Nine ladies dancing, Ten lords a-leaping

3 days to go..




Nine Ladies Dancing

And on another note, there exists a very whimsical stone circle high on Stanton Moore in the Derbyshire peaks, call the Nine Ladies Stone Circle.  It's a bit like the The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in that legend has it that these "ladies" were turned into stone for making music and dancing on the Sabbath (how naughty of them!)  There are actuall ten stones; nine uprights lie within a small circular earth bank, with a tenth - the King Stone and reputedly the fiddler - lying prone on the bank.  It is one of a series of ancient monuments built 3,000-4,000 years ago, scattered across Stanton Moor.  At certain times of the year when the moon is full, the stones are said to move around in a ritual dance to the fiddler's haunting melody.

Ten Lords a-Leaping


"Leaping" might be too strong a word for it, but if you happen to find yourself in Flamborough on the North Yorkshire coast on Boxing Day (what are the odds?) you'll see a team of local men hopping and skipping around the town wielding wooden swords.  In the annual Longsword Dance, men dressed in traditional fishermen's "ganseys" (jerseys) white "ducks" (trousers) and flat caps tour the streets to tunes such as "Old Johnnie Walker".  This traditional goes back hundreds of years, and now is held to raise money for the local school.

 



http://www.flamboroughheadsac.org.uk/storyboards/history/iframe.php?StoryID=18

And S-T?



  

Santa Teddy has a joke for you:

Good King Wenceslas phoned Domino’s for a pizza.
The salesgirl asked him:-
‘Do you want your usual?  Deep pan, crisp and even?’

8 Maids a Milking

   5 days to go

8 maids a milking

Love these 8 little maids - thanks to Anne Geddes for her inspirational photos

-   a bit of trivia

"As smooth as a milk maid's skin"
The expression "as smooth as a milk maid's skin" came about as a result of milk maid’s exposure to cowpox, which causes no serious symptoms, but does convey a partial immunity to the disfiguring (and often fatal) disease smallpox. Thus, milkmaids lacked the "pockmarked" complexion common to smallpox survivors. This observation led to the development of the first vaccine. By the early 19th century, more than 100,000 persons in Great Britain had been vaccinated against smallpox. (fascinating, thanks Wikipedia)

Christmas Carols
...with an Australian theme, no less.

Thanks to Jaybees for the words....

On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
A kookaburra in a gum tree

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me
Two cockatoos, and a kookaburra in a gum tree   

Three parakeets.........
Four great galahs.......
Five opals black......
Six 'roos a-jumping........
Seven emus running.......
Eight koalas clinging.........
Nine wombats waddling........
Ten dingoes dashing.......
Eleven snakes a-sliding.......
Twelve goannas going.......

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And to the tune of Jingle Bells
1. Dashing through the bush in a rusty Holden ute,
Kicking up the dust, Esky in the boot,
Kelpie by my side, singing Christmas songs,
It's summer time and I am in my singlet, shorts and thongs.

chorus
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summer's day,
Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a dusty Holden ute.

2. Engine's getting hot, we dodge the kangaroos,
The swaggie climbs aboard, he is welcome too.
All the family is there, sitting by the pool,
Christmas day in the Aussie way, by the Bar-b-cue. Oh!

Chorus

3. Come the afternoon, grandpa has a doze,
The kids and Uncle Bruce are swimming in their clothes,
The time comes round to go, we take a family snap,
And pack the car and all shoot through
Before the washing up. Oh!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And Santa Teddy?

S-T got a bit messy helping with the Christmas cooking on the weekend and had to be hung up to dry!

6 days to go.. 






And it looks like it's going to be a warm Christmas Day in Melbourne according to the weather forecast - although this may change as the day gets closer.

And yes, I'm aware I've missed out several verses of the 12 days of Christmas as I had the most busy and frantic weekend of partying and present-buying so noooo time to blog. I hope you'll forgive me condensing 3 days of missed blogging into one, here goes..


5 Golden Rings
So the five golden rings in this stanza refer to five ring-necked pheasants, a dish that was sure to be served at some of the king or queen's Twelfth Night feasts during the Twelve Days of Christmas celebrations.
Unlike the four collie birds in the previous stanza who just had their name changed to a different, and non-existent, species of bird, the five rings in this stanza have, in singers' and illustrators' minds, changed from five ring-necked pheasants to five pieces of jewelry. While gold rings for one's fingers have been around since ancient times, the word ring, even today, has different meanings. Today we refer to the platform on which boxers fight and wrestlers perform as a ring, a criminal conspiracy as a ring, jewelry for fingers, toes, ears, noses and belly buttons are all referred to as rings.  Given the versatility of the word ring in today's language it is not unusual to discover that our sixteenth century ancestors used the shortened term ring to describe a ring-necked pheasant as well as jewellery for their fingers.

