tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58588624146798516182024-03-13T14:30:13.238+00:00The ChrismologistJonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.comBlogger319125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-25861387231110763812019-12-26T12:00:00.000+00:002019-12-26T12:00:00.181+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: Z is for Zzzz...And relax... Christmas is over for another year and it's Boxing Day! But why is the day after Christmas Day called Boxing Day?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhec-avldUAaduikHtqShRIe3nEAfH4ANEMWrkAWw2Z-gNYkPvNJ7Q49SnhvMIOWXb_ABFZFLb4UHkwC6sbEc2Hs5QopGHH0ORLpY72l4IoQkdtT4YvocjEnwg55LbuwcwaP9KeXBmcoeg/s1600/Boxing+Day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="540" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhec-avldUAaduikHtqShRIe3nEAfH4ANEMWrkAWw2Z-gNYkPvNJ7Q49SnhvMIOWXb_ABFZFLb4UHkwC6sbEc2Hs5QopGHH0ORLpY72l4IoQkdtT4YvocjEnwg55LbuwcwaP9KeXBmcoeg/s320/Boxing+Day.jpg" width="320" /></a>It has nothing to do with the sport of boxing, if that’s what you’re wondering. Boxing Day has been known by that name since the Middle Ages because of its connection to alms boxes.<br />
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It was on this day that alms boxes – the boxes placed in churches to collect money for the needy – would be opened by the priests and the money, given by the better-off parishioners, distributed to the poor of the parish. This was once known as the ‘dole of the Christmas box’. It led, in time, to the practice of giving those who had provided a service over the previous year – such as delivering your milk or mail – a seasonal thank-you in the form of a ‘Christmas box’, hence, Boxing Day.<br />
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This type of collecting box was first brought to Britain by the Romans, but rather than distribute the money to the poor, the Romans used it to pay for the games which took place during the winter celebrations.<br />
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After the sixteenth century it was common practice for apprentices and household servants to ask their masters (and even their masters’ customers) for money at Christmas time. Any gifts of money they received were placed inside an earthenware ‘box’ – which looked more like a piggy bank, complete with a slit in the top – which was then broken open on 26 December.<br />
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Didn't get <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a> for Christmas? Don't worry, you can <b><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan+green&qid=1576859241&sr=8-1">buy it for yourself here</a></b>!<br />
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And if you missed <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a> on Kickstarter, you can <b><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.com/2019/12/twas-roleplaying-game-before-christmas.html">place a late pledge here</a></b>!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
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The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-39865520275346886972019-12-25T08:00:00.000+00:002019-12-25T08:00:01.232+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: Y is for YULEToday is Christmas Day! Happy Christmas!<br />
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Of course, Christmas is pre-dated by two major pagan festivals, the Roman Saturnalia and the Viking Yule. To our pagan ancestors living in the frozen north of Europe and Scandinavia, the dark days of winter were a frightening time. The darkness was the domain of demons and malicious spirits. On top of that, Odin, chief among the Norse gods, flew through the sky on his eight-legged horse Sleipnir, looking down at the world with his furious one-eyed gaze, deciding who should prosper and who should perish in the year ahead.<br />
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Yule was the name given to the Viking festive feast, a time when light and new birth were celebrated in the face of darkness and death as witnessed in the natural world. It was at this time that evergreens were brought into the house; a sign that life persisted, even during these darkest days of the year.
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The Anglo-Saxons even referred to the month of December as both <i>Winter Monath</i> and <i>Yule Monath</i>.<br />
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To help keep the darkness at bay, on or around the 21 December, the time of the winter solstice, fathers and sons would go out into the forests and bring back the largest log they could find. This massive piece of timber was then put on the fire and left to burn for the entirety of the season of Yule – twelve days altogether.<br />
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The English word Yule is a corruption of the Old Norse<i> Jōl</i>. However, <i>Jōl</i> itself may derive from <i>hjól</i>, meaning ‘wheel’. In this sense, it refers to the moment when the wheel of the year is at its lowest point, in midwinter, ready to rise again in the spring.<br />
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So here's hoping you have a very happy Yule and a prosperous new year!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan+green&qid=1576859241&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig1Kp2NdGG_pDboIiBmbiVVX4ryMc1n0vpWbCWzsBeN4zFMSav2-OFwj0zD8QZyw7oZLiggOv8b-EdY-5CkUmo6cDsXTMmY_rfmpr_0g21gkdY1d169AHetMylox15DbXptYsBO-MrrKvc/s400/Krampus+Happy+Christmas.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-4631945182690482372019-12-24T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-24T16:00:16.675+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: X is for XMAS EVE<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPqOrlKp-XnjS_kpGvA2vyZNu6Rk9CTFKoHsh0fWLqmZhMSXWIkAHX_24MO7V-a5B1WSEnrFkaj1cXMGxExFxRsXkY5XHCORiUwbTzFVal2jo1eXkKmf0u2id4QDhVOfKSleJ8DVWS9E/s1600/13+Santacoll2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBPqOrlKp-XnjS_kpGvA2vyZNu6Rk9CTFKoHsh0fWLqmZhMSXWIkAHX_24MO7V-a5B1WSEnrFkaj1cXMGxExFxRsXkY5XHCORiUwbTzFVal2jo1eXkKmf0u2id4QDhVOfKSleJ8DVWS9E/s320/13+Santacoll2.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
Every Christmas Eve, children the world over await the arrival of one individual more than any other (or at least one of his many lieutenants) with excited anticipation. The image of the jolly old man with his long white beard, red suit and attendant reindeer couldn’t be more familiar, but where did this admittedly peculiar figure come from? Who is, or was, the real Father Christmas?<br />
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Whether you call him Father Christmas, Santa Claus, Sinterklaus or Kris Kringle, the semi-historical, semi-legendary figure who inspired the Christmas gift-giver children know and love today was one Saint Nicholas. And he didn’t come from the North Pole or Lapland. Saint Nicholas came from Turkey (although, of course, turkeys come from Mexico)!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZFPE4gN7wcfJZFvVQ8c9MqbvwPcekFfs2F3gHPYU_nJJLBpdz80du7mNZBsAsvwM4l7fRRyVgfmyO_LCIEbeOeq1y9tt1hBZaGwHkjfrYaUzEI_AcGlMqfxR7N2W1MAUXKA8_FI13Lg/s1600/saint-nicholas-of-myra1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="990" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ZFPE4gN7wcfJZFvVQ8c9MqbvwPcekFfs2F3gHPYU_nJJLBpdz80du7mNZBsAsvwM4l7fRRyVgfmyO_LCIEbeOeq1y9tt1hBZaGwHkjfrYaUzEI_AcGlMqfxR7N2W1MAUXKA8_FI13Lg/s320/saint-nicholas-of-myra1.jpg" width="197" /></a>Nicholas was the Greek Orthodox Bishop of Myra in fourth century Byzantine Anatolia. His parents both died when he was still a young man, leaving him a considerable fortune. Shunning his wealth and privileged background to join the Church, Nicholas then made it his mission to give his riches away to those more deserving, and in greater need, than he. The most well-known example of his charity is the one which led to children hanging up their stockings on Christmas Eve for Santa to fill with gifts.<br />
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But the image we now have of Father Christmas has its origins in more than just the legendary life of one particular saint. In truth, Father Christmas’s origins go back much further than fourth century Turkey. For the Norsemen of Scandinavia, the season of Yule was as much a dark time ruled over by demons and malevolent spirits. It was best to stay indoors, to escape the baleful gaze of the nocturnal flyer Odin. Odin also brought winter to the world. In this guise he was accompanied by his Dark Helper, a demonic horned creature who punished wrong-doers. This figure would resurface later as Father Christmas’s assistant.<br />
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Thor, the Norse god of thunder, may well have had a hand in influencing the development of the Father Christmas myth, for he rode across the sky in an iron chariot pulled by two huge goats, called Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr (in English, Gnasher and Cracker), rather like Santa’s sleigh, with its team of reindeer.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScdrs_kjYYCx64MlFzaGnaxK75Zz56Plp6TGNCQGMbq5FfkIWiYtEqjRot4kFvMwvGgo8tNGzbZKohwfomdPlVpUxjzL4Z_-hl3vNZk2E_98Rk1tmCDU2NSqAOGD1bmFRReWXmmGxyAA/s1600/Sir+Christmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="538" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhScdrs_kjYYCx64MlFzaGnaxK75Zz56Plp6TGNCQGMbq5FfkIWiYtEqjRot4kFvMwvGgo8tNGzbZKohwfomdPlVpUxjzL4Z_-hl3vNZk2E_98Rk1tmCDU2NSqAOGD1bmFRReWXmmGxyAA/s320/Sir+Christmas.jpg" width="249" /></a>There is also evidence that pagan peoples once worshipped an elemental spirit called Old Man Winter. He too went into the mix that was to eventually produce the figure of Father Christmas.<br />
