8 December: Tinsel

Got your tree up yet? If you have, chances are it has some tinsel on it. Here are some facts about tinsel.

1. The word tinsel comes from an old French word, "estincele", meaning to sparkle.
2. Tinsel was invented in Nuremburg, Germany in the 1600s. Back then, it was made from narrow strips of real silver.
3. It was added to trees along with candles to make them sparkle like the stars over the nativity scene. We don't know who first came up with the idea.
4. Tinsel first appeared in England in 1846. Not unsurprisingly, it became popular there thanks to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, who were pictured in the Illustrated London News with their children, standing beside a Christmas tree with tinsel.
5. However, silver tended to tarnish after a while and look ugly, so people looked for alternative metals to make it from - such as tin and lead. Lead tinsel was still being used in the 1970s when manufacturers were asked to voluntarily stop using lead to make tinsel. It wasn't officially banned, because at the time, there wasn't enough evidence to prove it was a health hazard.
6. Today, of course, it's made of plastic, usually polyvinyl chloride. No longer poisonous but bad for the planet.
7. Tinsel can be dangerous to pets if they eat it - it can cause severe internal problems.
8. Long, thin strips of tinsel not attatched to a thread are known as "lametta". This is the German word for tinsel, and in Germany they also use the word to describe the rows of medals worn by soldiers in full dress regalia.
9. While we associate tinsel with Christmas, it's also popular in India, where it is used to make garlands for weddings and other ceremonial occasions.
10. Brite Star, the company which makes 80% of the tinsel sold in the USA, claims to have made enough tinsel to reach to the moon and back.

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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