6 Geese-a-Laying
I have found a Christmas game where you can find the 6 geese and much more apparently.
Please refer to the craft tab above and print the picture.

7 Swans-a-Swimming
According to some believers, the 7 swans-a-swimming represent the  seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, i.e. 1) prophecy, 2) ministry, 3) teaching, 4) exhortation, 5) giving, 6) leading, and
7) compassion
Something to reflect on?

And S-T?  What has he been up to?

Well, a bit of upside-down planking with all the appropriate safety measures in place of course.  He's a safety-first kind of guy.

4 Calling Birds (or is it?)

9 days to go...   ho ho ho






On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,
Four calling (Colly) Birds

The Four Calling Birds in this stanza is due to a mix up between the English language as spoken in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and the English spoken today. It could also be due to a mix up between English as spoken in England and English as spoken in England's former colonies, particularly the United States and Australia.

It's Colly Birds, Not "Calling Birds"

The verse, four calling birds, is actually a corruption of the English word colly or collie . So, we are referring to four colly birds or four collie bird s (the words to the song were probably written before the creation of the dictionary, so the spelling of old words tends to be flexible).

What is a colly bird? It is a black bird. In England a coal mine is called a colliery and colly or collie is a derivation of this and means black like coal. For a long time in England, blackbirds have been referred to as both blackbirds (as in the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence ) and colly birds as in The Twelve Days of Christmas .

Even in Tudor England these birds went by two different names so it is not so unusual that there would be some confusion three centuries and a couple of continents later.

While the name blackbird migrated beyond England, the name collie bird remained behind in England where, even there, it tended to diminish in use over the centuries. Today, many published versions of the song in the U.S. and Australia give the birds' name as calling birds rather than collie birds.

As to why the person in the song would give his true love a gift of blackbirds, the answer is that this would have been another gift of food. Blackbirds were plentiful and were a common food.

From the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence we see them being served as a meat pie and this may have been the way they were commonly served. In times past in Great Britain, pies were a convenient way to serve and eat a meal with the meat, potatoes and any vegetables all cooked together in an easy to handle crust (forks not having been invented at that time, table utensils consisted of knives, spoons and one's fingers).

What has Santa Teddy been up to?

He has decided to branch out into performance art.  He calls this "Teddy under glass".

I think S-T is a little bored waiting for Christmas to arrive.

This was painted in the 16th Century -

Adoration of the Shepherds c. 1500–10, by Giorgio da Castelfranco

Signing off for today fellow Christmasophiles!  It's been a long week and I'm relishing my day off.

3 French Hens

10 days to go






On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me..   3 French Hens



Thanks to Nocturnal_guy on Flickr for this gorgeous pic




There are many theories about the significance of words of this ancient Christmas song. One is that the 3 French Hens refer to Faith, Hope and Charity, the theological virtues.



I have found a very pretty blog about a French flea market in Illinois, USA, here is the link, go check it out even if it’s just for the beautifully designed site and lovely old postcards and drawings.

http://3frenchhensmarket.blogspot.com/



And still on the 3 French Hens theme - this is worth a look for a bit of nostalgia. I remember the Peter Cook and Dudley Moore partnership, their comedy was always on the edge (for the 60s) but always, always funny. This is a YouTube video of Peter Cook much later in life, but he still has that comic timing which made him a household name . It’s called Peter Cook – a life in pieces – 3 french henshttp://youtu.be/qi5odZ_aeoc


What has S-T been up to?

Catching up on some reading.

2 Turtle Doves

On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

2 Turtle Doves

 

You’d be lucky to see one turtle dove these days, let alone two as their numbers have plummeted by 85 percent in the past 20 years, according to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).

Once a common farmland bird found on commons, heaths and agricultural land, its gentle continuous purring used to be one of the most evocative sounds of summer. It was possible to see hundreds gathered in flocks on overhead cables in early autumn before they returned to their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa. The species is now one of 36 birds on the Red List of highest conservation concern. (as at 2003)

This is all a big serious isn't it, how about we lighten things up?

"There are three stages of a man's life: He believes in Santa Claus, he doesn't believe in Santa Claus, he is Santa Claus."- Author Unknown


And from Ebenezer Scrooge, always identified with Christmas, some of his immortal words before he saw the error of his ways -


Out upon merry Christmas! What's Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer...? If I could work my will," said Scrooge indignantly, "every idiot who goes about with 'Merry Christmas' upon his lips should be boiled with his won pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!"