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Father Christmas has an important part to play in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, the latest title in the <b><a href="http://acegamebooks.com/">ACE Gamebooks</a> </b>s<span style="text-align: center;">eries, and is available to buy now. If you've already bought it and read it, please do post a review on Amazon, </span>Goodreads<span style="text-align: center;">, or wherever.</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
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The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-44751566522666382222019-12-23T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-23T16:00:03.357+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: W is for WASSAIL<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS318yzGfO6Z52IjkVNP2NuCJzojmfnCCCoryi0Utsngtpd3JskTL7To6XMSncMyTN7swfK90w7KUL3IOZ0EBEUS0M3zYfsbuFhM9z7gMfHkeAKhYaX2iy716aT0d7kYgPQ4OuG7SmhA/s1600/wassail-herveygoat2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="304" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSS318yzGfO6Z52IjkVNP2NuCJzojmfnCCCoryi0Utsngtpd3JskTL7To6XMSncMyTN7swfK90w7KUL3IOZ0EBEUS0M3zYfsbuFhM9z7gMfHkeAKhYaX2iy716aT0d7kYgPQ4OuG7SmhA/s320/wassail-herveygoat2.jpg" width="267" /></a>Wassailing used to be a popular part of the Christmas festivities in England and the memory of it still lingers in the words of certain carols, but what was wassailing, and how exactly did people go about it?<br />
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Wassail itself was a hot drink which pre-dates the Christian festival by some centuries. The word ‘wassail’ comes from the Old English <i>wæs hæl </i>which literally meant ‘be whole’ and so, by extension, ‘be healthy’. The phrase ‘hale and hearty’ has its origins in this expression as well.<br />
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The ceremony from which wassailing developed was a toast to the sun as it rose on the morning after the shortest day of the winter solstice. It, like the veneration of evergreens, was believed to encourage a bountiful harvest (specifically that of fruit) in the year to come.<br />
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The transformation of the winter festival to a Christian one did nothing to diminish the popularity of the wassail toast and it persisted, like so much else, becoming interwoven with the newer Christianised celebrations.<br />
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In Saxon England, at the start of the year, the lord of the manor would shout the greeting <i>wæs hæl</i> to his assembled household who would respond with the words <i>drinc hæl</i>, meaning ‘drink and be healthy’. His lordship would then take a swig from a large wooden bowl – the Wassail Bowl or Wassail Cup – before passing it on to the next most senior member of the household. And so it would be passed down the line until everyone had had a drink.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaupH1_GTo4U_lOsSq4AcBbfbG0QO4tphPz065pNCuaFgpU_sCTzQNNhTaIjrW-nx68QjI1kIsowrWr4wVHXVMNU3hPIqT7E_20PUrvqIY1hP_AOJ5bNuj0xckdy2c4pJXXpGkzlUFW-w/s1600/01-Wassail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="507" data-original-width="700" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaupH1_GTo4U_lOsSq4AcBbfbG0QO4tphPz065pNCuaFgpU_sCTzQNNhTaIjrW-nx68QjI1kIsowrWr4wVHXVMNU3hPIqT7E_20PUrvqIY1hP_AOJ5bNuj0xckdy2c4pJXXpGkzlUFW-w/s320/01-Wassail.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a> is available to buy now, and if you've already read it, please do post a review on Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else you can think of.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
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The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-50475551049108498342019-12-22T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-22T16:00:07.386+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: V is for a VERY Merry ChristmasThe word ‘merry’ now has all sorts of connotations connected with it to do with being slightly intoxicated, but how did the seasonal salutation come to be in the first place? And for how long have Christmases been merry?<br />
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‘A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You’ was the verse that Sir Henry Cole chose to put on his first commercially available Christmas card in 1843, although the phrase was already in use almost 300 hundred years before that, appearing as it does in <b><i>The Hereford Municipal Manuscript </i></b>of 1565:<br />
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<i>And thus I comytt you to god, who send you a mery Christmas & many.</i></div>
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The word ‘merry’ has its origins in the Old English word <i>myrige</i>, meaning ‘pleasing’ or ‘delightful’. By the sixteenth century there were a number of phrases in everyday use that included the word – ‘make merry’ (circa 1300), ‘Merry England’ (circa 1400) and ‘the merry month of May’ (1560s) – in which it meant ‘pleasant’ or ‘agreeable’. However, by the nineteenth century it had taken on its more familiar meaning of ‘jovial and outgoing’.<br />
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Another familiar Christmas usage of the word ‘merry’ is in the English carol ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen’, first published in William Sandys’ <b><i>Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern</i></b> in 1833. The carol probably existed as a folk-song long before it was written down, and the phrase ‘rest you merry’ appears in <b><i>The Dictionary</i></b> <b><i>of syr Thomas Eliot knyght</i></b>, of 1538:<br />
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<i>Aye, bee thou gladde: or joyfull, as the vulgare people saie Reste you mery.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7LWE9yGzenbdIKFq6J7AYtNd8ZFjPlw24ajMzOaolCiF9MyvTiw9pA2HCvvFMh32_kREMpL5wR7JMQ9TaogfhV-n1lSe8F5Lr5eabXCbbCzOZRn5OAqAJxKD_5qq8_SXeL5FijXx3H4/s1600/Krampus+Happy+Christmas.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK7LWE9yGzenbdIKFq6J7AYtNd8ZFjPlw24ajMzOaolCiF9MyvTiw9pA2HCvvFMh32_kREMpL5wR7JMQ9TaogfhV-n1lSe8F5Lr5eabXCbbCzOZRn5OAqAJxKD_5qq8_SXeL5FijXx3H4/s400/Krampus+Happy+Christmas.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a> is available to buy now, and I'm pleased to say that <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a> has funded on Kickstarter.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
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The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-54517855464831752492019-12-21T17:00:00.000+00:002019-12-21T17:00:16.883+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: U is for UNPREPAREDNot matter how hard you try to be prepared, more often than not you’ll find yourself braving the chaos of the Christmas Eve last minute shopping spree, either in order to pick up that essential festive gift for the dog or another jar of gravy powder.<br />
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But before you dash off to the local garage to buy that special someone another chocolate orange, bear in mind that if you've already left your Christmas shopping a little late, you risk paying up to 50% more than those people who are – how shall we put it? – a little better organised.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-vDdwWs54Wlu_06IIJI0nvTyHYnnZteqTasrksVzEm3bhvMkMAsyRcHS-aOxidnATn3Mcte_1U10QLMEyj-tCkRSvrfEyEBOWt3QB3js-CrCVGyJXer33xXiv-I-a5U_KUeQke3XHIA/s1600/Pie1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1600" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-vDdwWs54Wlu_06IIJI0nvTyHYnnZteqTasrksVzEm3bhvMkMAsyRcHS-aOxidnATn3Mcte_1U10QLMEyj-tCkRSvrfEyEBOWt3QB3js-CrCVGyJXer33xXiv-I-a5U_KUeQke3XHIA/s320/Pie1.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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A survey of Christmas shoppers conducted in 2013 revealed that 16-24 year-olds are actually the most organised when it comes to getting the Christmas shopping done, with nearly 44% of them buying their festive gifts in, or even before, November! Those aged 45 or older are the ones who are more likely to leave it to the last minute with almost a third not even starting on the seasonal shop until the week before Christmas.<br />
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When you look at the gender of last minute shoppers, rather than their age, one quarter of men do most of their Christmas shopping at the last possible moment, while half of all women have it done before the first week of December.<br />
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15% of shoppers cashed in their store loyalty coupons and vouchers to cover the cost of their purchases, while one in ten of those surveyed planned so far ahead that they actually bought their first Christmas present for December 2013 in the January sales! The people surveyed made an average five trips to the shops to get their Christmas shopping done, while one in ten didn’t shop in-store over the Christmas period at all, preferring to do so from the comfort of their laptop, tablet or smartphone!<br />
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It might not be too late to order a copy of <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, if you need a last minute stocking filler for something, but time is definitely running out for <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which finishes its run on Kickstarter at 11:59pm tonight!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-47218185079575266192019-12-20T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-20T16:00:06.441+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: T is for Christmas TREEIt would be hard to imagine Christmas without the familiar conical form of the festive tree. From December onwards (if not before) they can be found everywhere, from homes and schools to department stores and pretty much anywhere people will spend any amount of time during the Christmas period, whether it be a hospital or an office block. But where does the tradition of putting up a tree indoors come from, and has it always been such an important part of the Christmas celebrations as we know them?<br />
