Out With The Old!

Out with the Old

Suddenly, it’s over! All the planning, all the traditional music, chatting with people we haven’t visited with for some time, and now.. Everyone has said their goodbyes and departed for their homes, and all is quiet.

It’s over. Time to write the ‘thank you’ notes and reflect on what had happened in such a short and happy time. Now, to locate that receipt in order to return the sweater that doesn’t  fit and get to the store tomorrow.

The first weekday after Christmas is always a busy day and storeclerks are prepared for the ‘return rush’ that has become even more important to business than ‘Black Friday”. Here, in the USA, this day has become America’s Boxing Day”. Find the box and the receipt and return it!

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In Europe, Boxing Day is “Andre juledag”, the second day of Christmas and  a public holiday to relax with family. This is also a  traditionally celebrated  day  when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts known as a "Christmas box" from their masters, employers or customers. Despite its name, Boxing Day  is not  a

 day for people to return unwanted Christmas presents. It’s a quiet day after Christmas when Norwegians are spending time probably sledding and enjoying the skii slopes with their family. Jul ( Christmas) is celebrated throughout December  traditionally until St. Knut’s Day on January 13th, a great time to say ‘hello’ to the neighbors and meet the ‘new people’.

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Answering a knock on the Norwegian door might be interesting to newcomers as they view a group dressed in weird ragged clothing with masks on their faces with perhaps a goathead on a pole singing Christmas carols. In America, a group like this would shout “Trick or Treat!”. But this time, Norse residents would be delighted to welcome them as they attempt to learn the visitor’s identities

. All would enjoy treats of nuts, oranges and baked goodies, while small gifts would be given to  children who otherwise might not be receiving anythng that jul season. These visitors are known to be”jule bokke” or Christmas fools. Then, on to the next house as they “Gå julebukk”

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The goat theme is  the oldest Christmas tradition in Scandinavia, and possibly connected to heathen worship of the Norse god Thor, who rode the sky in a chariot drawn by two goats.Usually made of  the last sheaf  of  grain bundled in the harvest , the  goat is credited with magical properties as the spirit of the harvest and saved for the Yule

celebrations, called among other things "Julbocken" (the Yule goat). In Sweden, people regarded the Yule goat as an invisible spirit that would appear some time before Christmas to make sure that the Yule preparations were done in good fashion.

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Europeans have more than one day of Christmas celebration. Their “Twelve Days of Christmas” stretch from December 25 until January 6, which is Epiphany, the day the Three Kings delivered their gifts. Here in America, we become a bit fatigued with the length of this familiar Christmas Carol of a lover’s series of  daily gifts during this time. But, perhaps we do not understand this long tune.

Perhaps, it is not a lover’s gifts to his sweetheart, but actually a religious song!

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  One theory is that Roman Catholics in England in the years 1558 until 1829 were not permitted to practice their religion openly. Someone wrote a carol as a ‘teaching aid’ song for Catholic children with each day known only to members of the church. Each day contained a code word for a religious reality that the children could remember.

  The “True Love” was the newborn baby Jesus, while “The Partridge” represented Him because that bird would often roost in pear trees and  would  lure predators away from the bird-nest, protecting the young. The  "two turtle doves” represented the Old and  New Testament, “Three French Hens” became known as faith, hope and charity..and the song goes on. For the complete “symbol” story, one link might be      http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resources/advent/customs-and-traditions...

Whether or not it’s true, or only an interesting story, the Christmas season is celebrated by this and other popular traditional songs .

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But to end the season is to end the year.

In Sweden, bells chime to welcome in the new year while verses of  “Ring Out, Wide Bells” are recited. This poem was written by the English poet Tennyson in 1895 and first recited on New Year’s Eve. Many people gather at the Skansen open-air museum in Stockholm (capital of Sweden) to observe the town reading of this narrative as the bells toll. The first two verses of which are:

   " Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,

          The flying cloud, the frosty light

          The year is dying in the night;

    Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

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         Ring out the old, ring in the new,

         Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

         The year is going, let him go;

         Ring out the false, ring in the true."

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      While no song is credited to Norwegian celebrations, Norway  celebrates in family gatherings with

traditional foods .Others, celebrating in public, arrange their evening to see the end of the year fireworks. Oslo, Norway has traditionally lit up the sky on this evening to welcome in the New Year.

