Test Your Christmas IQ - something fun for Christmas!

Happy Holiday Season Everyone!

Greetings from Malaga, Spain.

I hope your holidays are going well (if you are actually on holidays!) or you're able to chill a little at this time of year. Hope you're travelling safe if, like me, you're on the road or in the air. I've had a great time so far - Amsterdam, Paris, Prague and Spain, with Portugal and Morocco still to come, before flying back to Paris then home to Oz, which hopefully will have most of its hot summer weather out of the way. Just kidding. It will be hot until at least the end of February.

Meanwhile I came across this quiz in an EasyJet magazine on the flight to Prague. I enjoyed it and thought I'd share it with you. With thanks to Jack Palfrey and Sam Pothecary.

TEST YOUR CHRISTMAS IQ

Can you spot the festive falsehoods?
I hope yule love it...

TRUE or FALSE?

1. Scientists say Rudolph's red nose is because of infection. T/F
2. Santa Claus wears red to symbolise Jesus turning water into wine. T/F
3. The 'true love' mentioned in 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' refers to God. T/F
4. Kissing under the mistletoe references an affair between Vidarr, the Norse God of the forest, and Elli, the goddess of old age. T/F
5. Crackers originally symbolised an assassination attempt on Pope Julius 111 in 1752. T/F
6. In Poland, spiders and spiders' webs are common decorations. T/F
7. Stockings come from the Hungarian tradition of washing socks on 24 December. T/F
8. The Swedish made the first artificial trees out of dyed pheasant feathers. T/F
9. 120 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe. T/F
10. Christmas pudding was originally a thick soup with raisins and wine in it. T/F
11. Presents used to be wrapped to prevent rats from eating them. T/F
12. Workers in Spain get a Christmas bonus of one month's salary by law. T/F
13. In Serbia, Santa is a woman who gives the children a kiss while they're sleeping. T/F
14. In the Middle Ages, the traditional Christmas meal in England was pig's head and mustard. T/F
15. In Estonia, the festive meal is a stew made from seal meat and chestnuts. T/F
16. Since 1947, Oslo has sent a Christmas tree to London to thank the British for their help in World War 11. T/F
17. The first bit of music played in space was 'Jingle Bells'. T/F
18. Christmas is the most common time of year for couples to break up. T/F
19. Christmas trees are fed dried banana peels during germination to help them develop their deep green colour. T/F
20. In Russia, it's considered unlucky to give teddies as presents, because bear attacks are common in wintertime. T/F

HOW DID YOU GO?

 15-20 YOU ARE SANTA, THE RIGHTFUL OVERLORD OF CHRISTMAS. You scoff in the face of any mere mortal who asks you which winter berries to add to a mince pie. Travelling a mere 510,000,000km on Christmas Eve is no problem so long as there's a glass of eggnog waiting for you when you get home.

8-14 YOU ARE RUDOLPH. Unfortunately, your ruminant mammal brain prohibits you from absorbing all things Christmassy, but 365 days a year under Santa's guidance has given you some basic wisdom.

0-7 YOU ARE SCROOGE. Christmas isn't your thing. Your prefer high interest loans and Victorian workhouses. Try not to bah humbug your way through the festive season, retaining a certain amount of information is crucial if you want to become less of a grump.

ANSWERS

1. TRUE
2. FALSE
3. TRUE
4. FALSE
5. FALSE
6. TRUE
7. FALSE
8. FALSE
9. FALSE
10. TRUE
11. FALSE
12. TRUE
13. FALSE
14. TRUE
15. FALSE
16. TRUE
17. TRUE
18. TRUE
19. FALSE
20. FALSE 

  Thank you for coming by. Thank you to my followers and casual visitors who've read my blog for the past year/s. I hope you'll continue to visit me in the New Year. Meanwhile, have a wonderful holiday season and a happy, safe New Year.