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol  

 And Santa Teddy, what of him?





...is keeping slightly grumpy offspring company while she studies her French verbs!
maman très difficile!



A Partridge in a Pear Tree - The Twelve Days of Christmas

Yes, only 12 days to go.

So in honour of that, I'm going to attempt to blog everyday using the Christmas Carol,

"The Twelve Days of Christmas" .

On the 1st day of Christmas my true love gave to me - A Partridge in a Pear Tree

Research indicates that the song was not English in origin, but French, though it is considered an English carol. Three French versions of the song are known. If the "partridge in a pear tree" of the English version is to be taken literally, then it seems as if the chant comes from France, since the red-legged (or French) partridge, which perches in trees more frequently than the native common (or grey) partridge, was not successfully introduced into England until about 1770.



You can find this little birdy at The House of Christmas in Abbotsford, Victoria http://www.houseofchristmas.com.au/product-details.php?id=1525&Hanging%20Wood%20Birdhouse%20with%20Bird

It must be remembered that this carol evolved out of the popular culture of the Middle Ages and Tudor England.  Various versions of the carol were sung for two or more centuries before the words were recorded and published.  Despite the fact that the words have been preserved in written form for over two centuries, the carol continues to evolve and the words and symbols continue to change.  It remains a popular carol and people continue to enjoy singing and listening to it.

What has Santa Teddy been up to lately?

S-T has been doing a spot of pole-sitting, very Zen of you teddy!

Until tomorrow, Christmasophiles!

20 days to go..

Hi again, fellow Christmasophiles!  I had a great Sunday baking my Christmas cake.  I've had the fruit soaking for at least 6 weeks, so when I opened the jar, the smell (and the alcohol) nearly blew my head off!

Such a Christmassy smell, fruit soaked in a delectable Tokay and orange juice mix - the aroma wafted all through the house . It makes a beautiful moist cake that keeps for ages.  I have to pay tribute to the Women's Weekly Irish Christmas Cake recipe - named obviously because you are supposed to use Irish Whisky in it.  Now - I have done that for many years using my husband's good Irish Whisky.  He mentioned to me one year that the level was going down a bit and when I told him why, he went a bit pale!  What - you're using my good whisky in a cake!  So now I use anything to hand, from brandy to tokay (I still use the whisky occasionally, don't tell!).  Here are my pictures.

All the elements, plus my vintage Sunbeam mixmaster

S-T pondering the mysteries of the unbaked cake mixture, ready for 3 hours of slow cooking

Voila!  The finished cake

What has Santa Teddy been up to?

Well, apart from being very busy helping me make the all important Christmas Cake, he has been appreciating some modern art.



Very Avant-garde of you Teddy!

Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

Santa's reindeer are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner/Donder, Blitzen, and Rudolph.  Eight of these names are taken from Clent C. Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas", and the ninth from the song "Rudolph the red-nosed Reindeer.

26 days to go...

Christmas fact/trivia:
What is the origin of the Christmas pudding?
...it began life centuries ago as a curious mush called frumenty. This took its name from the Latin word for corn (frumentum) and consisted of hulled wheat boiled in milk, with the addition of some spices and sugar. Unlike many Christmas traditions, the origin of this dish was not Roman, Scandinavian, or German, but Celtic.

The Celts had a harvest god called the Dagda whose eternal task was to stir a huge cauldron. Inside the cauldron was a porridge made up of all the good things of the earth.  As long as he kept stirring, the harvest would be successful. The corn would grow and the cattle would give milk. To honour him and to encourage him in his labours, the ancient Celts used to imitate him  They stirred a great bowl of porridge and ate the mixture at their feasts to ensure plenty in the year ahead. As time went on, this porridge was improved by the addition of various fruits, such as prunes, and meats, all minced together.  This was called Plum Porridge. Then in the 1670s the porridge was made much thicker until it became Plum Pudding. Finally, in its fourth stage, the meat was omitted and it became the famous Christmas pudding we know today.

Christmas Recipe time!!
Well, Christmas pudding is wonderful, but then again, ice cream Christmas pud is also wonderful and in Australia on a hot Christmas day, it goes down a treat!  Our family recipe, handed down and used since the Sixties (I think, I'll check with mum) makes the most fabulous dessert, once tried never forgotten.  Here it is:

Frozen Christmas Pudding*   (the Smith, Barclay, Congues, Laing recipe)

*  (note this is double the original recipe)

120 g chopped glace cherries 

120 g chopped raisins

1 cup sultanas

     1 teaspoon each finely grated orange & lemon rind

1½ tablespoon mixed spice

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

2 tablespoons brandy or rum
Combine these 8 ingredients in a bowl and leave to steep overnight, covered with cling film

-----------

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoon hot water

8 egg whites

300g icing sugar

2 x 600ml bottles whipping cream

120g toasted* whole peeled almonds (chopped) or toasted slivered almonds (easier)

*Put all the almonds in a heavy based pan & move them around the pan over low heat until brown – don’t let them burn.