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A famous Norwegian  soprano, Sissel Kyrkjebø  has sung many concerts in the US and is  known to often take part in American New Year’s Eve celebrations, singing the year’s end song “Auld Lang Syne”. This Scottish song traditionally ends each year in several countries as well as the USA.                           - - - - - - - -
  Auld Lang Syne is a reminder to remember and cherish old friendships, and good deeds while toasting health and good will for the year ahead. Every year, on December 31, people gather to sing  Auld Lang Syne. The fact that few actually know all of the words, let alone their meaning, has rarely stopped anyone from joining in song  traditionally  bidding farewell to the old year at the stroke of midnight.   

      “Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

        And never brought to mind? 

      Should  auld acquaintance be forgot,

      And auld lang syne?

  (“auld lang syne” might be loosely translated as "for the sake of old times"). 

             We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet 

      For auld lang syne .”

                                                   godt nytt år
                                                          Happy New Year         

Christmas Is Coming

 

Best wishes to all

for a happy, healthy, safe and fulfilling New Year!

What's the meu going to be?

 It's December. Time to think about the next holiday dinner..Who's coming..Who can eat what..

It's Advent time already. One candle has been lit and and in three more, it will be Christmas.

We still have turkey leftovers in the 'frig, so turkey is out! Time for some planning!

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 A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York the day before Thanksgiving and says,"I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing". "What are you talking about?" the son screams. "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer," the father says. "We're sick of each other, and I'm tired of it. Call you sister and tell her". Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone. "Like heck they're getting divorced," she shouts. She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow."  The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife.                "Okay," he says,  "they're both coming for Thanksgiving   and paying  their own way."

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But seriously, every region and nationality has it's favorite food and beverage, so what to serve?

Here, in the USA, Thanksgiving Dinner was usually turkey or some other poultry product, while Christmas diners will likely be feasting on Christmas ham, mashed potatoes, and meatballs with veggies on the side. Some will reach for the bread and butter while the Scandinavian Americans might have lutefisk and lefse. Meatballs will be added for those adverse to lutefisk. Tom and Jerrys or egg nog will be the beverages as they wait for the table to be set.

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While hamburgers seem to be the American national food, our European friends have some  other tastes.

Swedish tables will have lingonberry jam that is used to accompany a variety of dishes  from meatballs to blodpudding. Reindeer meat is popular in the north while southern portions of Sweden may have other game dishes, however, the traditional Swedish meatballs ( with brown cream sauce) will probably have tart lingonberry jam alongside.  Knäckebröd (crispbread) will be on hand. This 'bread' has been enjoyed for over 500 years and can last for at least a year if stored properly.

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Norwegian cuisine is based largely on the raw materials readily available on mountains, in waters, and

wilderness as well as coastal areas. Lutefisk is the common thought-of national 'favorite', but it's losing to cod or whitefish. Lutefisk lovers will make sure that lots of melted butter, white sauce, and salt with lots of condiments make this dish palatable.  Fokost (breakfast) will be milk or fruit juice, lots of coffee, oatmeal and open sandwiches on the table. Dinner (middag) diners see fish, boiled potatoes and vegetables to eat, while krumkaker (a delicious pastry) and lefse will be enjoyed. Again, lots of coffee!

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"Lutefisk" may be the 'National Norse food' , but Norwegians are currently turning to their second National Food!...

Pizza!!

Norway's new favorite food- pizza!

Norwegians like their pizza unhealthy, the more unhealthy the better, it seems.The most popular brand is "Grandiosa".  which has a habit of putting capsicum (paprika) on their pizzas.Norwegians say that frozen pizza is now Norway’s national dish as pizza usually dominates store's frozen food section. Every new pizza brand that comes out offers the same flavors  – meat, ham, pineapple and margarita.  This suits Norwegians just fine as variety isn’t cared for. Capsicum is very popular in Norway and is sold like apples.  But everyone complained that they had to pick off the capsicum before they could eat their pizza. 