Here's the happy couple chilling in the winter sun in Paris

Whether or not you make New Year's Resolutions, Write...Edit...Publish invites you to post on the topic NEW BEGINNINGS - maybe you have a flash fiction piece, a true story, some pictures...share with us! Sign up here....

Christmas Greetings from Paris. My Write...Edit...Publish entry - Feast of the 7 Fishes (Italy)

Hello everyone!

I am in Paris, enjoying my second Paris pre-Christmas season. Now the Christmas tradition in our family back home is to all gather together and celebrate this wonderful time of the year at the beach. In Australia it's always hot and humid in December, so most, but not all, have given up on the hot roast, preferring BBQ, prawns and cheesecake over the traditional fare enjoyed by those in the Northern Hemisphere.

So seeing as my holiday is mainly in Europe, I'm going to share an extract from a book I finished just before I flew out - The Garden of Evil by David Hewson, a favourite author. Hewson has been described as an author '...for those who like a sprinkling of culture with their crime thriller.' That would be me. I'd never come across this tradition before, so my Christmas Tradition tale is from glorious Italy, a very Catholic country!

The extract is from the protagonist Detective Nic Costa's, point of view. I have rearranged words so it makes more sense for the post. And in case you think I'm crazy posting while in Paris, this has been pre-scheduled before I flew out...

La Vigilia

The feast of the 7 fishes on Christmas Eve.

La Vigilia was already stealing over Rome; Christmas Eve, a pause from the rush and chaos of everyday life. 

The food: seven fishes. No real Roman ate meat at La Vigilia. It was always fish, by tradition seven types, one for every Catholic sacrament. 

On opening the door, a succession of aromas and fragrances wafted out from the kitchen, sending a strong sense of urgent hunger rumbling through Nic's stomach.

"What is this?" a guest asked.

"It's La Vigilia, Christmas Eve."

His invited guests sat around the long table in the dining room. Nic sat at the head, guiding them through the spread of food which his housekeeper had prepared. It seemed to grow with every passing minute; cold seafood salad, salt cod, mussels, clams, shrimps, a small lobster, then finally capitone, a large female eel, split into pieces and roasted in the oven wreathed in bay leaves. 

"This is obsene," someone cried.

He went to the kitchen and came back with a plate of sweet cakes and a bowl full of small presents wrapped in gold paper.

"Choose from the bowl," he said. "Then we take a little wine and go to Midnight Mass."

The cannon fired from the Castel Sant'Angelo.

He refilled their glasses with prosecco. "The cannon means that Midnight Mass is not far away. Another year navigated. Another year to come."

An extract from The Garden of Evil, David Hewson, Part 14, THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

WORD COUNT: extract - 225

I hope you liked my entry for the WEP December TRADITIONS blogfest. To read more entries, click on the names in my right-hand sidebar.

Seeing as I'm in Paris, I will leave you with a classy photo of that gorgeous city.

Next stop...Spain.

Insecure Writers Support Group Post - December - Will I ever submit a manuscript?

Hello from Amsterdam! Brr..brr...Midsummer in Oz, to this...

Yeah, it's pretty cold up here!

Aren't I clever posting from The Netherlands! Well, I missed last month's IWSG post due to being flat out with NaNo, so I couldn't miss two in a row or Alex might strike me off the list.

Click here for more posts 

So what am I insecure about? Well, other than everything, I'm insecure about ever getting a manuscript ready to submit to a publisher, but the time is getting closer. I've nearly got one romance polished to distraction, and the story I wrote over this year's NaNo is pretty interesting -- an historical fiction set in Gallipoli, Ireland and Australia. Such fun to research. I'm nothing if not versatile. Due to the amount of research needed, I gave up on the word count and after writing 30k words, I continued to research.

I hope to post regularly on my travels. Will be in Amsterdam for two more days, then off to Paris for two weeks. During that time we will be visiting Prague, so that will be an exquisite first!