METHOD: 

Next day, you will need 2 large bowls –

1.     Beat egg whites until stiff, then gradually beat in half the icing sugar. 

2.     Add remaining sugar to the cream, beat together until thick. 

3.     Stir fruit mixture and the toasted nuts into the cream mixture.

4.     Dissolve cocoa in the hot water and add to cream mixture also.

5.     Fold in the egg whites gently but thoroughly. 

6.     Pack into a large ice cream container or foil-lined 2 litre pudding basin and freeze overnight until firm.

What has Santa Teddy been up to lately?
Well it looks like S-T has been practising his Christmas carols with his rather unique method of playing the piano!   Practise makes perfect Teddy.

 

30 days to go...

Tis getting closer and closer and I'm thinking 'where am I going to buy my Christmas tree from this year? After all, it's nearly the 1st of December. 

I found a funny quote from a funny man, Dave Barry, who I've never heard of but is touted as being the "funniest man in America" (maybe by his own press agent ?) 

Once again we find ourselves enmeshed in the Holiday Season, that very special time of year when we join with our loved ones in sharing centuries-old traditions such as trying to find a parking space at the mall. We traditionally do this in my family by driving around the parking lot until we see a shopper emerge from the mall, then we follow her, in very much the same spirit as the Three Wise Men, who 2,000 years ago followed a star, week after week, until it led them to a parking space.

 

Easy coffee filter Angel

I kid you not!  Yes you can make an angel out of 3 coffee filters and some pipe cleaners, suitable for children aged 6 & up, or adults searching for an original topper for the tree.  For the instructions, please visit my Craft tab above.  I must thank Amanda Formaro http://crafts.kaboose.com/easy-coffee-filter-angel.html for her easy idea.

What's Santa Teddy up to today?

Good on you S-T, he's listening to some Christmas music and keeping me company

33 days to go - An Australian Christmas

This is for our overseas guests to my blog --  What we do Down Under at Christmas


Koalas watching Santa pass by

For the majority of Australians, Christmas Down Under has all the glitter, tinsel and razzmatazz of a Christmas in New York, London Paris or Vancouver. The major difference is one of WEATHER....Christmas Down Under is never White. Snow has rarely fallen, if ever, on the 25th December. During past Christmasses we have however, experienced all the seasonal variations of a Summer Down Under.....electrical storms, floods, hailstorms, cyclones and bushfires. But 80% of the time we are blessed with blue skies and depending on what State we live in, temperatures ranging from 25-42 degrees centigrade on the mainland. (Tamania is always slightly cooler.)     Currently it is November, the end of Spring. Summer months are December-January-February.

Christmas is special to the majority of Australians for it is our Summer Holiday season and students especially are winding up their school year. That means sitting for end of Semester tests or exams and waiting for their results, as well as getting ready for the Summer Holidays. For the majority of Australian students this means ...SUN....SURF....SHOPPING. Our neighbours, the "Kiwis" or New Zealanders are actually the first ones to really celebrate the joyous day of Christmas. New Zealand is the first country immediately west of the international date line. So we're sorry most of American friends have to wait an extra day for Christmas.
 
So how do we REALLY celebrate Christmas? You must remember that Australia, though huge in size, has a population of just over 18 million people. Our country is a harmonious mix of many ethnic groups. Our backgrounds are very varied....our people have connections with England, Scotland, Ireland, Northern Europe, Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Middle East, Vietnam, China, Japan, Thailand as well as North and South America. So you can imagine that each of these national groups brings the colour ,customs and festive rituals of the Christmas celebrated in their respective homelands. As Australians we are able to appreciate culturally diverse Christmas celebrations.
 
