Johanna was a six-year-old girl who lived in the most northern part of cold Finland. One day during her winter holiday, she was reading a book about New Year’s Eve in Sydney, Australia. Johanna was amazed by the pictures in the book. Everyone was wearing shorts and t-shirts! People were even swimming in the sea. She had never seen anything like it before.
Johanna decided to learn more about New Year’s Eve in Sydney. She learned that in Sydney, New Year’s Eve was celebrated during the summer, and that it was usually around 30 degrees Celsius! In her little town, it was around minus ten degrees when they celebrated New Year’s Eve. Sydney was one of the first cities in the world to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Johanna was so mesmerized and amazed by these facts that she showed her parents the book.
As the years went on, Johanna dreamed about visiting Sydney for New Year’s Eve and seeing the firework show at the Sydney Opera House for herself. But she knew that it would only be a dream as her parents had a reindeer farm and had to work hard all year round and didn’t have the money or the time to make the long trip to Australia. Johanna decided to work hard to save up money, so she could travel to Sydney one day and see the magical celebration herself. Her parents knew about her longing to visit Sydney and saw the girl working hard to achieve her dream. They decided to secretly save money each year as well and make the trip reality!
When Johanna was fourteen years old, her parents surprised her for Christmas. She got a card which said: “Dear Johanna, you have been such a sweet girl and we see how hard you have been working. We know how much you love Sydney. This year, we will be spending New Year’s Eve in Sydney, and we will watch the fireworks together!”
Johanna couldn’t believe it, she was ecstatic! Her dream was coming true. She couldn’t wait to spend New Year’s Eve in Sydney, surrounded by warm weather and beautiful fireworks. She knew it would be a celebration that she would never forget and she was very grateful for such loving parents. And the best part was that her parents let her keep all the money she had saved up and this meant that she could travel to Sydney again when she would be eighteen!