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Well, in some ways it is one of the more recently-established Christmas traditions, with the decorated tree as we know it rising to popularity during Queen Victoria’s reign. And then, in other ways, the tradition is older than Christmas itself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYcHWbyhoUKrKs4wOHlflezTbrROWZeZ-6WViG7gfu3IDArEEyM2V9KgHUnMK2Uc1Y8nUu7UMvcbUXYFl44fGTZe1FmQ0AzRXJPphUsoki7QC2UPLavpb2zOGkR0Tq_ZBgsYrb_ETNrI/s1600/03+tree1acol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYcHWbyhoUKrKs4wOHlflezTbrROWZeZ-6WViG7gfu3IDArEEyM2V9KgHUnMK2Uc1Y8nUu7UMvcbUXYFl44fGTZe1FmQ0AzRXJPphUsoki7QC2UPLavpb2zOGkR0Tq_ZBgsYrb_ETNrI/s400/03+tree1acol.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
At its root, it is really just another example of an evergreen brought into the home during the cold dark days of winter by our pagan forebears, along with the Yule log, boughs of holly and mistletoe. But it was actually the Romans who got there first, as they did with so much that has become modern-day Christmas tradition. During the festival of Saturnalia, held in honour of Saturn, the god of agriculture, Ancient Romans decorated trees with small pieces of metal.<br />
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The first Christmas trees were decorated with apples, as a symbol of Man’s fall in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of tree of knowledge. As a result, they were called Paradise trees. In time other decorations were added, in the form of nuts and even red ribbons, or strips of paper. Ultimately the apples were replaced by Christmas baubles.<br />
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In the Middle Ages, the Paradise tree went up on the feast day dedicated to Adam and Eve, 24 December, and to this day, purists believe that you should wait until Christmas Eve to erect your own tree, and then take it down again on Twelfth Night.<br />
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Possibly the earliest depiction of a Christmas tree dates from 1521 and comes from Germany. The painting shows a procession of musicians accompanying a horse-riding holy man – who may be a bishop or even Saint Nicholas – parading through a town. One of the men in the procession is holding high a tree decorated with what look like apples.<br />
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A candle-lit fir was also erected in a London street in the fifteenth century, but such trees remained as outside decorations and there are no records from the time stating that they were ever taken into the home. Evergreens in other forms were used to decorate houses though, so it is quite possible that some homes also included a tree, rather than simply being adorned with bits of one.<br />
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However, according to some historians the first recorded mention of an actual Christmas tree appears in a diary from Strasbourg, dated 1605. This particular tree was decorated with paper roses, apples, sweets and gold foil – the first tinsel.<br />
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There's a rather different kind of Christmas tree in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and also appear in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is into its final few days of funding on Kickstarter.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-40295105719276139662019-12-19T19:12:00.001+00:002019-12-19T19:12:40.792+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: S is for SNOWMENThe creation of anthropomorphic sculptures formed from atmospheric water vapour frozen into ice crystals – more commonly known as a snowmen – is a popular pastime during the winter months... if it snows. Your typical snowman is made from two or three large snowballs, with sticks, pieces of coal, vegetables, and items of clothing being added to help create the illusion that they are in fact people.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi63ud65OVNN-y8lSlp9rHTF2DeEOU7STjo7g8aUf7zjve4UExuV3_u-D5nkN9oc_SJtTibP6PETPRhTUJdsxzfDcsAl_AhMjG_qGlCQTJcMtqJ2PI3xWMyd5VJq1WEPCy5DjJ8bc4_8n8/s1600/Koninklijke_Bibliotheek_Book_of_Hours_snowman_illustration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi63ud65OVNN-y8lSlp9rHTF2DeEOU7STjo7g8aUf7zjve4UExuV3_u-D5nkN9oc_SJtTibP6PETPRhTUJdsxzfDcsAl_AhMjG_qGlCQTJcMtqJ2PI3xWMyd5VJq1WEPCy5DjJ8bc4_8n8/s320/Koninklijke_Bibliotheek_Book_of_Hours_snowman_illustration.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
There are documented records of snowmen being built since Medieval times – the earliest being an illustration in the margin of one of the pages of the 1380 <b><i>Book of Hours</i></b>, that resides in Koninklijke Bibliotheek, in The Hague – but it is likely that the practice dates back to the Neolithic period. After all, the representation of the human form, in no matter what medium, is as old as human beings themselves. Since Neolithic peoples painted the inside of caves with scenes of hunts, as well as those of everyday life, and stone age artists carved sculptures of the Earth Goddesses from the material that gave them their name, why wouldn’t they also have used snow to create effigies of the human form (when the weather conditions permitted)?<br />
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As snow can be sculpted without the need for tools, it would have been a very appealing material to work in. Ice-age man sought to create images of the idealised human form, which for him meant the maternal, female form – the voluptuous, well-endowed shape of Mother Earth herself. So it is highly likely that the snow sculptures we describe as snowmen actually started out as snowwomen. (It’s uncertain when snowballs were introduced.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2hozh6QwfpsIJMsvWYcxWlUQBvkfD2XseV7aSIL5180Spe467YliHS7DrMc8IcVKnj6IKV6QfFAPDfR30T-MQGZZbLY1387pR7530IhA4vvrs8v7FALWCaqklHHTJs-CbWVWFg3e00M/s1600/09+Snowmencol1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2hozh6QwfpsIJMsvWYcxWlUQBvkfD2XseV7aSIL5180Spe467YliHS7DrMc8IcVKnj6IKV6QfFAPDfR30T-MQGZZbLY1387pR7530IhA4vvrs8v7FALWCaqklHHTJs-CbWVWFg3e00M/s400/09+Snowmencol1.jpg" width="282" /></a>25,000 years later, and we’re still building human figures out of snow, but only if the snow is of the right consistency. As it approaches its melting point snow becomes moist and is more easily compacted, allowing for the construction of large snowballs simply by rolling. Powdered snow will not stick to itself and so is not an ideal building material for snowmen. The best time to build a snowman is the next warm afternoon following a heavy snowfall.<br />
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The snowman doubtless became a part of the Christmas festivities, not just because of the wintery time of year at which those celebrations took place, but as part of Christianity’s mass assimilation of seasonal pagan practices, such as the Christmas tree and Father Christmas.<br />
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I'm sure it won't surprise anybody to learn that snowmen appear in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and they will also appear in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is into its final two days of funding on Kickstarter.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-1695875583290100222019-12-18T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-18T16:00:07.929+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: R is for REINDEER<div>
<span style="font-size: 16px;">Did you know that a reindeer calf can outrun a man at only one day old, or that the Finns once measured distance in terms of how far a reindeer could run without having to stop for a pee?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><br />The reindeer is the only deer that can be domesticated, and was the first hoofed animal to be domesticated. It provides the nomadic tribes who live within the Arctic Circle (such as the Lapps) with milk, cheese, meat, fat, clothing, footwear, tools (made from the antlers and bones), highly durable bindings (made from the animal’s sinews) and a means of transport.</span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682565616602230738" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg5WLKgxFEpFPnpOPAKp-fp90QRHJgVXpx2Vx77L1tzb6rHRMdWkcZoTmCoOcoz9E0n_iHTetB66kiZLU6WHtewgmP3uzZAuT6gBjdOdtIJAnmOSIHjCSh57WPJxShVbgl7sdtrLOiMEb-/s400/LaplandReindeer.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 260px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">In Iceland, reindeer meat (or </span><i style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">hreindýr</i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px;">) is becoming an increasingly popular Christmas dinner choice, while the Lapp people of Scandinavia believe that taking powdered reindeer antlers increases virility. Reindeer themselves are vegetarians by choice but when when the supply of greenery runs out they will eat anything, and everything, from eggs and shed antlers, to placenta and even rodents!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZD7B-z2twlims6gMsctrKq9RYP3K5gUdxsLBloDsqu36nO6hnw4YsuwWTT94FeSiPiGg8RiBOuhJdNoOfnp2YjR9obucuL5vu7lS9BwYYRBB4XMpho0xlK-soMqmZdurqxCZafJHK58V/s1600/04+Sleighride1col.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1188" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggZD7B-z2twlims6gMsctrKq9RYP3K5gUdxsLBloDsqu36nO6hnw4YsuwWTT94FeSiPiGg8RiBOuhJdNoOfnp2YjR9obucuL5vu7lS9BwYYRBB4XMpho0xlK-soMqmZdurqxCZafJHK58V/s400/04+Sleighride1col.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
Reindeer did not enter the Father Christmas story until the nineteenth century, and it was all the fault of the American Episcopalian minister called Clement Clarke Moore, who composed the famous poem <b><i>An Account of a Visit from Saint Nicholas</i></b> (a.k.a. <b><i>'Twas the Night Before Christmas</i></b>), as a Christmas treat for his own children.<br />