• So, if you're published, self or traditional, how did you know when to let your baby loose on the world?
• Join Write...Edit...Publish for the Christmas 'TRADITIONS' blogfest. What traditions do you follow over the holiday season? Post on December 18th, one week before Christmas Day.

Holiday Spirit Blogfest - Please join us! Total Eclipse of the Sun at Palm Cove.

Memoir, Fiction, Recipes, Traditions...and more

How are the holidays celebrated at your home? The blogsphere includes a multitude of countries, cultures, and citizenry of the world. There are as many ways to celebrate as there are cultures -- Thanksgiving, Christmas, Yom Kipper, Hanuka or any variety of holidays of the “giving spirit” during the same season.

In my home we celebrate Christmas as do most Australians. It is an annual celebration to mark Christ's birth (we are well aware this is not the actual time He was born), to celebrate the summer holidays, to celebrate our families and friends who may fly many kilometres to join together again, to just relax by the beach or the pool and read a book (in between eating, drinking and sharing gifts), forgetting about the demands of work -- just for a few days or weeks..

For this Holiday Spirit blogfest (open to the whole blogosphere as are all RFW blogfests), RFW is looking for excerpts of up to 800 words of fiction or non-fiction stories of family tradition, favorite/unique recipes, inspirational articles, etc.; that involve the essence of the holiday spirit.  (Recipes and news articles do not have to adhere to the 800 word limit.) In other words, we would like you to post whatever passes for the Holiday Spirit in your neck of the world. Maybe you would like to post pictures of your decorated home!

Because of the special nature of this Holiday Spirit blogfest, we are allowing up to two submissions; however, they must be in two separate categories. Meaning, you could post your favorite recipe AND an inspirational 800 word excerpt; or a link to an inspirational news/magazine article and a recipe or true story; but not two of each (two recipes, two memoir posts, two articles). If you are posting two separate submissions, please add your blog link twice and add to your name/link what it contains - eg - Donna Hole, 1, Recipe, so participants know to look for two separate posts.

The linky will open on December 12 and remain open thru December 21 to encourage linking to the direct post. However, if you decide to link then schedule a post (or two) later, just leave a comment to let everyone know when your excerpt will be available. The RFW hosts will be checking the comments and links, and if a direct link is available, we will edit your link(s) if you haven't done so. (RFW uses Inlinkz which allows you to delete your own link and add a new one.)

Please join us in celebrating life, love, presents, good food, and of course Family Traditions of all types within diverse cultures.

This is not a competition - it is a sharing. We hope we'll all get to know each other better!

Happy Holidays everyone; and best wishes for your NaNoWriMo projects. Let us know how you go.

Total Eclipse of the Sun (love that song, but we had the real thing yesterday.) Palm Cove, north of Cairns in Northern Queensland, was the best spot in the world to see it, and thousands of people arrived from all over the world to this usually empty stretch of beach to gaze at nature's wonder. Many weddings and engagements took place.

They came from all over the world to experience the total eclipse which was awesome!

Go here to experience glorious professional pictures of the eclipse which shows the wonder of it.

• Do you know a holiday celebration that is not mentioned above? Please share in the comments.
• Are you going to join us for this blogfest? The more the merrier.
• If you're doing NaNo, how is it going? The halfway mark - 25,000 words yet? I'm lagging a bit...
• Please watch for the linky announcement on December 12.

Santa Fest Gift - Little Tug to the Rescue with original painting

I participated in the Santa Fest where bloggers sent each other unique gifts anonymously. Today I received my gift, an original story, Little Tug to the Rescue. The illustration is an original painting by the author. It was beautiful to receive and read so I thought I'd share it with you.

Thank you Dear Blogger for the wonderful story and painting!

Merry Christmas!

Little Tug To The Rescue

Little Tug lives in the Hidden Harbour at the end of Long Road in Seatown. Although he is very small, he’s also very strong and important.

