with the snow gone and temperatures of 3C and above. It seems more like spring and the trees are beginning to sprout new leaves again - already! It is frosty in the mornings, though and you can think it's snow for a short while.



It's a strange week here because Christmas doesn't officially end until the 6th (which is a day off anyway) and so you have some people back at work, many more not at work having cleverly saved up time to stay home a few more days, some departments open, some closed. It's a real in-between time and hard to focus.

To anyone in Stockhom, today, the the Dancin' Dingo at Skånegatan 59 are raising funds for the victims of the tsunami. From 3pm-1am there will be a streetmarket, soupkitchen, clowns, magician, face-painting, plus the band E.M.M.A will sign and sell and their new cd. There is also a concert from 6.30pm, with tickets costing 50 kr. The concert features a lot of artists and both the staff and artisis working for free. Proceeds going to Diakonia. Come along and support them and help raise money for the appeal.