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But our Norwegian Christmas diners will expect pinnekjøttt, a salted dried and sometimes smoked lamb ribs  

färikål

or färikål, which is  lamb simmered with cabbage and peppercorn. Boiled potatoes, sausages, and piles of pastry will be enjoyed with rømmegrøt, a porridge made with sour cream, again served  with butter, sugar, and cinnamon. All washed down with gløgg, a syrupy wine with almonds and raisins for taste. How will they find room for juleøl, a special Christmas beer? Or akevitt?

akevitt

Whatever is chosen, akevitt ( in Latin - water of life) is the best known and  widely accepted as THE drink. Akevitt is a distilled yellow-colored liquor spiced with caraway seeds and not for the young!

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Lots of culinary choices!
But now, how many will be coming?

gud jul!

Saints and Martyrs

 Times are Changing.

        November  seems to be our transition month . It begins with All Saints Day,   Nov 1

             honoring  all  saints known and unknown, a national holiday in many countries.

The feast of All Saints began in the ninth century during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor, Leo VI "the Wise" (886–911). His wife was known to have lived a devout life. After her death, her husband built a church intending to dedicate it to her. When he was forbidden to do so, he decided to dedicate it to "all saints", so that if his wife were in fact one of the righteous, she would also be honored whenever the feast was celebrated. According to tradition, it was Leo who expanded the feast, to a general commemoration of All Saints, whether martyrs or not. This  may not be the true origin of All Saints' Day , but it has been accepted and observed on various days in different places. Many ‘saints’ suffered persecution and a violent death while others welcomed the release from mortal life. The definition of  ‘a martyr’ is considered to be one who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles. These are considered victims and are honored and revered by most.

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Currently, there are  worldwide problems of political and religious conflicts that has changed this

view. Groups of  Mideastern ‘fundamentalists’ have chosen a very narrow interpretation of their ‘religion’ and  violently opposing anyone choosing to disagree with their ‘new  law’.
   These radicalists are convinced that their motivations are grounded in faith and directly tied to religious scripture.They seek to live in accordance with laws and scripture dating back thousands of years and carry out their onslaught  without any shred of guilt or shame. Their ‘cause’ is rewarded by the belief that any male soldier dying in battle will be rewarded in their afterlife with the companionship of a bevy of 'willing maidens of their age'. In this way, the soldier desires to become a martyr and be honored by their fighting companions.

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In  The Viking age, Nordic countries were mostly pagan while North Europe had earlier become Christianized. As kings and kingdoms changed territorial rules, these new kings forced their beliefs upon the conquered  people. Those that resisted were eliminated; many becoming the new ‘martyrs’ and later saints.
Many ‘saints’ suffered persecution and a violent death while others welcomed the release from mortal life.

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In Norse mythology, Odin was the king of  Asgard, one of  Nine Worlds and home to a tribe of gods.  He was a god of war and death and the god of wisdom and poetry. Along with being a god, he was the ‘All-Father of all the Nordic Gods’.

He lived in Valhalla (pronounced “val-HALL-uh”; “the hall of the fallen”). This was believed to be a hallowed hall located “near gods and elves” where the god Odin housed the dead whom he deemed worthy of dwelling with him. Being  a place of perpetual fighting ,warfare was associated with religion, however pagan
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One of the most revered Norwegian kings become a saint and a martyr. Olaf Haraldsson, the son of King Harald Grenske of Norway spent most of his youth as a Norse raider until 1010 when he was baptized at Rouen, France. In 1015, after succeeding to the throne, he started a war to free Norway from the domination of the Danes and the Swedes. 

He also requested that missionaries be sent from England to advance the Christianization of Norway. While neither popular nor especially holy during his lifetime, Olaf was soon revered after death owing to reports of miracles occurring at his tomb. He was  respected as a champion of Norway’s independence, and his shrine became the foundation of the cathedral of Trondheim, a popular place of pilgrimage during the Middle Ages. He became the patron of Norway, and honored as well as in having his name as a major college in our country.

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There are numerous saints who have become known as martyrs and honored annually, however, there are some that are not so well-known, but honored for their deeds.Whims and wishes of early Kings was to be done without question. Daughters of kings became property of invading kings in order  to settle demands.