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In his poem, Moore had a diminutive elf-like Santa pulled in a miniature sleigh by equally tiny reindeer. At one point Santa reels off their now so familiar names, but which were new to those reading the poem when it first appeared in print back in 1823.<br />
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<i>More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,</i></div>
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<i>And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:</i></div>
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<i>‘Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!</i></div>
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<i>On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!’ </i></div>
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Those same reindeer appear in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and also appear in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is into its final few days of funding on Kickstarter.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-45243356315353400132019-12-17T21:35:00.002+00:002019-12-17T21:35:11.779+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: Q is for Snow QUEEN<b><i>The Snow Queen</i></b>, or <b><i>Snedronningen</i></b> in Danish, is an original fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen. The tale was first published on 21 December, 1844, and is about the struggle between good and evil as experienced by Gerda and her friend, Kai.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUp0iAG8uV1VUSyetnnmetdl0WugxKtGPr5Su0H1tZka_k50jui8sTkJKbR6XxbK0jX2Rem-4kecUeBUbooWaliDS7YvKLXByoLhf2ZZaPOTfBTFiVzxsUUk2Kns1fKL5OUAdM2syGuE/s1600/08+Icequeencol1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJUp0iAG8uV1VUSyetnnmetdl0WugxKtGPr5Su0H1tZka_k50jui8sTkJKbR6XxbK0jX2Rem-4kecUeBUbooWaliDS7YvKLXByoLhf2ZZaPOTfBTFiVzxsUUk2Kns1fKL5OUAdM2syGuE/s400/08+Icequeencol1.jpg" width="282" /></a>The story is one of Andersen's longest and most highly acclaimed works. It is regularly included in selected tales and collections of his work and is frequently reprinted in illustrated storybook editions for children.<br />
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Andersen met the Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind in 1840, and fell in love with her, but she was not interested in him romantically, although the two became friends. Legend has it that Andersen was inspired to model the cold-hearted Snow Queen on Lind after she rejected him as a suitor.<br />
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More recently, the 2013 Disney film Frozen was inspired by <b><i>The Snow Queen</i></b>, and closely followed the original Andersen story early in the film's development.<br />
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The Snow Queen appears in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and she will also appear in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is into its final few days of funding on Kickstarter.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-51542937123499117972019-12-16T23:00:00.001+00:002019-12-16T23:00:40.411+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: P is for PERCHTA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnLo-x7fE2wczRzez-VXjJiucHjbjOvvYgepLp8asJSep2zwO5BhrKfvH31S1eqg31iEjFzwZzR-3m7l9pSl7fqICSnRjhmDYEYBS6UeoIqb3oY_VgMlufnZ3izY6ZxCF2O1t2xUde-g/s1600/Colour+Perchta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1573" data-original-width="1333" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicnLo-x7fE2wczRzez-VXjJiucHjbjOvvYgepLp8asJSep2zwO5BhrKfvH31S1eqg31iEjFzwZzR-3m7l9pSl7fqICSnRjhmDYEYBS6UeoIqb3oY_VgMlufnZ3izY6ZxCF2O1t2xUde-g/s320/Colour+Perchta.jpg" width="270" /></a>Not unlike Krampus the Christmas Devil himself, Perchta is a creature from Alpine myth, a product of the paganism once practised in the Upper German and Austrian regions of the Alps. Once venerated as a goddess, her name may mean "the bright one".<br />
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In the folklore of Bavaria and Austria, Perchta was said to roam the countryside at midwinter, and to enter homes during the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, but especially on Twelfth Night itself. She would know whether the children and young servants of the household had behaved well and worked hard all year. If they had, they might find a small silver coin next day, in a shoe or pail. If they had not, she would slit their bellies open, remove stomach and guts, and stuff the hole with straw and pebbles!<br />
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She was particularly concerned to see that girls had spun the whole of their allotted portion of flax or wool during the year. She would also slit people's bellies open and stuff them with straw if they ate something on the night of her feast day other than the traditional meal of fish and gruel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaogub5ENVX6PEIStolJGOtYSpzmQ5_kjeGOfQY1RUAPYTzj9vZVWT796KOzxlsfVazj0MhH8qZS5FaHE0koIVS7amihba57K6ZlGEVPye__u6uW8EejIJk5UE1BWBB06IafH7GLA4kIQ/s1600/Frau+Perchta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="480" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaogub5ENVX6PEIStolJGOtYSpzmQ5_kjeGOfQY1RUAPYTzj9vZVWT796KOzxlsfVazj0MhH8qZS5FaHE0koIVS7amihba57K6ZlGEVPye__u6uW8EejIJk5UE1BWBB06IafH7GLA4kIQ/s320/Frau+Perchta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I re-imagined Perchta for <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and she will also appear in her new form in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is into its final five days of funding on Kickstarter.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-32040441456790469582019-12-15T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-15T16:00:08.725+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: O is for Chocolate ORANGESAs my Best Man pointed out during his speech at my wedding (almost 16 years ago), I have a think of chocolate and orange in combination, and I love nothing more than a Terry's Chocolate Orange (apart from my wife and children, of course), a product that was first created in 1932 at the Terry's Chocolate Works in York, England.<br />
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In 1823, Joseph Terry joined a York sweets company, which specialised in orange and lemon candied peel, as well as other sweets. Terry used his skills in chemistry to develop new lines of chocolate, candied peel, and marmalade. The company opened the Art Deco-style factory known as Terry's Chocolate Works in 1926, and began launching new products. These included the Dessert Chocolate Apple (1926), Terry's All Gold (1931) and the Chocolate Orange.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-C85mT5QxxAvY2aBwRx-RpLai9LYpTCSfXnk48CfA-NKq6x5opLq8tNh2xfYji8dXP_ptlcgqaLi8bpVQz8k2oMZPFQrRZyA7RLOpISwOIc1riiOK3MabtuojWnKHxRFcYxwFh0rKCQo/s1600/Chocolate+Orange+and+Apple+Product+Brochure+1936+-+Please+credit+With+kind+permission+of+Borthwick+Institute.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1230" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-C85mT5QxxAvY2aBwRx-RpLai9LYpTCSfXnk48CfA-NKq6x5opLq8tNh2xfYji8dXP_ptlcgqaLi8bpVQz8k2oMZPFQrRZyA7RLOpISwOIc1riiOK3MabtuojWnKHxRFcYxwFh0rKCQo/s400/Chocolate+Orange+and+Apple+Product+Brochure+1936+-+Please+credit+With+kind+permission+of+Borthwick+Institute.jpg" width="307" /></a></div>
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In 1954, production of the chocolate apple was phased out in favour of increased production of the Chocolate Orange.<br />
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<b>Did you know...?</b><br />
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<ul>
<li>Chocolate Oranges appeared on the South Korean market in the GS25 chain of convenience stores in 2017.</li>
<li>The Terry's factory in York closed in 2005. Chocolate Orange manufacturing was moved to near Jankowice, in Poland, but in 2017, with the sale of Terry's, manufacture was moved to France.</li>
<li>Surveys have revealed that a Terry’s Chocolate Orange finds its way into one in ten British Christmas stockings.</li>
<li>On 29 May 2016, the UK product size was reduced from 175g to 157g by changing the moulded shape of each segment to leave an air gap between each piece. Despite this, the price doubled in some retail outlets.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCJG5X3r0ICpEw2NuR-7OGZfqNiCGJPGrxbjEqqFGsbaoJawvsaKZ4D9DVo86gNIv5HbKVsPCcZdkcLg4BJB-4ixHOh4k_oWLORU7U-_I8JciW13omdsZf1_qP5IJlJl8l9Mx6fzV_5A/s1600/Terry%2527s+Chocolate+Orange.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="325" data-original-width="380" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCJG5X3r0ICpEw2NuR-7OGZfqNiCGJPGrxbjEqqFGsbaoJawvsaKZ4D9DVo86gNIv5HbKVsPCcZdkcLg4BJB-4ixHOh4k_oWLORU7U-_I8JciW13omdsZf1_qP5IJlJl8l9Mx6fzV_5A/s320/Terry%2527s+Chocolate+Orange.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Take care when you examine the stockings in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, as they may not contain a Chocolate Orange. But I might have to put one or two into <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, or maybe the RPG could come with a free one at future conventions.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-91522036156894957132019-12-14T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-14T16:00:05.897+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: N is for NUTCRACKERAt Christmas time it is not uncommon for many families to attend the only ballet they will see all year. The name of that ballet? <b><i>The Nutcracker</i></b>. But how did a ballet about a mechanical device for cracking nuts become such a popular festive tradition?<br />
