20 December: National Sangria Day

It's National Sangria Day. How much do you know about this drink?

1. What is it? A type of Wine punch, traditionally made with Spanish Rioja, mixed with Orange juice, brandy and chopped fruit. such as Pineapples, Peaches, nectarines, berries, Apples, Pears, or Melon. Recipes vary with local areas adding their own distinctive ingredients. For example, in the southern Spain Sangria is called zurra and is made with peaches or nectarines.
2. The word sangria is said to come from the Spanish word sangre, meaning Blood, because of the deep Red colour the red wine gives it. There is an alternative theory that the word could come from the Sanskrit word for sugared wine.
3. We don't know exactly how sangria originated. In Medieval Europe, it wasn't safe to drink the Water, and Milk was strictly for babies, so everybody, even the children, drank Beer or wine because the alcohol would kill the germs in the water. Adding fruit and spices to wine to vary the flavour was common practice. So while sangria is generally thought to be a Spanish or Portuguese drink, wine punch was consumed all over Europe. A similar drink based on claret, for example, may have been drunk in England by Jane Austen and her heroines.
4. Sangria as an iced drink was reintroduced to the USA by the late 1940s through Hispanic Americans and Spanish restaurants.
5. It became widely popular after the World's Fair in New York in 1964, where the Spanish World area served it to visitors.
6. Sangria blanca is sangria made with white wine instead of red.
7. Mangria is a drink invented by comedian Adam Carolla, who, wanting a drink with an even bigger kick, added vodka to red wine and orange juice.
8. At the opposite end of the scale, non-alcoholic sangria is made from carbonated water, essence of Lemon, cane sugar, and wine Grapes.
9. Only sangria made in Spain and Portugal can legally be sold as "sangria" in Europe; sangria made elsewhere must be labelled as such, e.g., as "German sangria" or "Swedish sangria".
10. American country music artist Blake Shelton recorded a song called Sangria, which reached number one in the Country Airplay chart in 2015.

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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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