Happy New Year's Eve!

It's 31 December 2009, which means that we're now counting down the hours to the beginning of a new decade.

You may well be planning to party in the New Year or carry out some familiar traditions - such as sing 'Auld Lang Syne' - so, to get you thinking, here are six familiar ways of welcoming in the New Year.

1) Watch Night

Many religious communities have a tradition of New Year's Eve being known as 'Watch Night'. The faithful of the community congregate to worship at services that commence on New Year's Eve night and which continue past midnight into the New Year. The Watch Night is a time for giving thanks for the blessings of the outgoing year and praying for divine favour during the upcoming year.

2) The Edinburgh Cannon

In Edinburgh the cannon is fired at Edinburgh Castle at the stroke of midnight.

3) Hogmanay

Scotland celebrates New Year as Hogmanay, which is the Scots word for the last day of the year. The roots of Hogmanay reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs from the Gaelic New Year's celebration of Samhain.

4) Auld Lang Syne

The Hogmanay custom of singing 'Auld Lang Syne' has become common in many countries. 'Auld Lang Syne' is a traditional poem reinterpreted by Robert Burns, which was later set to music. It is now common for this to be sung in a circle of linked arms that are crossed over one another as the clock strikes midnight for New Year's Day. In Scotland the traditional practice is to cross arms only for the last verse.

5) First Footing

The practice of 'first-footing' starts immediately after midnight, and involves being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbour's house, and often involves the giving of symbolic gifts such as salt, coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a type of rich fruit cake) intended to bring different kinds of luck to the householder.

6) New Year's Resolutions

It is also customary to make New Year's resolutions, which individuals hope to fulfil in the coming year. The most popular resolutions in the West include to stop smoking or drinking, lose weight or get physically fit. What will you give up (or take up) in 2010?

However you're planning to see in the New Year, I would like to wish you all a very happy and healthy...

Farewell 2009

Christmas crackers

Nothing says Christmas quite like the corny jokes in crackers. Here are five classics of the genre discovered by the Green family this Christmas.

Q: What is green, slimy and romantic at Christmas?
A: A mistle-toad!

Q: What game do cows like to play at Christmas?
A: Moo-sical chairs!

Q: What do you call a cat on a beach on Christmas Day?
A: Sandy Claws!

Q: What's a hedgehog's favourite food?
A: Prickled onions!

Q: What do you call two robbers?
A: A pair of nickers!

To find out more about the origins of the Christmas cracker - and the hopeless attempts at humour usually found within - follow this link to get hold of your own copy of Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here's hoping that Father Christmas brought you everything you hoped for and that you and yours have a happy and memorable Christmas.

Wishing you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
and a
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes

Jonathan Green

And, in case you missed the post earlier in the week, here's a present from me.

Health and Safety Advice for Carrollers

With Christmas on its way the carol singers will surely be out in force.

But if you thought this seasonal tradition was as simple as singing and tin-rattling, you couldn't be more wrong.

As it turns out, there are issues that have, for too long, been left unaddressed – which is why this year's festive singers now have a health and safety leaflet to guide them.

To read more about this story, click here.

NORAD Santa Tracker 2009

It's not long to the big day now and preparations are moving up a gear - at least they are in the Green household! But what my children (and I'm sure children all over the world) are looking forward to in particular is the arrival of a certain tubby gentleman with a bulging sack.


You can follow Santa's progress across the globe on Christmas Eve via NORAD's official Santa tracker here.


But while you're waiting for the night of 24 December, why not enjoy this short video of Santa's 2008 journey around the world?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

This afternoon it started raining on top of the frozen snow that fell a few days ago. Then it started to sleet until at last it started to snow. This is the view in my street at the moment...


Apparently bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds of it being a White Christmas, worried that they'll be facing a massive pay-out.

