3 December: December

10 things you might not know about the month of December.

1. December gets its name from the Latin word "decem", meaning ten, as it was the tenth month of the Roman year.
2. It may be the last month of the year for us in the west, but in the Old Tibetan calendar, the new year began on 1st December.
3. Talking of the 1st day of December - it always occurs on the first day of the week as the 1st of September.
4. People born in December will be born under the astrological signs of Sagittarius or Capricorn and their birthstones are turquoise, serpentine, jacinth, peridot and blue zircon. Their birth flower is narcissus.
5. In weather lore, a thunderstorm during Christmas week means that "the winter will be anything but meek" according to one folk saying.
6. It's a good month to get married, according to folklore. "Married in days of December's cheer, love's star shines brighter from year to year", goes one saying. "When December's Snows fall fast, Marry, and true love will last," says another.
7. Native American tribes, who named the Moon of each month according to what they observed around them in nature at the time of year, variously called December's moon Moon of Popping Trees; when Deer Shed Their Horns; buffalo Cow's Fetus is Getting Large; or Moon When the Wolves Run Together.
8. If you get a clear night, meteor showers you might catch in December are the Canis-Minoroids, the Coma Berenicids, the Geminids, the Monocerotids, the Sygma Hydrids and the Ursids.
9. Awareness campaigns for December include calendars, art and architecture books, colorectal cancer, drink and drug driving, church Libraries, Jewish books, safe toys, human rights and donating treats to animal rescue centres (Operation Santa Paws).
10. 17th century almanacs promote eating food of "hot quality" including Onions, Cabbage, roasted Apples and Pears and the meat of rams, Goats and land fowl (but not waterfowl). They also advocate drinking plenty of Wine (as if we need an excuse!)

A 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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