The 31 Days of Christmas/What We Know About Them (Day 1)

For the whole month of December, I will be posting some traditions of the Christmas Season and how we celebrate them plus sharing some fun things and gift ideas. And more importantly, going through the story of the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. I hope you will come and visit.  

To kick off the season, I begin to give you some background on the Christmas Carol  'The Twelve Days of Christmas and adding a little bit about it each day for the next few days.

Do you know where it came from? I did not until I started my research on Christmas traditions.

So it goes back to England in 1558. From that date to 1829, Catholics were not allowed to practice their form of Christianity, neither in public or private. It was illegal to own a  Catholic Bible and if caught you could be put in prison. Because King Henry V111 had a falling out with the Catholic Church, he started his own protestant church, still known as the 'Church of England.' It was then illegal for Catholics to worship and many that did. did it in secret.  

The song, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'  was supposedly written during this time in England to secretly teach their children about the Catholic religion Each day is said to have a special hidden message. However, there is no proof this is actually true and that instead, it was just a folk song..

And so what did were the meanings that were supposed to be behind the gifts given each day in the song. Stayed tuned tomorrow for more on this loved carol that has come down through the centuries.

Whatever your ethnic heritage, most people do enjoy the Christmas Season. There are many recipes that make it special. And here is one from Italy that you might try:  

Chicken with Coconut Rice

Ingredients

1 Chicken

1 coconut or a can of unsweetened coconut milk

2 tomatoes

2 onions

2 cloves garlic

20 grams/0.75 oz.ginger

oil, salt, and pepper

Instructions

Cut chicken into pieces, add salt and pepper to taste. Slice tomatoes into small cubes. Slice onions. Chop garlic and ginger until fine. Set aside.

Shred coconut into a clean cloth. Fold the cloth around the coconut. With a glass of warm water, wet the cloth. Squeeze the cloth and coconut to extract the coconut milk. 

Discard the coconut.

Or to avoid the above steps, us a can of unsweetened coconut milk.

Add a small amount of oil to a frying pan. Saute chicken over medium heat until tender. Add onions and stir until brown. Add tomatoes, garlic, and ginger and saute over medium heat. Then add coconut milk and mix well.. Reduce heat, let simmer for 30 minutes. 

Serve with rice and salad.

That is it for today Friends. For the sources of these and many other Christmas traditions, please visit: Christmas Customs and Christmas Traditions, The History of Christmas -- whychristmas?com

Thanks for coming by and have a blessed filled day!