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Lucia of Syracuse (283–304)is known as a young Christian martyr who died under the Roman rule. Christians were persecuted for their faith,  forced to endure horrific torture and often met painful ends. According to later accounts, she refused the Roman governor's advances and to punish her, the governor ordered the guards to gouge out her eyes; Lucy, whose name can mean
"light" or "lucid," became the patron saint of the blind. Her feast once coincided with the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year and her feastday has become a festival of light. December 13th has become an important day of remembrance for St. Lucia., also known as Saint Lucy, or in Italian: Santa Lucia.

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Another young maiden became involved in the spoils of war.

 Philomena  was the daughter of a king in Greece who, with his wife, had converted to Christianity. At the age of about 13, she took a vow of consecrated virginity. When the Roman Emperor Diocletian threatened to make war on her father's kingdom, her father and his family traveled to Rome to ask for peace. The emperor fell in love with the young Philomena  and to avoid warfare, the father agreed to give his daughter to the emporer. Despite her father’s demands, she refused to be the emporer’s wife. When she continued to refuse his  demands to marry , the emperor subjected her to a series of torments: scourging, being shot with arrows, and  drowning in order to change her decision. Two Angels responded to her aid curing her each time. Finally, giving up his quest, the emperor had her decapitated.

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           An Viking attack in Ireland resulted in another incident of  a leader becoming enamored with beautiful maidens.

 Sunniva was to be the heir of an Irish kingdom, but had to flee when an invading heathen king wanted to marry her. To escape his advances, she with her brother Alban  and their followers sailed to the island of Selja in Norway during the rule of the pagan Jarl Hákon Sigurðarson ( 962–995). Their pagan Norwegian neighbors on the mainland later suspected the Christians of stealing sheep and complained to Jarl Hákon.

 Hákon arrived on Selja with a group of armed men, intending to kill the accused inhabitants. When the Christians realized what is happening, they hide in caves on the island and prayed to God to collapse the caves to spare them from being ravaged by Hákon and his men. The caves collapsed killing all those in the cave. Later, travellers noticed a supernatural light over the island and arriving in Trondheim, the men told their experience to King Olaf Tryggvason. After another later account of similar events by different witnesses, the king travelled to Selja, excavated the cave and recovered the body of  Sunniva that appeared as if the woman was asleep. Numerous institutions in Norway are named after her, including the Catholic church in Molde, various schools, including St Sunniva School in Oslo,as well as several Norwegian ships and the St. Sunniva dormitory in Bergen,. The short form Synne  has  become the most popularly given form of this name peaking in popularity in the late 1980s .

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Many saints' names have been recalled as children have been named either in their memory or because the name itself is attractive. At our latest Sons of Norway public dinner, a very young girl was enjoying her meal.She was only " Two fingers old", and her mother mentioned her name was "Sunni." When asked how she got that name, the mother replied that the little girl was named for Saint Sunniva. In  family visits to Norway and Oslo, they had learned about St Sunniva, and their next little girl was named in honor and memory of the Norwegian saint.

  The present lives on in memory of the past.

There May Be Trouble Ahead

He’s back! Our friend  Niño is coming to visit us once again this winter. Niño is the Spanish word for 'boy or child', and in this case, a mischievous youngster. El Niño is a pool of warm ocean water that's driven from a change of winds, normally blowing from east to west, but now blowing from the west to the east.

As snowcover disappears in the Arctic North , the Arctic permafrost emerges from historic slumber yielding relics of past inhabitants and debris  that has laid hidden for decades, even millennia. We  have very limited knowledge of our deep waters and even less experience of knowing what is in our northern permafrost areas.  While this warmer winter weather may be welcome, it also causes problems."The warm water is driven across the Pacific Ocean", according to Environment Canada Senior Climatologist Dave Phillips, "and triggers changes to the circulation of the atmosphere that can have repercussions thousands of miles away.”  

“It's got an impact all over the world, including Antarctica”  states Ted Scambos, a senior scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.  The end result is the melting of Arctic ice and glaciers around the world have shrunk markedly in recent decades.

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       This brings a combination of good news and bad news..

