8th December: Ivy

Because today is the Day of Ivy in the French Revolutionary Calendar, and because Christmas is coming, 10 things you didn't know about Ivy.

1. There are about ten species of ivy, including English Ivy, Irish Ivy, Persian Ivy and Japanese Ivy. Ground Ivy, Boston Ivy and poison ivy are not related to the true ivies.
2. Hedera is the classical Latin name for the plant.
3. Ivy flowers are greenish-yellow with five small petals; they are produced in autumn to early winter and are very rich in nectar. There is a type of bee, Colletes hederae, or the ivy bee, which is completely dependent on ivy flowers, timing its entire life cycle around ivy flowering.
4. The berries are greenish Black, purple, or occasionally Yellow and appear in late winter or early spring. The berries are moderately toxic to humans but they taste very bitter so cases of ivy berry poisoning are rare. Birds, however, love them and the seeds are mostly dispersed through birds eating the berries.
5. The leaves contain a chemical called falcarinol, which can cause an allergic reaction (contact dermatitis) in some people. People who have this allergy are also likely to react to carrots as they also contain falcarinol.
6. Ivy attaches itself to trees and stone walls by means of adventitious or aerial roots, using glue and also by changing their shape to anchor the plant.
7. Despite being toxic, ivy has historically been associated with Wine. Along with the grapevine, it was a symbol of Dionysus, the Ancient Greek god of wine, agriculture, festivity and theatre. Dionysus is often depicted wearing a crown of ivy and carrying a wand or staff with Ivy wrapped around it, and topped with a pine cone. The association may have arisen because English ivy was said to grow abundantly over the mythical mountain of Nysa, the childhood home of Dionysus. In the Middle Agesa branch or bunch of ivy was often hung on a pole outside a tavern to indicate that the building sold wine or ale. The pole was known as an alepole or an alestake.
8. Ivy plays a role in the legend of Tristan and Isolde. Tristan was a Cornish knight and Isolde an Irish princess. Tristan went to Ireland to bring back Isolde as a bride for King Mark. However, Tristan and Isolde fell in love before they reached Cornwall after drinking a love potion. King Mark is so angry that when they die, he buries them in separate graves to keep them apart for eternity, but and ivy vine grows from each grave and they twine about each other. The king would cut the ivy back, but it would always grow back. Today ivy is often used at weddings, where it symbolises fidelity.
9. The Ivy League universities in the US (Harvard, Yale, Pennsylvania, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth and Cornell) are not thought to be named after the plant, although it grows on some of the buildings. The term "Ivy League" at first referred to the athletic league to which all eight universities belonged.
10. Christmas Carols of old often featured ivy in the lyrics, often alongside holly (eg. The Holly and the Ivy). Holly represented the masculine element, because of its prickles and harder leaves, while ivy represented the female element. They are both evergreen plants and so foliage could be brought in to decorate homes in winter, hence their association with Christmas. The carols are thought to have started as a debate about the relative merits of men and women. However, it is hardly mentioned in the above mentioned carol, apart from in the first verse.

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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