However, up until 30 years ago, our Christmas celebrations were heavily influenced by our original Anglo-Celtic influences. The English style of Christmas served as our model for celebrating Christmas.......right down to the traditional roast turkey and steamed pudding in over 35 degree heat. Today with the huge influx of overseas migrants our Christmas celebrations are heavily influenced by the ethnicity of families involved. Common sense is prevailing today in terms of weather. Traditional dinners have been replaced with family gatherings in back yards, picnics in parks, gardens and on the beach. For many, it is the occasion to be with friends and relatives, to share love and friendship and not to forget, the exchange of gifts in the traditional manner. For many, it is of course a time to enjoy and consume massive quantities of food. A typical Christmas menu could include seafood, glazed ham, cold chicken, duck or turkey, cold deli meats, pasta, salads galore, desserts of all types, fruit salad, pavlovas, ice-cream plus Christmas edibles of all varieties such as mince pies, fruit cake, shortbread, chocolates etc.
 
For history buffs, the first official Christmas Down Under was celebrated on the 25th December,1788 at Sydney Cove by Reverend Johnson. After the service, Governor Arthur Phillips and his officers dined heartily, toasting the King of England and his family. But for the majority of the first white inhabitants...the convicts....there was no change to their regular menu... bread rations only.
 
Currently everyone is beginning to get ready for the "silly season". Everyone is busily planning Christmas break-up parties. Children are writing letters to Santa Claus. When December arrives, the Christmas rituals are being followed.  Decorations are being set up and the Christmas tree will either be bought fresh or the plastic version hunted for in the dark reaches of a cupboard. Shopping centres and malls are playing Christmas carols REALLY LOUDLY.  Children will help to decorate the family Christmas tree.
Children are learning Christmas Carols so that they may be sung at festive occasions such as public "Carols by Candlelight" and school concerts. Christmas stockings won't be hung until Christmas eve. Cards galore are being written and posted.
 
It must also be mentioned that with all the glitter, tinsel and razzmatazz.......most Australians consider Christmas a time for remembering the true meaning of Christmas.........a time for remembering the birth of Jesus and the spiritual meaning of Christmas. 
 
What is Santa Teddy up to today?
 



A Still Life:  I called it "S-T, a Jug, an Onion and a Duck"



38 days to go..

Hi again, had some great feedback.  Everybody likes Santa Teddy.  So what's not to like already!   Scroll to the end to see what S-T has been up to.


I'm a great fan of the Peanuts cartoons, takes me back to simpler days, so I wanted to share this classic video where Linus explains the meaning of Christmas to Charlie Brown.  Enjoy

http://youtu.be/DKk9rv2hUfA

Chocolate rum truffles  (old family recipe, not shared publicly to date) 

I have it on good authority (my 3 children) that if these truffles don't appear on our Christmas menu every year, then there will be a riot and it will not be pretty!


I don't know anyone who doesn't like a truffle or two.  Being a truffle-buff, I must admit I have been incredibly disappointed over the years when choosing what I hoped was a chocolate truffle but was instead presented with some concoction made with condensed milk, biscuit crumbs, rum flavouring (not the good stuff) and the chocolate ingredient had walked through on stilts!  Sorry if I sound a truffle snobbish (get it, a trifle snobbish!).
This recipe is not like that. The truffles are easy to make and I guarantee you will not be disappointed.  Go to Recipes tab at the top of this blog.


Christmas fact/trivia:

Why do we put a fairy on top of the Christmas tree?The fairy started out life several hundred years ago as a sacred effigy of the infant Jesus. It then went through a series of gradual transformations until it developed its modern image. Its story begins in 17th century Germany where baroque architectural moulds of cherubs were used to make little wax figures of the infant Jesus. these were hung over Christmas trees as a reminder of the nativity. Eventually, one larger effigy called the Tin-gold Angel based on the early cherubs was placed on top of the tree. It still represented the Christ-child, but he had now become an angel and had sprouted wings. His body was covered with gilded tin, so that he glistened in the Christmas lights.  In the 19th century, doll-makers made him from wax or porcelain, now he was a guardian angel. He was brought to Britain in early Victorian times and because he looked like a doll, children begged to have him as a toy. His clothing was then changed and he was dressed up as a fashionable doll once Christmas had passed. In the process he also changed sex. The next step involved pantomime. Victorians loved their pantos and one of the favourite characters was the Good Fairy who waved her wand and saved the hero and heroine from evil villains. By the 20th century, the Infant christ had morphed into the fairy on the Christmas tree.

 (adapted from "Christmas Watching" by Desmond Morris, 1992, Mackays of Chatham PLC, Kent, London)

Author:  I wonder what the fairy will morph into after our century has passed! 

What's Santa Teddy been up to today?

 

He's been a bit naughty and is doing a bit of planking, although he assures me that it he has taken all safety precautions and is only a few feet off the ground.  ST's joke today:  Q.  Why do reindeer wear fur coats?   A. Because they'd look silly in polyester.

Author:  I think the blood has rushed to your head, Teddy !

Au revoir Christmasophiles