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The story itself upon which the ballet it based – <b><i>The Nutcracker and the King of Mice</i></b>, by E. T. A. Hoffman – is older than the version we see portrayed on stage, which is actually an adaptation by the French author Alexandre Dumas, better known for penning such classic novels as <b style="font-style: italic;">The Three Musketeers </b>and <b style="font-style: italic;">The Count of Monte Cristo</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1WxrLghN_nIuD5WIcXPkNKp4dwTHNc34IPRE46gXpUs6MDELSYz6aoubHZJzeLbtAmSnFszxsCrWx05lvMBE29G8fs51nTPVIQUwQn4OJqvRNL19Jw2YWzVK3UWbAeBqeegzv0xFcRk/s1600/The+Nutcracker+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="415" data-original-width="318" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL1WxrLghN_nIuD5WIcXPkNKp4dwTHNc34IPRE46gXpUs6MDELSYz6aoubHZJzeLbtAmSnFszxsCrWx05lvMBE29G8fs51nTPVIQUwQn4OJqvRNL19Jw2YWzVK3UWbAeBqeegzv0xFcRk/s320/The+Nutcracker+book.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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<b><i>The Nutcracker</i></b> was actually Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s final and least satisfying ballet, after he took on the project with a marked lack of enthusiasm. It is ironic then that it is <b><i>The Nutcracker</i></b> that has become one of the most beloved Christmas traditions of the modern age.<br />
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<b><i>The Nutcracker</i></b> premiered in Tchaikovsky’s native Russia in 1892, but it wasn't until 1944 that an American ballet company decided to perform the entire thing. That year, the San Francisco Ballet took on the task, from then on performing <b><i>The Nutcracker </i></b>as an annual tradition.<br />
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But it was really George Balanchine who set <b><i>The Nutcracker</i></b> on the path to popular fame. In 1954 he choreographed the ballet for a New York company, and not a year has passed since when the ballet has not been performed in New York City.<br />
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<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="641" data-original-width="1364" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgffzEXP_KfiNPbX7tfZMD9hZpB4W2hTuZyZlUxcfm-l-SSWtn3hcDOhd9uG61hj4Lc5hgY4s6N-_6n1AmoQIfZmkyHYzzOjSaZTf1KDdIRy30pMkmXPudvr6XhmKFy7t47g-JcOnPbg6E/s400/3+Nutcrackers.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
You may encounter an animated Nutcracker in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and possibly in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a> as well.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-57022324642318591622019-12-13T16:27:00.002+00:002019-12-13T16:27:43.998+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: M is for MYTHS and LegendsThere are many myths and legends associated with the Christmas season, some significantly better known than others.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSHEWDxD5lUW2vNLChGJaR1k55soNGuDXhWcjzfToQxaP2cdqnYkDCxvbN-ewrBY59gOeFEkBP1OUs6I6dLeI1NE4dnDirTsy32iSLb-QEQg1n4QOG55nlT8JDl8hjCqyiRGq3zK4PTo/s1600/Saint+Eligius.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYSHEWDxD5lUW2vNLChGJaR1k55soNGuDXhWcjzfToQxaP2cdqnYkDCxvbN-ewrBY59gOeFEkBP1OUs6I6dLeI1NE4dnDirTsy32iSLb-QEQg1n4QOG55nlT8JDl8hjCqyiRGq3zK4PTo/s1600/Saint+Eligius.jpg" /></a>For example, 1st December is the feast day of Saint Eligius – the patron saint of goldsmiths and other metalworkers, including blacksmiths – who died on that date in AD 660. There are a number of legends which are often linked to Saint Dunstan (another smithying saint), but which have also been applied to Saint Eligius.<br />
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In one, the Saint, formerly a blacksmith himself, was working at his forge when the Devil paid him a visit. The Devil had disguised himself as a beautiful woman, with a view to leading his victim astray. However, the Saint spotted Satan’s cloven hooves poking out from beneath the woman’s dress, and grabbed the Devil's nose with his red hot pincers, thus foiling the Evil One’s diabolical scheme.<br />
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According to another legend, Satan returned again as a weary traveller in need of a horseshoe. The Saint saw through the disguise a second time and beat the Devil until he pleaded for mercy, and swore never to enter any house with a horseshoe above the door.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VenmHpquBHiQPLksk7uo1WKwkSI5p8qA7OBaOPFVcGg2m0muR8ZwlAxFsIx1DjCOd4dhv0eKTx9dYa7GfelnyXrfURLsnnBDKBZ5VOAL1x3t_LhCVzsyhiAytooa6j9BFSPT-JNnEms/s1600/sword1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1600" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9VenmHpquBHiQPLksk7uo1WKwkSI5p8qA7OBaOPFVcGg2m0muR8ZwlAxFsIx1DjCOd4dhv0eKTx9dYa7GfelnyXrfURLsnnBDKBZ5VOAL1x3t_LhCVzsyhiAytooa6j9BFSPT-JNnEms/s320/sword1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a> was, in part, inspired by many of the myths and legends associated with Christmas, not least those concerning Saint Nicholas and Krampus the Christmas Devil, and so is <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently 78% funded <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-5013081865705701992019-12-12T12:00:00.000+00:002019-12-12T12:00:11.258+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: L is for LA BEFANAIn Italy Father Christmas has sub-contracted his gift-giving duties to a kindly old witch called La Befana, who gives children sweets if they’ve been good and a piece of coal if they haven’t.<br />
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According to the Italian legend of La Befana, the three wise men stopped at her home on their way to pay homage to the Christ child, and invited her to go with them. But La Befana had lost her own child to the plague and found the prospect of seeing another baby too upsetting. But after the wise men had left she changed her mind.<br />
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She set of in pursuit on her broomstick (as you do when you’re a witch) but never found the Magi again. Instead, every time she came across a good child’s stocking she filled it with toys and sweets in an effort to make amends for her foolishness.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOP1SJAmS7kAsrtBDIjWEFSYROS_Ko5Z886Vk_TPJxeWQ7mY_QFqVsrErt2I1E0gybJISji9Fq1WVnJbf2jddrhDGjAAWIfEUjIrSP4drNItKPTUrnna09NgkIQFCnaC84s_d41_ggVu8/s1600/Toys1+-+Witch.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1276" data-original-width="1317" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOP1SJAmS7kAsrtBDIjWEFSYROS_Ko5Z886Vk_TPJxeWQ7mY_QFqVsrErt2I1E0gybJISji9Fq1WVnJbf2jddrhDGjAAWIfEUjIrSP4drNItKPTUrnna09NgkIQFCnaC84s_d41_ggVu8/s320/Toys1+-+Witch.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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You may encounter La Befana during the course of the adventure that is <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and chances are she will also make an appearance in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently 77% funded <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-17724958156259163622019-12-11T12:00:00.000+00:002019-12-11T12:00:11.026+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: K is for KRAMPUS<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4L96m0dM7YXlWeidMW-LHonOQj4UXB2yajgBdRd45Bup5zCaRMr1BgKprkJ-I32NIXrrxyzFsUbWsW7RaTny0t2fvi00CSO6DHjHAhuUXD37IxGNLlT5Npi_5hgUMIW8PBjzRjkPdR_w/s1600/51135343_340719149868859_7884103772564094976_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4L96m0dM7YXlWeidMW-LHonOQj4UXB2yajgBdRd45Bup5zCaRMr1BgKprkJ-I32NIXrrxyzFsUbWsW7RaTny0t2fvi00CSO6DHjHAhuUXD37IxGNLlT5Npi_5hgUMIW8PBjzRjkPdR_w/s320/51135343_340719149868859_7884103772564094976_n.jpg" width="251" /></a>In the twenty-first century, we have become so used to the idea of Santa bringing gifts to good little boys and girls on Christmas Eve it is easy to forget that not so long ago, bad little boys and girls were likewise punished.<br />
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In the wild heartlands of Europe such legends are not so easily forgotten, and so it is that in countries such as Austria and Hungary, on 5 December, communities remember Krampus, a demonic anti-Santa who accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgan1nMHNQUks_BRqMGLfuoHa76UHPi1I6V8dcDFa1uH8OMZEtssSKhOKdDU2hDxa7zScgU2UdpiXqgHLLoSYe7j9_Ubz95EC8dgrzOTKl9E6fl12AO7f5mI7P6DOx6aUNROSilQAZatDA/s1600/Krampusboss2Colsml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgan1nMHNQUks_BRqMGLfuoHa76UHPi1I6V8dcDFa1uH8OMZEtssSKhOKdDU2hDxa7zScgU2UdpiXqgHLLoSYe7j9_Ubz95EC8dgrzOTKl9E6fl12AO7f5mI7P6DOx6aUNROSilQAZatDA/s400/Krampusboss2Colsml.jpg" width="282" /></a>In the Alpine regions, traditionally young men dress up as the Krampus and roam the streets, frightening children and women with rusty chains and clanging bells. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/08/austria-struggles-with-marauding-krampus-day-demons-gone-rogue">In some rural areas the tradition goes so far as to include the birching of young girls!</a><br />
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Images of Krampus usually show him with a basket on his back, used to carry away bad children and dump them into the pits of Hell. The name Krampus itself originates from the Old High German word <i>krampen</i>, meaning ‘claw’.<br />
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So when the chubby, cheery fellow with the bulging sack of presents asks if you've been good or bad, you had better have been good, for goodness sake…<br />
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Krampus is the Big Bad of both the gamebook <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a> and the roleplaying game <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-57755589899038961462019-12-10T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-10T16:00:05.037+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: J is for JACK FROST<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYncUBrZh8uPrgzNPZGxC5CNYsuR-5G5q1dCaCpQv3adpUkWJnGiHrw0hmKgGLv4zoZIQ1k0KZs0Bl8kXCpBIgtymUyN-Y-P6QMJL-H2amBVw1E1Xlk7FtE0KtyJ9stnSGxsZRWtHVt38/s1600/old-man-winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYncUBrZh8uPrgzNPZGxC5CNYsuR-5G5q1dCaCpQv3adpUkWJnGiHrw0hmKgGLv4zoZIQ1k0KZs0Bl8kXCpBIgtymUyN-Y-P6QMJL-H2amBVw1E1Xlk7FtE0KtyJ9stnSGxsZRWtHVt38/s200/old-man-winter.jpg" width="200" /></a>Humans have associated the winter season with deities since the ancient Greece god of winter Boreas, the Norse mythology god of winter Ullr, and continuing on in other cultures including Celtic mythology with the goddesses Cailleach and Beira. Over time, the old gods of winter transformed into new personifications of the seasons, including the elemental spirit Old Man Winter.<br />