Did you know...?
It can actually get cold enough that it doesn't snow! Because snow is frozen water, if there are not enough water droplets in the air it can't snow - simple as that. As a result, the driest place on Earth isn't in the Sahara Desert or the Arizona Desert. It's actually a place known as the Dry Valleys and it's in Antarctica. The area is completely free of ice and snow, and it never rains there at all! In fact, parts of the Antarctic continent haven't seen any rain for around 2 million years! But Antarctica is also the wettest place in world, due to the fact that 70% of the Earth's water is found there in the form of ice.

For more fascinating facts like these, check out Match Wits with the Kids - available now - as well as Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

And if you're feeling the cold, why not sit down in front of the fire tonight and enjoy a Snowball? Of the slightly alcoholic variety...

Snowball Cocktail
2 oz Advocaat
Top up Lemonade
1/2 oz Fresh Lime juice

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker / stirrer and pour into an unusually shaped glass. Add Crushed Ice and decorations to create a great speciality drink from an easy to make recipe!

And while you're sipping your Snowball, why not listen to this ode to the cocktail, celebrating the fact that you can enjoy all your favourite drinks in the same glass?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

This afternoon it started raining on top of the frozen snow that fell a few days ago. Then it started to sleet until at last it started to snow. This is the view in my street at the moment...


Apparently bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds of it being a White Christmas, worried that they'll be facing a massive pay-out.

Did you know...?
It can actually get cold enough that it doesn't snow! Because snow is frozen water, if there are not enough water droplets in the air it can't snow - simple as that. As a result, the driest place on Earth isn't in the Sahara Desert or the Arizona Desert. It's actually a place known as the Dry Valleys and it's in Antarctica. The area is completely free of ice and snow, and it never rains there at all! In fact, parts of the Antarctic continent haven't seen any rain for around 2 million years! But Antarctica is also the wettest place in world, due to the fact that 70% of the Earth's water is found there in the form of ice.

For more fascinating facts like these, check out Match Wits with the Kids - available now - as well as What is Myrrh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

And if you're feeling the cold, why not sit down in front of the fire tonight and enjoy a Snowball? Of the slightly alcoholic variety...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Snowball Cocktail
2 oz Advocaat Top up Lemonade 1/2 oz Fresh Lime juice

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker / stirrer and pour into an unusually shaped glass. Add Crushed Ice and decorations to create a great speciality drink from an easy to make recipe!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And while you're sipping your Snowball, why not listen to this ode to the cocktail, celebrating the fact that you can enjoy all your favourite drinks in the same glass?

Merry Christmas from Pax Britannia and Abaddon Books

Glad tidings I bring, to you and your kin...

Those very generous people at Abaddon Books have a seasonal gift for all eBook readers this year - a FREE Pax Britannia short story, by me, entitled Christmas Past. This special edition also has a couple of extras tucked away inside, including news of some upcoming titles.

Go to www.abaddonbooks.com/download and you can be the proud owner of a little seasonal madness from the world of Ulysses Quicksilver and Pax Britannia too!

Yo, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!

The Extreme of Winter

As I'm sure you already know, 21 December marks the Winter Solstice, in other words, the shortest day. Hundreds of people gather each year during the winter solstice to watch the sun rise at Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.


The pagan celebration of the solstice was one of the most popular holidays of the year before the coming of Christmas, Hanukkah and other cultural celebrations that are now celebrated in December. Many of the participants observe the solstice because they believe it is connected to something real in nature rather than just an arbitrary calendar date.

Technically, the Winter Solstice occurs exactly when the earth's axial tilt is farthest away from the sun at its maximum of 23° 26'. although the Winter Solstice lasts only an instant in time, the term is also colloquially used like Midwinter to refer to the day on which it occurs.

The Winter Solstice Festival or The Extreme of Winter is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese and other East Asians during the dongzhi solar term on or around December 21 when sunshine is weakest and daylight shortest. The origins of this festival can be traced back to the yin and yang philosophy of balance and harmony in the cosmos. After this celebration, there will be days with longer daylight hours and therefore an increase in positive energy flowing in. The philosophical significance of this is symbolized by the I Ching hexagram fù (復, "Returning").