 Every day whether rainy or sunny, windy or snowy Little Tug is hard at work. He pulls and pushes, shoves and budges the giant ships out of the harbour and into the Wide Open Sea.

At the end of one very long day, Little Tug chugged up to the harbour mouth pulling his last Giant Ship of the day. When he’d finished he let out a great big sigh.

“What’s the matter Little Tug?” came Sid the Seagull’s voice from far above his head.

“I’m tired of pushing and pulling, shoving and budging all day long. I want to go and explore the Wide Open Sea”

“Then why don’t you go on an adventure?” asked Sid, coming to sit on Little Tug’s head.

“I don’t want to go on my own,” said Little Tug, looking sad. “The Giant Ships always keep me company when I leave the harbour. Without them I’d be lonely.”

“I’ll come with you,” said Sid. “Let’s go exploring.”

So, later that evening as the first of the stars appeared in the sky, Little Tug and Sid the Seagull set off out to sea.

They sailed and they chugged and soon they had left the harbour far behind them.

Soon, they had been bobbing along for such a long time that the sky had filled with stars, and they had both fallen fast asleep.

‘Help!’ Little Tug woke with a start. It was morning already.

“Did you hear that Sid?” asked little Tug

‘W-h-a-t?’ yawned Sid, stretching in the sunshine.

‘HELP!’

‘That!’ said Little Tug.

“I sure did,” said Sid, “Come on, let’s go and investigate.”

“HELP!”

I think we’re getting close! Said Little Tug, spotting a small island. The island had a beach. On the beach was a Big Boat all on its own.

“Did you shout for help?” asked Sid, flying over and landing on the Big Boat.

“Yes I did.”

“Oh dear,” said Sid

“What’s the matter?” asked Little Tug kindly.

“A storm came, and a great big wave carried me here. And now I’m stuck on this beach.”

“Oh dear, oh dear!” said Sid again.

“Don’t worry Big Boat, I’ve got a plan to rescue you.”

Big Boat stopped sobbing and he and Sid the Seagull listened closely as Little Tug explained his clever plan.

“Do you think this will work?” asked Sid

“Of course it will work., said Little Tug.

“I sure hope it works,” sighed Big Boat. “I’ve been stuck here for far too long. Let’s give it a go.”

Sid swooped over to Little Tug and took one of his ropes in his beak. Then he flew back to the island and tied the end of the rope tightly to Big Boat.

“Ready?” asked Little Tug.

“Ready! Cried Big Boat.

“Go Go Go,” shrieked Sid.

Little Tug pulled and pulled...

But the Big Boat wouldn’t budge.

“I’m still stuck,” sighed the Big Boat.

“Oh dear,” said Sid.

“I need more help!” puffed Little Tug. “Grab the rope Sid.”

Sid wrapped his beak around the rope and got ready to pull with all his strength.

“Ready?” asked Little Tug.

“Ready!” cried Big Boat

“Mrph,” muttered Sid through a beak-full of rope.

And they both pulled and pulled... but still the Big Boat wouldn’t budge.

“I’m going to be stuck forever,” panicked Big Boat.

“Oh dear, oh dear!” worried Sid.

“I’m going to need even more help,” puffed Little Tug.

“I have an idea,” said Sid. “I’ll be back soon, wait here.” And off he flew as fast as his wings could flap. Soon he was just a speck in the distance.

Before too long, they could see him again... and as he came closer, and closer, they could see that he wasn’t alone.

“I’m back!” said Sid, landing on Little Tug’s head, “and I’ve brought more help. This is Wanda the Whale. Wanda this is Little Tug, and that is poor old Big Boat.”

“Hello!” said Wanda. ‘As soon as Sid said that you were stuck, I wanted to help – come on everybody, let’s give it a go!”

Sid tied a loop in a second rope and dropped this over Wanda’s head. Then he flew onto the island and tied the other end to Big Boat.

“Ready?” asked Little Tug

“Ready.” Said Big Boat.