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A variant form of Old Man Winter, Jack Frost is the personification of frost, ice, snow, sleet, and freezing cold weather. (In Russia he is the rather more severe Grandfather Frost.) He is the one supposedly responsible for changing the colour of autumn foliage, and for painting the fern-like patterns of ice seen on cold window panes in the depths of winter.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUJzOZihUDhX5-yXf-ljZrrQy0EMjQXRx_p8RBwh_aduZ2RIbqVMH3765BXrYeuQBYnI8CpB8ayTxjD-PSTKOyXAtZmb8H8xflyLlnL6OtRpBM0S5d-jryMjlBlG4sH69imQ34wZYvXs/s1600/book1colsml.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDUJzOZihUDhX5-yXf-ljZrrQy0EMjQXRx_p8RBwh_aduZ2RIbqVMH3765BXrYeuQBYnI8CpB8ayTxjD-PSTKOyXAtZmb8H8xflyLlnL6OtRpBM0S5d-jryMjlBlG4sH69imQ34wZYvXs/s400/book1colsml.jpg" width="282" /></a>Although originally a sinister mischief-maker, in recent years he has been transformed into a kindly, child-like sprite who simply wishes to enjoy himself and bring happiness to others, as in the 2012 Christmas movie <i>Rise of the Guardians</i>.<br />
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Jack Frost makes an appearance in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, but to say whether he is a kindly sprite or a sinister mischief-maker would be to give the game away.<br />
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Chances are he will also make an appearance in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-89311916755443993042019-12-09T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-09T16:00:09.170+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: I is for ICEDid you know that it can actually get so cold 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.<br />
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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!<br />
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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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2wVgwqrwX5WoNMImvpnZryTlAp35UqmCZtvL7rWV2MY1aC22paa6ZOzKdkXc1UyeFei6PSk_n6TcQ7S023fQLQIoak0-xkaUM2QVAb0bX4SR-ci_hg-yDTKOzkUw05RbLirGdZcrPdH4/s1600/Dry+Valleys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2wVgwqrwX5WoNMImvpnZryTlAp35UqmCZtvL7rWV2MY1aC22paa6ZOzKdkXc1UyeFei6PSk_n6TcQ7S023fQLQIoak0-xkaUM2QVAb0bX4SR-ci_hg-yDTKOzkUw05RbLirGdZcrPdH4/s400/Dry+Valleys.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a> is on sale now, while <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a> is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-27838330220003037952019-12-08T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-08T16:00:15.678+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: H is for HOLLY, and I is for IVYHolly and ivy have become so inextricably connected with Christmas, mainly because both are evergreens, like the fir tree and the boughs used to form the traditional Christmas wreath and, as such, date back to pagan times.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN0F5FJGEeYSvt4ODD_1pHM0-80kV2LknABIax62rL9IQaSOUFhwZ7426jTL8h90BlyroMYIR5fl_yfN3SLzCbL5d0BjI9WhLwEnuFYPMK5dimAHi3TvRxpMnd5Axt_tGCxVlfH6mbowL/s1600/Holly+Green+Man.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="480" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWN0F5FJGEeYSvt4ODD_1pHM0-80kV2LknABIax62rL9IQaSOUFhwZ7426jTL8h90BlyroMYIR5fl_yfN3SLzCbL5d0BjI9WhLwEnuFYPMK5dimAHi3TvRxpMnd5Axt_tGCxVlfH6mbowL/s400/Holly+Green+Man.webp" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Romans believed both holly and ivy brought good luck and so decorated their homes with the plants during the festival of Saturnalia. They would also give sprigs of the plants to friends and loved ones as good luck tokens.<br />
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In time, the Church took these traditional elements of the extant winter festivals and gave them a Christian twist, adding their own symbolism. The sharp leaves of the holly came to represent Christ’s crown of thorns, while the red berries were drops of his blood. The nascent Church was so successful in modifying the symbolism of the holly that in Scandinavia it is still known as the ‘Christ-thorn’.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBY5H-EIcRZ1aA2m0ucVOUxArMau01L07418c_Oqe439imJwYtkd8s6TTrObLWcfH6UrHD6MTXDdNl5ni67ulZE25HJsVVU52jfP_3u_USrqLytEkCBVi1TrdT4Cs1bZDz0WYCdKd18lD/s1600/Holly+Green+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="184" data-original-width="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBY5H-EIcRZ1aA2m0ucVOUxArMau01L07418c_Oqe439imJwYtkd8s6TTrObLWcfH6UrHD6MTXDdNl5ni67ulZE25HJsVVU52jfP_3u_USrqLytEkCBVi1TrdT4Cs1bZDz0WYCdKd18lD/s1600/Holly+Green+Man.jpg" /></a></div>
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Other legends were invented, linking Christ to the holly. One stated that there had been a holly tree growing outside the stable where the infant Jesus was born. The tree was bare of berries, hungry birds having eaten them all. However, as soon as Jesus was born the tree grew new buds again, then flowers and finally berries – all in the space of that one night.<br />
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Another tale had it that the shepherds who visited the infant Christ left behind a lamb as a gift, corralling it within a pen of holly branches. The lamb had other ideas, however, and forced its way out of the enclosure to return to the hill pastures with its mother. In doing so, the poor thing tore its coat, the sharp prickles of the holly drawing blood from the creature. It being a cold night, the drops of blood froze becoming the holly’s red berries.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8lQIphsLE06CuuKLsWC3bf9MtFyGeVYNaUcRwugHss3Aqx9gFdc5BBsaKu_ARWTivLN482VKj1RFtNPZwe3d_rbXmJt2cIYtyN6VWbg8SiDMDujhSvvRiIZr_AeqTzLjcRyILwEdrPZ4/s1600/holly-personified---date-1906-mary-evans-picture-library.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8lQIphsLE06CuuKLsWC3bf9MtFyGeVYNaUcRwugHss3Aqx9gFdc5BBsaKu_ARWTivLN482VKj1RFtNPZwe3d_rbXmJt2cIYtyN6VWbg8SiDMDujhSvvRiIZr_AeqTzLjcRyILwEdrPZ4/s1600/holly-personified---date-1906-mary-evans-picture-library.jpg" /></a>To the Medieval mind, the holly and the ivy had other important characteristics. The holly represented the male – with its tough, woody stems and sharp prickles – whilst the ivy was supposed to be female – clinging and feeble. People believed that whichever plant was brought into the house first on Christmas Eve (as it was unlucky to bring either into your home before then) would be in charge for the following year. If the holly was brought in first, the man would be the boss, but if the ivy entered before the holly, the woman would be head of the household.<br />
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Holly was the more important of the two plants. It was supposed to protect a home from lightning, and so was often planted outside the front door. And it had even more miraculous powers; its red berries were able to detect evil and so the holly could offer protection against witches. Medieval men also believed it had powers like those purported to be possessed by certain deodorant sprays today; carrying the leaves or berries about his person supposedly made a young man irresistible to the ladies.<br />
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And of course, in the carol ‘The Holly and the Ivy’, the point is made none-too-subtly that the plant that represents the male is the most important! However, there were a number of carols written in the fifteenth century that had a different emphasis, although the ivy still often came off the worst.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtOhqyefyOWK-9WFHEwYdjwrpWfd3uEhfIAf589917sCOE0kDjvI0W8FwFhLrZivTnuOYY2Joj1-W7KqYTiPW5QdDcRPjsE9L0Ki5J4uY75ltOTD0tomU9HR_U7ZHh3Gc5KbhD6Lr0KwI/s1600/Holly_And_The_Ivy_23a+-+Copy.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="685" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtOhqyefyOWK-9WFHEwYdjwrpWfd3uEhfIAf589917sCOE0kDjvI0W8FwFhLrZivTnuOYY2Joj1-W7KqYTiPW5QdDcRPjsE9L0Ki5J4uY75ltOTD0tomU9HR_U7ZHh3Gc5KbhD6Lr0KwI/s400/Holly_And_The_Ivy_23a+-+Copy.gif" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Both the holly and the ivy make an appearance in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and may also crop up in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-84452872580061978402019-12-07T23:45:00.001+00:002019-12-07T23:45:26.397+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: G is for GRYLA<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfFTm-plGNME7GD1hg4TrVzb54OOAmspxIOeoLCO99GrJxCu-z36YeAW6hxFANqYFdPuEJaHD34vuOnaZ0wGkL_BFvfKcpnLnYu89GddZoVAw6NU-FL2IpZQfVZcKe55X4yaE9Z40TTiJ/s1600/Colour+Gryla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="997" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfFTm-plGNME7GD1hg4TrVzb54OOAmspxIOeoLCO99GrJxCu-z36YeAW6hxFANqYFdPuEJaHD34vuOnaZ0wGkL_BFvfKcpnLnYu89GddZoVAw6NU-FL2IpZQfVZcKe55X4yaE9Z40TTiJ/s320/Colour+Gryla.jpg" width="199" /></a>Gryla is a giantess from Icelandic mythology with an appetite for the flesh of mischievous children, who she cooks up in a large pot. Her husband, Leppaludi, is lazy and mostly stays at home in the cave they share.<br />
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Gryla made her first appearance in the 13th century compilation of Norse mythology, <i>Prose Edda</i>, but no specific connection to Christmas was mentioned until the 17th century.<br />
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She is enormous and her appearance repulsive.
