25th December: Day 1 of the 12 days of Christmas

We all know the song, 12 Days of Christmas, but here are some things you might not be aware of:

1. There are a couple of different suggestions as to how this song originated. One is that it was a memory game traditionally played on twelfth night where each player would have to add a new item and then recite all the items previous players had included.
2. Another theory is that it was invented for Catholic children in the days when it was illegal to be a Catholic and to possess any Catholic literature. So each item on the list has a hidden meaning relevant to the Catholic church, eg The partridge and the Pear tree was Jesus Christ, the four colly birds were the four gospels, the pipers piping were the eleven faithful apostles etc. It could be sung with no fear of reprisals, because to the Protestants it was just a random list of stuff. However, it's thought to be a myth, because none of the secret meanings were specific to Catholicism.
3. Yet another theory is that it is indeed a love song, and the gifts are indeed sent to a lady by her true love. Some of the gifts do seem pretty unlikely and the theory goes that the pipers, drummers and ladies dancing are actually the entertainment at a wedding, and the milkmaids, laying Geese and leaping lords are fertility symbols. Partridge meat was an aphrodisiac and pears are heart shaped.
4. One line of the song is subject to copyright - the five gold rings line. That was first used in a version arranged by Frederic Austin in 1909 and the copyright in this version is owned by Novello and Co Ltd. The rest of it is an old French tune and in the public domain.
5. On the subject of five Gold rings, the gold rings are not actually jewellery as most people believe, but refer to the rings on the necks of Pheasants, meaning what the recipient actually gets is five pheasants - which kind of makes sense as all the other gifts up to the seventh day are birds.
6. A colly bird (or calling bird) is a Blackbird.
7. In Sussex, they sing a version where canaries are given instead of colly birds. The French lyrics include eight chewing Cows, three wooden branches and seven Windmills.
8. In Australia, there is a version where all the animals are replaced by creatures you could find in Australia, such as Kangaroos, Koalas, Wombats and Dingos, finishing up with a kookaburra in a gum tree.
9. The number of gifts is 364 - as well as the new gift each day, all the previous ones are given again as well.
10. The PNC financial services group runs an annual Christmas Index where it judges the price of goods and services by looking at the market price of buying all the gifts from Twelve Days. In 2013, all those gifts would have set you back £11,950 ($19,500).

My Christmas Novella!

A Very Variant Christmas

Last year, Jade and Gloria were embroiled in a bitter conflict to win back their throne and their ancestral home. This year, Queen Jade and Princess Gloria want to host the biggest and best Christmas party ever in their palace. They invite all their friends to come and bring guests. Not even the birth of Jade's heir just before Christmas will stop them.

The guest list includes most of Britain's complement of super-powered crime-fighters, their families and friends. What could possibly go wrong?

Gatecrashers, unexpected arrivals, exploding Christmas crackers and a kidnapping, for starters.

Far away in space, the Constellations, a cosmic peacekeeping force, have suffered a tragic loss. They need to recruit a new member to replace their dead colleague. The two top candidates are both at Jade and Gloria's party. The arrival of the recruitment delegation on Christmas Eve is a surprise for everyone; but their visit means one guest now faces a life-changing decision.

Meanwhile, an alliance of the enemies of various guests at the party has infiltrated the palace; they hide in the dungeon, plotting how best to get rid of the crime-fighters and the royal family once and for all. Problem is, they all have their own agendas and differences of opinion on how to achieve their aims.

Not to mention that this year, the ghosts who walk the corridors of the palace on Christmas Eve will be as surprised by the living as the living are by them.

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