“Mrph!” muttered Sid, taking up the rope in his beak again.

“Glub!” spluttered Wanda from under the water.

They all pulled and pulled

And pulled some more

And slowly, slowly

Big Boat started to slip... and slide

And finally SPLOOSH!

“You did it!” cried big Boat, “I’m not stuck anymore, I’ back sailing in the sea!”

“Yipee!” shouted Little Tug

“Woopee doo!” bubbled Wanda

“Hurray!” flapped Sid, swooping a loop the loop.

“Thank you so much everyone!” said Big Boat, happy to finally be free.

“Is there anything I can do for you in return?”

“Actually, Sid and I are a little bit lost. We drifted off to sleep and bobbed far away from our home at Hidden Harbour. Do you know the way back there?”

“Yes I do!” replied Big Boat excitedly, “That’s where I was headed before I got washed up here – I’ll show you the way home.”

“I think I’d better come with you too” said Wanda, “just in case of any more storms – I can’t be having you all washed up on this island again!”

And so they set off in one long line – Big boat leading the way, followed by Little Tug, followed by Sid, followed by Wanda bringing up the rear.

And as they splooshed and swooped along as the sun climbed high in the sky and then dipped back down into the sea.

Finally, just as the first new stars appeared in the sky, they reached the mouth of the Hidden Harbour.

“Here we are at last,” said Big Boat.

“Phew, I’m pooped!” said Little Tug

“I’m starving,” said Sid

“Now I’ve seen you safely home, I’ll say goodnight. See you soon everyone.”

“Good bye. Thank you” they all called as Wanda splashed away.

What an amazing adventure, sighed Sid

“Wasn’t it?!” said Little Tug, The Giant ships will never believe me when I tell them in the morning.

Thank you to whoever wrote this for my Santa Fest gift! I hope all my readers enjoyed the tale. Did you?

#RomanticFridayWriters - Challenge No 27- My story, 'Sparkle!'

#RomanticFridayWriters is now a twice-monthly blogfest started by yours truly, where writers post a poem or flash fiction piece with a word count of 400 words and under on a given theme. This week's theme is Sparkle! The challenge is open to anyone wishing to take part in a friendly writing exercise, show off an excerpt from a WIP, or just have some writing fun. However there must be some romantic element - in this you are invited to think outside the square. We know romance is more than just chocolates and roses. Are you in love with your car, your new dress, the place where you were born?

Mine is posted early this week as I'm incommunicado tomorrow. Click on the #RomanticFridayWriters link above or in my right-hand sidebar to read more Sparkle! stories...

It was many long years ago on a cold winter’s night in Yellow Springs, Ohio, that Serena first tasted the power of Christmas lights. Their brash sparkle entranced her, she who had never before seen such a display. She drove up and down the magical street in her borrowed car, marvelling at the fairyland of twinkling lights.

‘There’s a spirit behind those lights,’ she thought. ‘They’re an expression of Christmas, a gift to anybody who drives past.’ Well, nobody could walk past here in Yellow Springs, it’s absolutely freezing!

She returned to her hometown in Australia with a plan. The plan would feature her little tree in the garden, the one she’d planted when her beloved Kev died. ‘I’m going to put lights on you, little tree. You’re going to add some sparkle to this town. Every time I see you twinkling away, I’ll think of Kevvie.’

Christmas couldn’t come soon enough for Serena. Usually she dreaded Christmas. She had no family. No one to share the ‘festive’ season with, but that was about to change.

Serena was amazed at the effect of her first little Christmas Lights display. Neighbours she’d never met came walking by (Christmas in Australia is hot, very hot). They exclaimed over the baubles glistening in the summer’s night and vowed they would add some sparkle next Christmas.

Serena eagerly awaited next Christmas to see if their proclamations bore fruitl. She’d enjoyed the year, taking morning tea with the ladies in the street, but best of all she’d met Sam, the tree man. Her little tree had grown so fast that it needed trimming, so neighbourly Sam had attended to the task.