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"The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet" says James Astill. The retreating ice offers access to precious land area as frozen tundra retreats northwards, and large areas of the Arctic will become suitable for agriculture. An increasingly early Arctic spring could increase plant growth by up to 25%. That would

allow Greenlanders to grow more than the paltry 100 tons of potatoes they manage to harvest now, and much more valuable materials will become increasingly accessible. The Arctic is already a big source of minerals including zinc in Alaska, gold in Canada, iron in Sweden and nickel in Russia, and  plenty more to mine, but the costs will also be huge. Unique ecosystems, and perhaps many species, will be lost in a tide of environmental change. The cause is likely global pollution, and the risks it carries are likewise global.

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Our prehistoric theories and facts note extreme earthquakes and earthly turmoil. This combined with a giant

asteroid that struck earth at the Yucatan Peninsula in Southeastern Mexico wiped out the existing dinosaurs and created  extreme changes. This ‘new earth’ might have introduced some new elements now buried deeply in permafrost for decades.

 “If you start mining for something, you will excavate layers of frozen soil by millions of tons,” says Jean-Michel Claverie, head of France’s Structural and Genomic Information Laboratory .“If there is something nasty there, it will be released in the atmosphere and affect the people who are working there. If we are not careful, and we industrialize these areas without putting safeguards in place, we run the risk of one day waking up viruses such as smallpox that we thought were eradicated.”

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A team of French scientists is closely studying viruses uncovered in Siberia to ensure they won't wipe out humanity in a few decades. Their problem is that one can't  study frozen samples to see what will happen - the samples must be thawed and activated, and in microscopic studies of sample specimen, researchers have isolated  suspected viruses.

To identify a virus, the laboratory has to use a sample of an amoeba such as plankton. If the amoeba dies in contact with this sample, scientists can conclude that they were exposed to a virus. Amoeba, if you remember your high school science classwork, is a single cell animal which can divide and quickly multiply.

An amoebe

 Infected,  this could prove devastating. Researchers then proceed to test it on mice and human cells to see if it is, or is not hazardous. Claverie and his team previously had discovered an ancient virus, and these  discoveries raise the possibility that, as the climate warms and exploration expands in long-untouched regions of Siberia, humans could release ancient or eradicated viruses.So,while warmer winter weather may be welcome, it also causes problems.The warm flow is driven across the Pacific Ocean and triggers changes to the circulation of the atmosphere that can have repercussions thousands of miles away.” 

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There have been four types of prehistoric viruses found since 2003, however all have been proven to be

harmless.Common vaccines have controlled the influenza and chicken pox viruses, measles and mumps and many other well-known diseases. Careful attention finally controlled the polio and, currently, carefully monitoring the ebola viruses.

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An Arctic deep-mine.

“In the event of mining operations, millions of tons of these layers will be dug up and exposed to air. All the conditions will be in place for the reactivation of those viruses, some of which could be pathogens.” said Claverie. These ancient viruses found frozen in Siberian ice are proof that a variety of virus types can survive long periods of time at extremely cold temperatures.One recent research study by a team of French scientists found a virus  named the “Mollivirus Sibericum” that qualified as

 a "giant virus." This virus was discovered in 2015 in a 30,000-year-old sample of Siberian permafrost. French scientists plan to reanimate it in order to explore how it developed. It was unearthed from one hundred feet of Siberian permafrost. Molllivirus Sibericum which means “soft virus from Siberia” is in the process of being analyzed. As Arctic environments warm up, ancient viruses that lay dormant for thousands of years might thaw and reinfect humans once again.

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 There are skeptics claiming climate change is just routine weather variations.

 

Currently, the Middle Eastern countries, accustomed to high summer temperatures are suffering  an extreme heat wave as thermometers reaches 164 degrees in Iran, and 159 degrees in Iraq. Prolonged days of broiling heat would not be conducive to human outdoor activity. While some world areas are experiencing an elevated heat index, other areas are finding the warming conditions  melting ice and food sources are no longer available. Animals migrate for suitable hunting areas and humans are known to do likewise. If 'climate change' continues to be factual and, in some part caused by humans,

 we will be forced to take action. 

Hunting for food.

Perhaps the possibility of ‘climate change’ and it’s effects as possible health hazards should be taken much more seriously.

Who Has The Keys To The Vault?

 Refugees have been leaving their homeland in Syria in a continuous stream as chaos, death and destruction has replaced all vestiges of civility. Whole villages have been decimated and the battles appear to be unending.