The oldest poems about Gryla describe her as a parasitic beggar who walks around asking parents to give her their disobedient children, although her plans can be thwarted by giving her food or by chasing her away.<br />
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Originally, she lived in a small cottage, but in later poems she appears to have been forced out of town and into a faraway cave.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznVDIgfGkHJ-k4cfTEwRnT5lCXbHWyHZn1VnOqPl_8vV0_drrpJtns2pr-6B77HTszerSpUGa-qLMaySFo4F5zbkILMLnX93D4_IO3AtfW65XNMmgrFhzTC71bbVdVukdf9X-ykbVRWVb/s1600/07+Yule+Lads1col.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznVDIgfGkHJ-k4cfTEwRnT5lCXbHWyHZn1VnOqPl_8vV0_drrpJtns2pr-6B77HTszerSpUGa-qLMaySFo4F5zbkILMLnX93D4_IO3AtfW65XNMmgrFhzTC71bbVdVukdf9X-ykbVRWVb/s400/07+Yule+Lads1col.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
The Yule Lads are the sons of Gryla and Leppaludi. They are a group of 13 mischievous trolls, who steal from or harass the population and all have descriptive names.<br />
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They come to town one by one during the last 13 nights before Christmas and leave small gifts in shoes that children have placed on window sills; imagine a whole family of Father Christmases. However, if a child has been badly-behaved the trolls will leave a potato in the shoe instead.<br />
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Gryla and the Yule Lads appear in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and may also crop up in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-30069521918620957662019-12-06T16:00:00.000+00:002019-12-06T16:00:05.947+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: F is for FROST FAIRThe temperature has been dropping steadily this week, here in the UK, but it's not got so cold yet that the River Thames here in London has frozen.<br />
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Between 1400 and 1814 (which was the last time it happened) the River Thames froze over 26 times. And when it froze solid, Londoners made the most of it, holding Frost Fairs on the ice.</div>
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The tidal, somewhat salty Thames is a deep, fast-flowing river today, but before the Old London Bridge was demolished in 1831, the river’s waters were pooled slightly behind the medieval arches, which probably helped the ice take hold. It was also the time known as the Little Ice Age, when winters were colder and more severe than they have been since 1800.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtR6JiquFoFrNhB43fTVkezuoGEwEvzJlLQJXBPScZT5IJj0VW2AceCeFFaqhqet8WvuZZHMjvhKyHO8HSB8tCmRuZ2CPg3rRIKOKp9qw1QfzVt6WpovEjawELItbVeC5VK0mms9OP88W/s1600-h/frost-fair-1683.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425405660296122658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOtR6JiquFoFrNhB43fTVkezuoGEwEvzJlLQJXBPScZT5IJj0VW2AceCeFFaqhqet8WvuZZHMjvhKyHO8HSB8tCmRuZ2CPg3rRIKOKp9qw1QfzVt6WpovEjawELItbVeC5VK0mms9OP88W/s400/frost-fair-1683.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 198px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">An Exact and lively Mapp or Representation of Boothes and all the variety of Showes and Humours on the ICE of the River of THAMES by LONDON During that memorable Frost in the 35th yeare of the Reigne of his sacred Maj King Charles the 2nd</span></div>
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The embankments had not yet been built, either, and so the River Thames was wider, shallower, and probably a little slower moving.<br />
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The Thames froze several times in Tudor England. Henry VIII is known to have travelled from Whitehall to Greenwich by sleigh, along the River Thames, in 1536. In 1564, Elizabeth I practised her archery on the frozen Thames, whilst menfolk played football on the ice.<br />
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The first frost fair, in terms of full-scale activity and commercial stalls and sports took place in 1608. It was a cheerful and spontaneous affair.<br />
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The Long Freeze or Great Freeze of 1683/4 was one of the coldest-known English, and European, winters. The Thames froze solidly, and the ice was up to a foot deep. The frost began six weeks before Christmas, and lasted well into February.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRChp1nTVnbYslap3gNodLqbw75nxY70pza7xkf9eblyOGnJkw7-UPzZZE_jCVtleu_LU_UbSv_shJxJ9XlUHu_ck4mXpQTqxcTDP5WyXkNprFXMc7GGsBFG-z8XfiTOv_QOiVGfvZLHE/s1600-h/FrostFair1684.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5425406365621603026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxRChp1nTVnbYslap3gNodLqbw75nxY70pza7xkf9eblyOGnJkw7-UPzZZE_jCVtleu_LU_UbSv_shJxJ9XlUHu_ck4mXpQTqxcTDP5WyXkNprFXMc7GGsBFG-z8XfiTOv_QOiVGfvZLHE/s400/FrostFair1684.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 177px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><br />
Streets of stalls and booths stretched from bank to bank; all London’s normal entertainments made their way on to the river. A whole ox was roasted at Hungerford Steps, bear-baiting and puppet-shows were held on the ice. Skating and chair-pushing events were also set up.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LatNHp3TY9sLyjAbNyASoFBrT0t0_okTpyan2XL3LUBagOjvM4srHy2etR0bFqOIZPUOy2DIADVTRsI6dtrJ9-86dhgGM7XXnAYP5ps2OnjBmqV36tV4VPrnMMoH1srsdZRjqWaRYm8/s1600/Frostfair1coll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-LatNHp3TY9sLyjAbNyASoFBrT0t0_okTpyan2XL3LUBagOjvM4srHy2etR0bFqOIZPUOy2DIADVTRsI6dtrJ9-86dhgGM7XXnAYP5ps2OnjBmqV36tV4VPrnMMoH1srsdZRjqWaRYm8/s400/Frostfair1coll.jpg" width="282" /></a>The Great Frost of 1709, probably Europe’s coldest winter for 500 years, saw another large-scale frost fair.<br />
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The last proper freezing of the River Thames in London took place in 1814. The frost set in at the start of January, and by the end of the month, the River was frozen solid. An elephant was even led across the Thames by Blackfriars Bridge to demonstrate the safety of the ice!<br />
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Hordes of traders and entertainers rushed to set up shop, and the fair was in full-swing. It was shorter than many, as the solid ice lasted only a week.<br />
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You can visit a Frost Fair in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>.<br />
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The RPG inspired by the gamebook, <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-16005513619039057722019-12-05T15:04:00.002+00:002019-12-05T15:04:43.653+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: E is for ELVESSanta’s Elves invade the UK each Christmas in increasing numbers, but where does the tradition of the Christmas elf come from?<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan+green&qid=1575557883&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1024" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRCtcZrXICGwTwc2hJskV4dXBVSsYUDpqpyGsUgzCLdBglB0sRSS1UN11is73gwCiXz3GxMNHHmSdRCd658prsKV1dfr-bbcly5fshGld4Pwg64f2ex5Y-NmrirhCOm6St2zFHzGFI6Ow/s400/Christmas-Elves-e1482353837767-1024x658.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Elves appear in Germanic, British and Scandinavian folklore, and are often referred as light elves or dark elves. They were often described as tiny, dwarf-like creatures, either male or female, they are said to be immortal, and possess magical powers.<br />
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In pagan times, Elves were believed to guard homes against evil. If you were good, the elves would be good to you, but if you were bad, they would play tricks on you. For example, they were believed to give people nightmares by sitting on their heads while they were asleep.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan+green&qid=1575557883&sr=8-1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOBQ2GrBIGYRscg7VMML34Zr9WqYLsYWJsd4YUzA9fBIog4qcKq6aSwSelISnTrq9XR0MmzanJzoSbZvklYSAckBieoz6K1hu7CjdL92PvmtdHYoYuhYL69ShoPBfmRrjuie_sUDKKcqc/s400/EvilElves1col.jpg" width="282" /></a>To keep the elves well fed, happy and out of mischief, people left a bowl of porridge on the doorstep at night. The use of the name “elf” in old English reflects the characters’ mischievous nature, and is from the old English <i>ælf</i>. The word was combined to create the words <i>ælfadl </i>“nightmare” and <i>ælfsogoða </i>“hiccup”, afflictions apparently thought to be caused by elves.<br />
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Already associated with storytelling and magic, elves began to be associated with Christmas in the mid 1800s, when they became Santa’s helpers. Christmas celebrations were gathering popularity and Scandinavian writers penned the elves’ role as we know it today - good-hearted, fairy-like helpers of Santa Claus that are sometimes mischievous.<br />
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Today’s children’s Christmas stories have drawn inspiration from the original folk tales to fashion what we think of as modern Christmas elves. Christmas elves are typically described as diminutive creatures, clad in red and green, with pointy ears and pointy hats. They help Santa bring Christmas to life. They design and make toys and gifts for children, look after the reindeer and keep the sleigh in good condition. They keep Santa’s naughty and nice list in order, and guard the secret location of Santa’s base of operations.<br />
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Folklore tells that elves make sudden appearances to families in the run up to Christmas. They keep an eye on children, check who’s naughty and who’s nice and report their findings back to Santa. If you don’t want to wake up on Christmas morning to find your stockings filled with lumps of coal or bundles of twigs – you’d better be good for goodness sake!<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan+green&qid=1575557883&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1600" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCw7VS0XkR90zhieNpNrgyZfvfM_ucQpJOqEK-1e317nRvO_wD5w8ue6T_xGahm6ZoTJ1kNydaLPTcLxQz6vR7t_VE32pBpk90fDo9ZCK0VjCb1-AtOsjq00vdaq6sWQeMmD1tNY87qIo/s400/stocking.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, which is full of elves - both good and bad - makes the perfect stocking filler, as will <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
