There Should Be Snow at Christmas

Christmas 2001 was fast approaching for the Swedish contingent in Kosovo, KS05. Far from home and without their loved ones, it at least looked as though they would have a white Christmas.

In mid-December, enormous amounts of snow fell, but then the thaw began. The snow-covered landscape turned into an inferno of the notorious "Balkan mud", which clung to their boots and built up beneath the soles until they felt as though they were walking on stilts.

A sense of hopelessness about the situation in the country, the daily uphill struggle and homesickness weighed heavily on the soldiers as they drifted off to sleep on 23 December.

But then…

In the "Mission Day by Day" section of the KS05 commemorative book, we can read:

Sunday, 23 December

The day before Christmas Eve was quiet in the battalion's area of operations.

However, the day nearly ended in tragedy for a civilian electricity utility worker who came under fire while driving.

One of the battalion's search teams went to the scene to look for spent cartridge cases, but the incident was otherwise handled by police from the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK).

Whether the shooting was a reaction to the poor electricity supply or not is impossible to say.

Ajvalia, the village neighbouring Camp Victoria, was among those that once again lost electricity during the day.

Sundays are wedding days in Kosovo. Several wedding processions drove through our area during the day.

 Monday, 24 December

A different kind of Christmas Eve, yet one in which much was still familiar.

That is how 24 December in Kosovo could be summarised.

On the day before Christmas Eve, it seemed for a few hours as though winter was about to disappear. However, during the night leading into Christmas Eve, it returned with a vengeance. Those battalion soldiers who had not been on night duty awoke to a scene straight out of a Christmas card. Most of Kosovo was covered in white, and on some roads the snow was up to 30 centimetres deep.

Christmas Eve became a combination of normal duties and Christmas celebrations. At the camps and troop houses, daily tasks continued as usual, while those with time to spare enjoyed Christmas activities, ate traditional Christmas food and watched the classic Swedish Christmas programmes featuring Karl-Bertil Jonsson and Donald Duck.

Father Christmas, accompanied by the battalion commander, toured our entire area of operations, visiting the soldiers and handing out Christmas presents. The Christmas food prepared by the cooks finally brought the true Christmas spirit. Christmas Eve ended with a midnight service at Camp Victoria, followed just six hours later by a traditional Swedish early-morning Christmas service.

On Christmas Eve, the battalion also received a visit from KFOR's Supreme Commander, French Lieutenant General Marcel Valentin. After touring the area and meeting the soldiers, he ended the evening listening to Swedish Christmas carols performed by the battalion's own Christmas choir.