This poem by Major Henry Livingston Jr. (1748-1828), previously believed to be by Clement Clarke Moore,  must be one of the best known poems about Christmas although most people refer to it by its first line.

T’was the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, –not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
“Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!”

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

His eyes — how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
“HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT.”

Christmas carol concert in an English high School

Every year, in the weeks before Christmas, people in Britain wait for the knock on the door followed by a quick bellow of Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Of course, sometimes it is sung very well, other times you open the door and children look at you hopefully after singing just two lines of a well known Christmas carol.

To enforce the work ethic in children, many people stand and insist they get at least one whole carol before parting with money. This can be a sacrifice if the kids aren’t musically gifted.

The tradition of carol singing goes back to medieval times and continued through the ages. In earlier times it was called wassailing and the singers wassailers – the origin of the carol Here We Come A-Wassailing. Traditionally they were given festive food like mince pies but now they expect and get small sums of money – actually they don’t mind large sums of money too!

Under the Mistletoe at Christmas

At Christmas many homes and workplaces have mistletoe hanging up and the custom is that you can kiss somebody who stands under it.

So how did this custom originate?

Like a lot of customs and traditions, it is hard to say exactly how they began but it is thought that kissing under the mistletoe comes from the plant’s earlier association with fertility.

Many authorities credit the Druids with linking mistletoe with fertility. Perhaps it was because the plant, being an evergreen, grew on leafless trees giving them an appearance of life during the dead days of winter. Or perhaps it was the milky fluid in the berries. Although mistletoe grows on other trees, it doesn’t kill them because it makes its own chloraphyll, perhaps that was another reason to believe it could confer fertility on people.

Whatever its origins, it can be a charming custom, as long as the right people want to kiss you under it.

A Brandy Alexander - See below for Copyright

These 8 delicious cocktails using chocolate based liqueurs, like Crème de Cacao, Kahlua and Royal Chocolate Liqueur, are lovely drinks for any party or celebration like Christmas, weddings, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, etc.

Brandy Alexander
1 fl oz of a good brandy
1 fl oz of dark Crème de Cacao
1 fl oz of heavy (double) cream

Put all the ingredients into an cocktail shaker and shake well. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with nutmeg and cocoa powder.

Chocolada
2fl oz white rum
1 fl oz coconut cream
2 tsp chocolate syrup

Stir all the ingredients together with crushed ice then serve. Garnish with sliced fresh pineapple.

Chocolate Coffee
¾ fl oz good brandy or Cognac
½ fl oz dark Crème de Cacao
½ fl oz chocolate syrup
4 fl oz hot coffee
1 fl oz milk
Whipped heavy (double) cream

Put all the ingredients except the cream into a pan and heat but do not boil. Pour into glasses or mugs, top with whipped cream and dust with cocoa.

Chocolate Martini
3 fl oz vodka
1/2 fl oz dark Crème de Cacao
Splash of triple sec

Put all the ingredients with crushed ice in a cocktail shaker and shake then strain into glasses.

Chocolate Rum
1 1/2 fl oz dark rum
1/2 fl oz Crème de Cacao
1/2 fl oz light cream
1/2 fl oz white Crème de Menthe

Put all the ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake well and then strain into a cocktail glass.

Grand Fizz
1/2 fl oz Crème de Cacao
1/2 fl oz Grand Marnier
Champagne

Stir the two together then top up the glass with champagne. Add a twist of orange peel to garnish.

Spiked Chocolate
1 tbs hot water
2 tsp drinking chocolate powder
1 fl oz Tia Maria
1 fl oz white Curaçao

Dissolve the drinking chocolate in the hot water. When the mixture has cooled, stir in the Tia Maria and Curaçao together with some ice. Use whole or half strawberries to garnish.

White Russian
1 fl oz vodka
1 fl oz Crème de Cacao
1 fl oz cream

With ice, place all the ingredients in a shaker and shake well. Strain into a glass over more ice.

Picture above: Copyright © Jason Lam,  Creative Commons License

Corrugated cardboard and some silver and/or gold spray paint together with beads, glitter and ribbon can make striking and original decorations for your Christmas tree.

Draw stars, Christmas trees, moons, etc onto the cardboard then cut out the shapes. You might like to make the shapes in different sizes.

Spray them with the silver or gold paint – do this in a well ventilated room. Leave them to dry.

You can glue glass beads or pretty buttons to some of the shapes. You can also coat them with a thin clear paste and then sprinkle glitter on them.

Make a hole in the top of each shape and thread ribbon or thread through so you can hang them on the tree.

Gingerbread Christmas Tree

Traditionally, this recipe is made into gingerbread men but you can use different shaped cookie cutters to make it into stars, Christmas trees or other shapes. Before cooking, remember to pierce a hole at the top of each one so you can thread ribbon or strong coloured thread through them to hang on the Christmas tree. Makes 25 cookies.

Ingredients
12oz plain (all purpose) flour
6oz soft brown sugar
4oz butter
1 egg
4 tbs golden syrup (corn syrup makes a good substitute)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 tbs ground ginger

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190 deg C (375 deg F) and line two baking sheets (cookie trays) with baking parchment.

2. Sieve (strain) the flour, spices and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl.

3. Rub in the butter till the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs then stir in the sugar.

Gingerbread Man

5. Warm the golden syrup slightly, must so that it’s a little more runny, then beat in the egg. Cool, then beat into the flour mixture until it forms a soft dough.

6. Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly until it’s smooth. Roll out to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters – don’t forget to make a hole in each one.

7. Put the shapes onto the prepared baking trays and cook for around 7 to 10 minutes. They should be golden brown when done. Leave them to cool on the baking trays for about 10 minutes then cool off completely on cooling racks.

You can decorate them with a simple icing. Beat an egg white until frothy, not stiff, then gradually add sieved (strained) icing (confectioners) sugar. Beat after each addition and stop when the icing is stiff. Add colouring if required. You can spread or pipe the icing onto the cookies.

Thread ribbon or strong thread through the holes and hang on your Christmas tree.

Recommended Book

A Baker’s Field Guide to Christmas Cookies – Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk