San'ya has aged with its residents, old men with creased faces and missing teeth who squat and smoke on the pavements, drift from bar to bar, or sleep it off in the winter sun on cardboard and plastic matting.

ECONOMIST: Old, down and out in Japan

"Homeless people will sleep in there in the winter - the welcoming sense is guaranteed, " one protester said.

BBC: New statue of Pope John Paul II sparks anger in Rome

Whatever their devotion to poverty, they could not sleep on the ground in winter when they were in Germany.

NEWYORKER: Rich Man, Poor Man

Before Saint Andrew, there was the sun, and pagans needed a date to throw a thank-you party in its honour before it goes to sleep for the winter.

BBC: Pagan holidays in modern Ukraine