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The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-73317759097918177922019-12-05T10:37:00.000+00:002019-12-05T10:37:17.148+00:00Gruss vom Krampus!Today is 5th December, which means that this evening is <b><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575540808&sr=8-1">Krampusnacht</a></b>, the night when the Christmas Devil stalks the streets of Austrian and German mountain settlements, searching for naughty children to whip with his birch switch and carry away to hell in his wicker basket.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1911390708/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_U_x_dIn6DbWNY0PK2" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYseuA2jnYbJwVECByAcNSy-5XEK1SenM9r2WiqZb87-Zm2f7l2c7sL42yYYW3ycur309G0HMnT-Ylx9sAdkJ16eH7cd4oaRLbjqwBQgDBU0gcYEN2N7TIdUVW8XPAwuxx6kDAvAFJSdRN/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a></div>
Krampusnacht feels more like Halloween than Christmas. To mark this occasion in the winter calendar, men dressed as Krampus drink alcohol, run through the streets, and frighten children. Often, they chase delinquent children around and actually hit them with sticks! The Krampus costume itself traditionally consists of a hand-carved wooden mask and a suit made from sheep or goat skin. Cowbells are worn around the wearer’s hips.<br />
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Of course, Krampus is the villain of <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575540808&sr=8-1">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a></i></b> (which is accepting reviews <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575540808&sr=8-1">on Amazon</a> now), but he is also the Big Bad of <b><i><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a></i></b>, which needs some love <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a> right now.<br />
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Don't forget to<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"> pledge your support before midnight</a>, to benefit from the Early Bird rewards on offer.<br />
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And it's not too late to send some <b><a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/744938638/10-christmas-krampus-kards?ref=shop_home_active_1&frs=1">Krampus Kards</a></b> this Christmas. If you need some more, they can be purchased <a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/744938638/10-christmas-krampus-kards?ref=shop_home_active_1&frs=1">from the <b>ACE Gamebooks</b> Etsy shop <b>here</b>.</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/744938638/10-christmas-krampus-kards?ref=shop_home_active_1&frs=1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfzxdfpt-InW_nZ9jfOO2-66wEP-KWrTCLOoOR_2PHLbgpRUaby9iHvuHBonG-WWsQ5fcvKCb6nOrurXrRzSwzL3ZV18UEwPRxEeEQQcq74BnwePOg7IWidvc-58hKor3niHZczi3OSZ8/s400/IMG_1711.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-18092489219549903192019-12-04T12:29:00.000+00:002019-12-05T15:04:15.776+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: D is for DECORATIONSPeople have always festooned their homes with some manner of decorations, whether boughs of winter greenery or with enough electric lights to double their energy bills for the year. But where did it all start?<br />
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Our Norse ancestors used evergreens – mainly holly, ivy, mistletoe and the branches of fir trees – to decorate their homes during the winter months, to remind people that life would return to the world again. In time, other man-made decorations, such as bows of red ribbon and lit candles would be added to enhance what nature had already provided.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSACI9o8FvCjiXhWyDAIaGzDXGkWrt68eA20W2eIlt51V_iXFAA_rkomMLwPT6csgezBmGkxITCtORO0hntMqF7B0DT0A69QrGuhAF_lpwqAOAFuEut3U3MH_aVczUohhgKDZ_OzYxoU/s1600/victoria+and+albert+christmas+tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="444" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSACI9o8FvCjiXhWyDAIaGzDXGkWrt68eA20W2eIlt51V_iXFAA_rkomMLwPT6csgezBmGkxITCtORO0hntMqF7B0DT0A69QrGuhAF_lpwqAOAFuEut3U3MH_aVczUohhgKDZ_OzYxoU/s400/victoria+and+albert+christmas+tree.jpg" width="345" /></a>Following the example set by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in the 1840s, the trend of having a Christmas tree in the home grew during the nineteenth century, and so the demand increased to have things to put on it.<br />
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Other than the lit candles, of one form or another, at first many Christmas tree decorations were of an edible nature. There were sweets, fruit and even wafers; then came small presents and paper ornaments.<br />
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By the 1880s glass ornaments were all the rage, with baubles replacing the once traditional apples hung on the old-fashioned Paradise tree (a precursor to the modern Christmas tree) – a reminder of the forbidden fruit tasted by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. And now we have strings of fairy lights, tinsel by the metre and all manner of decorations with which to adorn our homes.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUolVxNR16i0d2SqTHG7qYJfj9-NpHj99fQAGGpMW0Kzft2sMnoO05wFiby54PnQOuFAFaf1SmekXxY5Avvkb38S0z214WOWZZVwbTsk5lNJJC6UGQ01kR8Mv9hCGEtFOZR-florQBks/s1600/deckthehalls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1600" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVUolVxNR16i0d2SqTHG7qYJfj9-NpHj99fQAGGpMW0Kzft2sMnoO05wFiby54PnQOuFAFaf1SmekXxY5Avvkb38S0z214WOWZZVwbTsk5lNJJC6UGQ01kR8Mv9hCGEtFOZR-florQBks/s320/deckthehalls.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a> makes the perfect stocking filler, as will <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
<br />
The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5858862414679851618.post-89684642186905765882019-12-03T12:17:00.002+00:002019-12-03T12:17:34.527+00:00The Krampus Kalendar: C is for Yule CATThe Yule Cat – or <i>Jólakötturinn</i> – is a terrible carnivorous monster from Icelandic folklore. This overgrown puss stalks the winter wilderness, searching for prey. If you encounter it, it will devour you unless you make it an offering of new clothing – a woolly sweater, socks, or something similar. But be warned, the demon cat will know if you are trying to trick it by offering it an old item of clothing!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1MkOyC4PC7y_7NoQuqUE5ZPOiSE11Tj7bmulbh7uIrM2zvmdWv94GcHoiU0fOmhviefJQWoz3X27kPqFdT1BAxfkD8AUdJcOSd9Y-9P8dJCKNhNB0YHq9bCr17TU1R2EY0h4hPAdeG8/s1600/06+yulecatcosmll1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1MkOyC4PC7y_7NoQuqUE5ZPOiSE11Tj7bmulbh7uIrM2zvmdWv94GcHoiU0fOmhviefJQWoz3X27kPqFdT1BAxfkD8AUdJcOSd9Y-9P8dJCKNhNB0YHq9bCr17TU1R2EY0h4hPAdeG8/s400/06+yulecatcosmll1.jpg" width="282" /></a></div>
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<i>The Yule Cat, as imagined by artist <b><a href="http://www.tonyhough.co.uk/">Tony Hough</a></b>.</i></div>
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The Yule Cat makes an appearance in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Krampus Night Before Christmas</a>, and may also crop up in <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">'TWAS - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas</a>, which is currently funding <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0">on Kickstarter</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/TWAS-Christmas-Snowbooks-Adventure-Gamebooks/dp/1911390708/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=twas+jonathan&qid=1575235925&sr=8-1"><img border="0" data-original-height="773" data-original-width="501" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm696ClkZjVT4oPPp__RlZN37S5BYv8yAUOtc927mudyyy5w6zBpmueuGryhqKRsaJSIxnESCrnlYW7W-H20cMnoADunwITQkZ00cLSv5Rqx5Fz3qsuqj584XI3KTyRhLl_S6uw0MWZJk/s320/%2527TWAS+ACE+Gamebook+5+cover.png" width="207" /></a> <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jonathangreen/twas-the-roleplaying-game-before-christmas-0"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1366" height="178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtECGjkhCmccarBBEVCHyrn-JR0-aO-p9m63drnPoEdqvoKe_2EF_SFjWcBYGPUlMO4l_mm-rHogZBD_sXB8999aGGb_TLDECd7YTOunF7lCdH4pWlmcm9waI7fj4_hzSAIqLXaj4FdWQ/s320/%2527TWAS+RPG+blue+snowflakes.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's <b><i><a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html">Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts</a> </i></b>today!<br />
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The book is also available in the United States as <b><i><a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany">Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas</a></i></b>.<br />
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<a href="https://jonathangreenauthor.blogspot.co.uk/2017/11/christmas-explained-robins-kings-and.html"><img border="0" data-original-height="1050" data-original-width="654" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEJ7EEcAGFn0gmYVGA_5lo85dCHwfqJ5gyQdmSCUbwPJlqYupojsCSPN0lkxy4iEibh_NPdhsF823xck3rLKPO5sALJHCOmemVnm3bnri50r1PNRiJ5YwVhtTn7xKpKNeSsqVOA7ldC-HB/s320/Christmas_Explained.jpg" width="199" /></a> <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Miscellany-Everything-Wanted-About/dp/1510725695/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512376800&sr=1-1&keywords=christmas+miscellany"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzKZujwJqQwVEBym7y-rxSrHKuNN86wMf8IYp1dIcQYm1xqmALBjR26BwqpljPMir6jB6GVXTb7PuJHhV4-erkjcXY2OQe1-MwQBGnFmvaQ3tx2UKkiN5izW2i0t4UjQmq-sf8Pdt08sL/s320/Christmas+Miscellany+new+US+edition.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
Jonathan Greenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00620480733147657628noreply@blogger.com0