Every Christmas now the gardens in her street transformed into beauties, a sight to behold. Weeks before Christmas there were baubles on gum trees, fairy lights bedecking houses and bushes, talking donkeys and life-sized nativity scenes. Serena saw each and every sparkly house and was thankful.

The little cedar tree that had housed her first Christmas lights was now magnificent, towering over the whole yard. Sam helped her put the finishing touches to her latest display.

Together they hit the ON switch.Woo hoo!

Her roof, balcony and tree glowed with strings of bulbs, flashing, dancing, enthralling.

‘Look!’ someone cried.

The cedartree. Red flickering lights read: ‘Serena, marry me?’

Serena hugged Sam as warmly as a humid Australian December night would allow.

‘Yes!’

‘Aaahhh!’ exclaimed the neighbours, clapping loudly.

©DeniseCovey2011

• How did you like my little fairy tale?

Word count: 402 - MPA - this is just a fun story. No need to go crazy with critiquing. Please leave a comment.

Next challenge. Check it out.

An Aussie Christmas

An Aussie Christmas is about simple food and the beach

Been reading the blogs I follow (mainly English for some reason) and a few Christmas stories are trickling through, enough to highlight the difference between a Northern Hemisphere Christmas and a Southern one. Hmm.

In Oz we have been suffering extreme heatwaves (40+C in some parts), bushfires (already!), floods (although I see England had a wee bit of a one), drought (in my area) and endless debates on Climate Change and Global Warming causing it all.

We're on our third leader of the Opposition and all due to Global Warming. Hum. All shaping up to the usual Aussie Christmas that we love so well. And the very reason the last few Christmasas I've managed to be in the Northern Hemisphere struggling through blizzards in Belgium and driving on snowy roads in France, not to mention being frozen in London. What is worse?

I'm about to become reaquainted with the lovely Aussie Christmas!

For many years we have struggled with the ridiculous idea of cooking a roast dinner in 30+C heat, but thankfully that is one of our British Empire traditions that has mostly found its way to the archives of modern history - now we go for prawns and lots of other delicious seafood, salads, wonderful crudites and cold trifle or cheesecakes for dessert.

Thanks to another British import - Masterchef (which I watched when I was in London a few years ago) - Australians have upped their expectations of food. We are now ALL masterchefs. The show has taken Oz by storm. We are out trawling the Farmers' Markets and Gourmet Delis to plate up the freshest and finest for our loved ones. So it ain't half bad!

Well and I managed fine getting the Chrissy deckies up yesterday - no lofts to climb, no dreaded lurgy laying me low in high summer, just a few boxes to get out of the backs of cupboards and bingo! Lights and colour. I'm completely addicted to fairy lights, so all the extra heat is going to add to the already warm temp and I'm going to have to crank up the air-con. What was that I was saying about Global Warming? Who's responsible? It is me after all....

Merry Christmas everyone!

But of course Oz does have its compensations - gorgeous beaches, swimming pools everywhere, resort holidays, watersports - being in a hot clime does have its good points...

Finding my way

NaNoWriMo is finished for me. Lots of editing to do but that will be a joy. I could easily get 55,000 out of my story as certainly a lot to add yet.

There must be a trillion writing blogs out there so I'm working on mine (as always) making it a bit more Aussie. Not sure where I'm going but I'll know when I get there. I really don't take myself that seriously, but I love what I do, even if I try to go in too many directions at once. I'm sure no-one else has that problem.

With Christmas coming, realistically how much can we hope to write? I haven't reached the stage where I feel so driven I get up at 4 am, but I salute all you successful people who do! Writing is very individual and we all have to find what works for us - I'm a slow learner - haven't quite figured it out yet, but I'm getting there.

One thing I'll miss about NaNoWriMo is the guest motivational emails from successful authors. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a mentor yelling from the sidelines through a megaphone all the time! Nah, probably not...