Traditionally, the Dongzhi Festival is also a time for the family to get together. One activity that occurs during these get togethers (especially in the southern parts of China and in Chinese communities overseas) is the making and eating of Tangyuan (湯圓, as pronounced in Cantonese; Mandarin Pinyin: Tāng Yuán) or balls of glutinous rice, which symbolize reunion. In Korea, similar balls of glutinous rice (Korean: 새알심) (English pronunciation: Saealsim), is prepared in a traditional porridge made with sweet red bean (Korean: 팥죽)(English pronunciation: Patjook).

Did you know...?
Patjook was believed to have a special power and sprayed around houses on winter solstice to repel sinister spirits. This practice was based on a traditional folk tale, in which the ghost of a man that used to hate patjook comes haunting innocent villagers on the winter solstice.

Snapdragon

Snapdragon was a popular parlour game from the 16th to 19th centuries. It was played during the winter, particularly on Christmas Eve or Twelfth Night. Brandy was heated and placed in a wide shallow bowl; raisins were placed in the brandy which was then set alight.

The aim of the game was to pluck the raisins out of the burning brandy and eat them, at the risk of being burnt. Other treats could also be used. Of these, almonds were the most common alternative or addition, but currants, candied fruit, figs, grapes, and plums also featured. Salt could also be sprinkled in the bowl. In one variation a Christmas pudding is placed in the centre of the bowl with raisins around it.

Did you know...?

In The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare used the word 'snapdraon' as a verb, to describe a moment when a ship at sea is instantly swallowed up by a storm.

Snapdragon is also mentioned in Alice Through the Looking Glass where Alice meets the peculiar Looking-Glass insects. One of them is the Snap-dragon-fly, with a body made of plum-pudding, its wings of holly leaves and its head a raisin burning in brandy. It lives on frumenty (a traditional Christmas porridge) and mince pies, and nests in a Christmas box.

Christmas Pizza!

As I sit at my computer this morning, looking out at houses and gardens iced with snow, my thoughts turn, once again, to food...

Fed up with the traditional turkey for Christmas or just wondering what to do with the leftovers the next day? Then why not make yourself a Christmas pizza?

Christmas Turkey Pizza

For the Dough
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Sauce
250ml whipping cream
4 tbsp. butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 strips crispy bacon, chopped

For the Toppings
1 lb. roast turkey or chicken
3-4 golden fingerling potatoes
1 small red onion
4 tbsp. whole cranberry sauce
1 sprig fresh rosemary

Preparation
1. Prepare dough – Mix all ingredients and let it rise until dough doubled in size, about 1 hour. Dust a pizza stone with flour. Roll out the dough to fit stone. Let rise for 20 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

3. Prepare sauce - melt butter over medium low heat. Add garlic and saute lightly - don’t burn the garlic! Stir in the cream and bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Add bacon and simmer until desired consistency is reached.

4. Spread sauce thinly on dough then arrange the remaining toppings as desired.

5. Bake in the center of the oven until the dough is golden at the edges, about 35 minutes. Remove, let sit for 5 minutes, then cut and serve.

And here's a recipe for a sweet Christmas pizza

Sweet Christmas Pizza

Ingredients
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 pound white almond bark divided
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 cup rice cereal
1 cup peanuts
16 ounces red maraschino cherries, quartered
3 tablespoons green cherries
1/3 cup coconut
1 teaspoon oil

Melt chocolate with 14 ounce almond bark in large saucepan on low heat, stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in marshmallows, cereal and peanuts. Pour into greased 12 inch pizza pan. Top with cherries. Sprinkle with coconut. Melt remaining almond bark with oil over low heat. Stir until smooth. Drizzle over coconut. Chill. Store at room temperature.

And here's a Christmas pizza the Franklin family made earlier...

Christmas curry?

A friend of mine is shunning turkey with all the trimmings and having curry for Christmas instead. As he puts it, "I actually like Christmas. I just think that turkey is overrated. Plus, if you go for a free-range, ethically sourced one you can be paying £60 up. Just for something that tastes a bit like chicken but drier and blander."

