On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me, three feastive tipples for a cold and frosty morning

Woke up this morning to a hard frost. It's nearly January and it's getting very cold. So, to warm you up on these chill midwinter nights, why not indulge in a glass of something hot and spicy - in others words mulled wine!

I recommend three recipes in particular, those for Clarrey, Bishop's Wine and Glogg - and you can find all of them in What is Mrryh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas, which is still available!

And here's how I got on when I made some Bishop's Wine for friends and family last year...

Marks and Spencer and mulled wine

As I posted yesterday, the Green family went round to a neighbour's for mulled wine and mince pies - and very nice they were too, as was the company. The mulled wine that was served was from M&S, in the traditional warm-it-in-a-pan style but there was also a Mulled Wine Fizz Cocktail. Having road tested both, I can thoroughly recommend them.

The strange thing is I cannot find a link online to the M&S Mulled Wine Fizz Cocktail, not even through M&S Online - a real mystery! - but here's a link to the Aromatic Mulled Red Wine.

Enjoy!

Nativities, Christingles and Mulled Wine

The preparations for Christmas in the Green household really started in earnest this week. First off it was Son's Nativity, next week it's Daughter's Nativity and yesterday we hit the shops (and the plastic) hard to get most of our Christmas shopping done. Oh, and the kids met Santa Claus.

This morning we're off to a Christingle service and then this afternoon we're going round to a neighbour's to enjoy some mulled wine and mince pies. But what are the origins of Nativity plays, Christingles and mulled wine?

One man is credited with creating the Christmas crib more than any other, and that is the 13th century Saint Francis of Assissi. In 1220, Francis made the pilgrimage to Bethlehem. While there, he saw how Christmas was celebrated in the town of Jesus' birth and was so impressed that he asked the Pope if he might recreate something like it in his own Italian home of Greccio.

And of course during the Medieval period, mystery plays - with mummers acting out stories from the Bible - were one of the most popular forms of Christmas entertainment. Both survive to this day, but it is normally children who act out the Nativity story itself and not the adults anymore.

The physical form of the Christingle is an orange, tied with a red ribbon and stuck with a candle and cocktail sticks bearing fruit and nuts. It is a symbolic object particularly used in Christian Advent services, hence the name given to a particular type of religious service. The word Christingle actually means 'Christ Light'. Both the Christingles that are made and the Christingle services that take place in church, celebrate Jesus coming into the world, in his aspect as the Light of the World.

The first Christingle service was held in a castle in Germany, on Christmas Eve 1747, by a bishop of the Moravian Church known as Pastor John. He wanted to find some simple way of teaching people about the true meaning of Christmas. His solution was to prepare a simple symbol which would make the Christmas message seem fresh and alive to them. During the informal service, Pastor John gave each child present a lighted candle wrapped in a red ribbon. He then intoned a prayer.

You can find out more about the origins of the Nativity play and the Christingle in What is Myrrh Anyway? Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas, published by Icon Books.

And if you think the idea of warm mince pies and mulled wine on a cold December day sounds like a good one, follow this link to a piece I posted last year that includes a recipe for the utterly delicious Bishop's wine.

On the second day of Christmas, my true love sent to me... two oranges stuck with cloves!

Last night I tried out one of the recipes from What is Myrrh Anyway? on a group of family and friends who were round for Christmas Eve dinner. And even if I do say so myself it was very well received, and tasted pretty good too.

So, if you fancy a taste of Bishop's Wine, here's the recipe from the book, along with a few visual aids. (NB - I made double the quantity, which is why there's double the ingredients in all the photographs.)

Bishop’s Wine

1 bottle of red wine
1 orange stuck with cloves
1 cinnamon stick
The peel of 1 lemon
Sugar to taste

Place the clove stuck orange in a large pan; add the red wine and leave to steep for half a day. During this time the wine will take on the flavours of the orange and cloves.

Then you need to add the other ingredients together and simply warm the whole lot through half an hour before serving.

Last of all, enjoy in the company of friends and family.

Mulled wine and mince pies

Earlier this evening I enjoyed mulled wine and mince pies at a neighbour's house. Of course, the eating of the mince pies was, technically, against the law and there was no hare's liver in the mincemeat (see What is Myrrh Anyway? for more details) but nonetheless it was very nice too.

If you're looking to host a mulled wine party yourself before Christmas, you could do a lot worse than try out this simple festive recipe for the intriguingly titled Bishop's Wine.

Bishop’s Wine

1 bottle of red wine
1 orange stuck with cloves
1 cinnamon stick
The peel of 1 lemon
Sugar to taste

Place the clove stuck orange in a large pan; add the red wine and leave to steep for half a day. During this time the wine will take on the flavours of the orange and cloves. Then you need to add the other ingredients together and simply warm the whole lot through half an hour before serving.