Wreckage, and destruction has covered the landscape and remaining villagers  have little food for their families and farmers have little hope of planting for the upcoming season . They have nothing to plant, resulting in nothing expected to be produced. Farmers need seeds to plant. There is one chance  for Syrian farmers to find seeds to plant for  season crops and that all-important seed storage area is at Aleppo, the  Syrian capitol

Aleppo, Syria

 has unfortunately been the scene of armed conflict dangerous to everyone. Farmers are discovering a very short supply to plant due to this damaged seed supply. Although some seeds stored in the Aleppo seed vaults are available, many have been damaged by the loss of electricity that controls thermostats for the containers, destroying the quality of much of  the seed bank.

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Aleppo is one of several banks of seeds that are withdrawn when needed. This vault of seeds is one of several maintained by “the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas”, or ICARDA” in areas across North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia .
This organization maintains seed vaults of more than 100,000 different samples of crops that farmers have planted in these regions for thousands of years. As worries of armed conflict increased, officials decided to take action and  workers began transferring stored seeds from Aleppo to other storage areas.

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 Before the situation in Syria deteriorated in early 2012, ICARDA staff members have duplicated 26,000 samples and transferred them to Turkey and Lebanon.When civil war erupted in Syria, 141,000 packets of   

the valuable seeds were sitting in cold storage nineteen miles south of Aleppo.  They included ancient varieties of wheat and durum dating back nearly to the dawn of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent, and one of the world’s largest collections of lentil, barley, and  bean varieties, crops that feed millions of people worldwide every day. As  destruction increased, a safe haven for storage was needed quickly.
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A cold storage facility was needed and there was one that would fulfill their needs.

On a remote Arctic island off  Norway’s coast, there's a underground vault filled with seeds, sometimes called the Doomsday Vault. Scientists have been filling that vault with seeds which could be used to grow vital crops for decades. It was decided to store Syrian seeds in this Norwegian seed-vault.

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Since 2012, ICARDA has continued to add duplicate samples at Norway's Global Seed Vault carved into the side and interior of a frozen mountain.

The Svalbard Vault burrows deep into the mountain located in the Norwegian-controlled archipelago  called Svalbard, which is Norwegian for "cold coast." This seed vault has been designed to be colder than the permafrost. In the event that the earth warms and the power goes out, the vault will stay frozen for another 25 years.Permafrost and thick rock ensure that the seed samples will remain frozen even

without power and is known as the "world's largest, secure seed storage vault."

 Opened by the Norwegian Government in February 2008, crates of seeds from around the globe are sent here for safe and secure long-term storage .This Seed Bank was established and is fully funded by the Norwegian government, with the responsibility of The Ministry of Agriculture and Food. 
Since it’s establishment in 2008, countries have been utilizing this storage facility with confidence and no one has needed to remove their contribution, insuring continuation of food for the future.

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However, the chaos and destruction in Syria  and surrounding areas has alarmed officials, and thoughts of  upcoming meager crop yields are causing concerns for area residents. It may be time for action, once again and scientists decide to make the first ever withdrawal from the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. The purpose of  'The Vault'  is to store duplicates (backups) of seed samples from the world's crop collections. But now, less than 10 years after the opening, officials  withdraw seeds for the first time.

Transporting seeds from Aleppo

"We did not expect a retrieval this early," Crop Trust spokesman Brian Lainoff told NPR. "But we knew in 2008 that Syria was in for an interesting couple of years."  ICARDA has requested 130 boxes out of 325 it had deposited in the vault, containing a total of 116,000 samples. They knew they would need more seeds to re-establish crops lost during the war, and in order to plant these “Warm Climate”seeds,  they must be planted in a warm country.

 Norway is not that country, so it has been determined that the new planting will be in Morocco, where  scientists in Morocco and Lebanon will grow new plants  for the expected harvest of duplicate copies.

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Newly produced seeds will then be sent to Syria and a portion will go back to Svalbard to replace and store the valuable seeds — just in case there's another emergency. New plants and food for Syria.

             Thanks to The Doomsday Vault in Svalbard, Norway.

 

The bank that really DOES pay interest!