However, if you're still sticking with turkey (as we are in our household this year) then here's something you can do with the leftover bird the next day, as an alternative to living off turkey sandwiches for a week!

Christmas Roast Turkey Curry

500g Roast turkey
1 tsp Ginger
1 tsp Lemon juice
1 tsp Chopped coriander Salt
½ tsp Garam masala
1/3 tsp Chili powder
½ tsp Turmeric
1 tsp Ground coriander
4 tbsp Cooking oil
1 Onion chopped
4 Garlic cloves chopped
¼ cup Tomato puree
1 tsp Ground cumin

Put the oil in a hot saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Fry for 7 minutes. In a bowl, mix together: the tomato puree, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and salt to form a thick paste. Tip the paste into the onion mixture and fry for half a minute. Stir in the turkey pieces and cook for 1 minute. Add 400ml of hot water from the kettle and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Mix in the ginger and the lemon juice.

What is Myrrh Anyway? Now on Facebook!

You can now follow my Christmas updates, as inspired by the book of the blog What is Myrrh Anyway? on Facebook. Do pop along and become a festive fan.

Twitter next...

Nativities, Christingles and Mulled Wine

The preparations for Christmas in the Green household really started in earnest this week. First off it was Son's Nativity, next week it's Daughter's Nativity and yesterday we hit the shops (and the plastic) hard to get most of our Christmas shopping done. Oh, and the kids met Santa Claus.

This morning we're off to a Christingle service and then this afternoon we're going round to a neighbour's to enjoy some mulled wine and mince pies. But what are the origins of Nativity plays, Christingles and mulled wine?

One man is credited with creating the Christmas crib more than any other, and that is the 13th century Saint Francis of Assissi. In 1220, Francis made the pilgrimage to Bethlehem. While there, he saw how Christmas was celebrated in the town of Jesus' birth and was so impressed that he asked the Pope if he might recreate something like it in his own Italian home of Greccio.

And of course during the Medieval period, mystery plays - with mummers acting out stories from the Bible - were one of the most popular forms of Christmas entertainment. Both survive to this day, but it is normally children who act out the Nativity story itself and not the adults anymore.

The physical form of the Christingle is an orange, tied with a red ribbon and stuck with a candle and cocktail sticks bearing fruit and nuts. It is a symbolic object particularly used in Christian Advent services, hence the name given to a particular type of religious service. The word Christingle actually means 'Christ Light'. Both the Christingles that are made and the Christingle services that take place in church, celebrate Jesus coming into the world, in his aspect as the Light of the World.

The first Christingle service was held in a castle in Germany, on Christmas Eve 1747, by a bishop of the Moravian Church known as Pastor John. He wanted to find some simple way of teaching people about the true meaning of Christmas. His solution was to prepare a simple symbol which would make the Christmas message seem fresh and alive to them. During the informal service, Pastor John gave each child present a lighted candle wrapped in a red ribbon. He then intoned a prayer.

You can find out more about the origins of the Nativity play and the Christingle in Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas, published by Skyhorse Publishing.

And if you think the idea of warm mince pies and mulled wine on a cold December day sounds like a good one, follow this link to a piece I posted last year that includes a recipe for the utterly delicious Bishop's wine.

Midnight now means 10pm - did you know?

The Pope is to break with tradition this year and celebrate Midnight Mass at 10pm, instead of midnight. The decision was apparently taken two months ago to "ease the Pope's fatigue at a time when there are many ceremonies and commitments" during Christmas holidays, said Vatican spokesman the Rev Frederico Lombardi. Read more about this story here.

JG talks turkey on BBC Radio WM

I took part in the Ed Doolan lunchtime show on BBC Radio WM today, and it's already up on iPlayer if you didn't hear it yourself and would like to. I appear at about 1hr 12mins in and remain on the rest of the show.

What did Santa bring you this year?

