I am blessed with Friends
Some of them are fruity
Some are soaked in alcohol
Some of them are nutty
Some are sweet
Some add spice
Some add zest
Some smell nice
But when mixed together
And yuletide is upon us
They become without doubt
The fruit cake of Christmas
Everyone is familiar with the famous Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and we have all at some time happily sung along to it.
But delightful though it is it believed that it had a more serious purpose when it was first written and that it was certainly much more than a repetitious piece of nonsense.
It is said it came about at a time when the Catholics in northern Europe were prevented from practicing their faith openly or otherwise by law and especially In England during the years of 1558 to 1829 it was to all intents and purposes a crime to BE a Catholic.
So "The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as a kind of Underground Catechism.
In fact it was one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith.
In short it was a memory aid at a time when to be caught with anything in written form indicating adherence to the Catholic faith could lead to imprisonment or even death.
The contained hidden meanings for example the “true love” mentioned in the song in fact refers to God.
While the songs gifts hide the meanings to the teachings of the faith.
The
"me" who receives the presents symbolizes every baptized person and a
partridge in a pear tree refers to Jesus Christ and the two turtle doves are
The Old and New Testaments.
The three French Hens are Faith, Hope and Charity, the three great Theological
Virtues
the four Calling Birds are the Four Gospels and the five Golden Rings, The
first Five Books of the Old Testament.
The
six Geese A-laying are the six days of creation while seven Swans A-swimming
represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments.
The eight Maids A-milking are the eight beatitudes with nine Ladies Dancing
representing the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit.
the ten Lords A-leaping are the ten commandments and the eleven Pipers Piping
stand for the eleven faithful apostles and last by no means least twelve
drummers
drumming represent the twelve doctrinal points in the Apostle's Creed.
This may be fact, or it may be fiction but I know which I would like it to be.
It's Christmas break and the sorority sisters are making plans for the upcoming holiday, but their Christmas spirit is diminished by strange anonymous phone calls, before one of the sisters, Clare, disappears. But when they report it to the police their concerns are dismissed.
While
all this is going on another Sister Jess (Olivia Hussey) is planning to get an
abortion much against the wishes of her boyfriend Peter played by Keir Dullea.
Could
he possibly be behind the crank calls and the disappearance?
The
police finally share the girls concerns when a 13-year-old girl is found dead
in the park and they wiretap the sorority house.
The
tension is palpable as you wait to see if the girls will outlast the killer.
But
Margot Kidder who plays the Barb, the drunken sister with the inappropriate
turn of phrase, steals the show in this enjoyable if unconventional Christmas
tale.
Are you wearing any undies?
Beneath
your Christmas gear
You
had them when you left the house
Perhaps
you should explain my dear
A dog isn’t just for Christmas
That’s what they say
And they are correct
It’s also nice cold on Boxing Day
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me
A
best of Sinatra CD
On
the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Six
novelty ties
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Seven
garden tools
Six
novelty ties
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eight
tins of talc
Seven
garden tools
Six
novelty ties
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Nine
crisp white hankies
Eight
tins of talc
Seven
garden tools
Six
novelty ties
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Ten
car air fresheners
Nine
crisp white hankies
Eight
tins of talc
Seven
garden tools
Six
novelty ties
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eleven
handy hint books
Ten
car air fresheners
Nine
crisp white hankies
Eight
tins of talc
Seven
garden tools
Six
novelty ties
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
On
the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Twelve
months subscription
Eleven
handy hint books
Ten
car air fresheners
Nine
crisp white hankies
Eight
tins of talc
Seven
garden tools
Six
novelty ties
Five
puzzle things
Four
woolen scarfs
Three
fountain pens
Two
nylon socks
And
a best of Sinatra CD
Matchmaker Santa is a delightful Christmas Romantic comedy in which
Santa Claus in the form of Chris (Donavon Scott) sets out to fulfil a long term Christmas wish, made when Melanie was a little girl, to find her, her own Prince Charming.
The grown up Melanie (Lacey Chabert) however is getting serious with Justin (Thad Luckinbill) until Chris intervenes to steer her in the direction of Dean (Adam Mayfield).
Apart from the main characters Florence Henderson is a delight as the wonderfully scatty hotel clerk and John Ratzenberger cameos as the laid back inept auto mechanic
