For many, it is the most wonderful time of the year. But what actually makes Christmas so special, and what is the best thing about it for students? We asked around on campus and got some interesting answers.

The devastating consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly apparent. The worst can still be averted if we adapt, says the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but time is of the essence, and radical changes are needed. Copyright: Deutsche Presse Agentur [The German Press Agency]

Activist Luisa Neubauer, who is one of the best-known representatives of the Fridays for Future climate protection movement in Germany, sharply criticizes the German government for its inadequate climate policy. Also, pay attention! This video has many examples of the German indirekte Rede (reported speech).

"Fridays for Future" climate activists are at it again. This time, they are protesting against the extension of Berlin's A100 freeway. According to the group, simply building more roads without considering the future of the city is no longer a sustainable transport policy. Copyright: dpa [German press agency].

In this humorous video, you can see a mother's solution to her children constantly bickering about who has more. Little do they know, it will remain part of their lives well past childhood...

Federico shows us how easy it is to prepare a potato and ground meat casserole... even using vegan meat! Why not try it yourself?

Hamburg-based chef Hannes Schröder shows us how easy it is to prepare buttery, fragrant, perfectly cooked entrecôte at home.

Federico shows us his recipe for vegetable gratin. The advantage of this recipe is that you can change the ingredients to suit your own preferences.

Diane and Franca take us through the basics of the verb machen, which in this video has been translated as "to do." Depending on the context, machen could also mean "to make." Try it out both ways and viel Spaß beim Lernen!

Jenny and two friends take us through the conjugations for the verb wissen ("to know") in multiple tenses. Viel Spaß beim Deutschlernen!

“Lernen” is a tricky verb for English speakers, since it can be translated as either “to study” or “to learn.” Here, Sabine and Jan present all the conjugations of the verb, and show the various contexts in which it can appear.

Using several examples, Sabine and Jan explain the weak verb "erklären" ("to explain") in the following verb tenses: present, simple past, present perfect, and conditional. The present perfect form of the verb is conjugated with the auxiliary verb "haben" ("to have") and in German often used similarly to the simple past, or preterite tense.

The regular verb “arbeiten” (“to work”) is one of the most commonly used verbs in German. Here, Jan and Sabine give us several sample sentences that use different tenses.

With the help of crowdfunding, German cartoonist Joscha Sauer produced NICHTLUSTIG (NOTFUNNY), an animated series starring his distinctive zany characters. NICHTLUSTIG—which centers on the Lemming Family—examines everyday and extraordinary situations with sarcasm, irony, and cynicism.

In Part 2 of Joscha Sauer’s irreverent animated short, Poodle is annoyed when an unexpected visitor shows up just as he and Death are about to have breakfast, the Lemming dad chatters away with an unusually quiet homeowner, and the scientists hatch a plan to recover their toilet.