Make your own White Christmas

With Christmas only two weeks away, you might want to start thinking about what you're going to feed all your guests this year. Well, why not make all their Christmases white with this simple recipe for a delicious festive treat from down under?

White Christmas

250g vegetable shortening
1 cup rice crispies
1 cup shredded coconut
¾ cup icing sugar
1 cup powdered milk
¾ cup toasted almond kernels
30g mixed peel
30g preserved ginger
30g glace apricots
30g glace pineapple
30g sultanas
50g glace cherries

Place the coconut, icing sugar, powered milk, mixed fruit, nuts, cherries (all chopped coarsely), and the rice crispies into a bowl and mix well.

Warm the vegetable shortening gently until melted and then pour over the ingredients. Mix well and place in a airtight container and set in the fridge.

Serve sliced into fingers.

Enjoy!

Ice, ice, baby

Amazing as it may seem, the following are all pictures of ice. They are entirely natural.


You can see more of these incredible images here and here.

The power of water never ceases to amaze me, and that of ice likewise. Check these out to see what I mean.

Now that's what I call dedication!

Nicola Simons calculates that she's already munched her way through 600 mince pies this year - and she hasn't finished yet! But then Nicola, 25, is the bakery product developer for Sainsbury's and responsible for creating the supermarket's seasonal range.

"Part of my job involves tasting every product, including mince pies, Christmas cakes and puddings from all our competitors, as well as reviewing our own range," she explains.

And she estimates that while developing this year's mince pies, she has chomped her way through 17kg of pastry and 18kg of mincemeat - approximately 23 jars.

"I usually spend around 12 hours a week eating, but in the run-up to Christmas this can be up to 21 hours," she adds.

To read more about Nicola's extraordinary dedication to perfecting the perfect mince pie, click here. And if you want to know what mince pies should really taste like, you can find an original Medieval recipe in Christmas Miscellany available now!

Merry Xmas!

Every year more than 400 million people celebrate Christmas around the globe, which makes it one of the biggest religious and commercial festivities in the world.

But have you ever wondered why Christmas is so often shortened to Xmas?

In fact, the practice dates back further than you might suspect, ans has nothing to do with devaluing the Christian festival, as many people believe. In reality, both Christ and Christmas have been abbreviated for at least 1,000 years. The word Christ appears in Medieval documents as both 'XP' and 'Xt' and can even be found in this form in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle from 1021. By why were those particular letters used?

To find out more, pick up your copy of Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas or What is Myrrh Anyway? time for the festive season. After all, there's only 16 days to go until Christmas! (Or should that be Xmas?)

Happy St Nicholas Day!

Yes, that's right, today is the feast day of St Nicholas - a.k.a. Santa Claus!

In many countries around the world St Nicholas is the main gift giver. In some places he arrives in the middle of November and moves about the countryside, visiting schools and homes to find out if children have been good or bad. In others he comes in the night and finds carrots and hay for his horse or donkey along with children's wish lists. Small treats are also left in shoes or stockings so the children will know if he has been by the lack thereof in the morning.

In some countries it is St Nicholas' day that is the prominent gift-giving day and not Christmas itself. Parties may be held on the evening of 5 December with shoes or stockings being left out for the saint to fill when he visits during the night.

Did you know...?

Santa has approximately 31 hours in which to deliver all his gifts on Christmas Eve, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, and assuming that he travels from east to west.

You can find out more about the origins of one of the world's most popular saints in Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas - available now!

Have yourself a Victorian Christmas

Fed up with the same old Yuletide gifts and festivities? Then why not take a trip to yesteryear and make yours a Victorian Christmas?


Just follow this link to the BBC's Victorian Farm page for a whole host of authentic Christmas recipes and activities dating from the Victorian era. There's everything from toy theatres and keepsake boxes to paper flowers and Wassail punch, with something new being revealed everyday.

Today it's mince pies made with real meat.




And of course you can find out more about the influence the Victorians had on the traditional Christmas in Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas, available now!