The first day of Christmas can be a magical time, filled with anticipation and the sweet scent of gingerbread. But for eleven-year-old twins, Mia and Jack, this Christmas Eve was about to become anything but ordinary. An extraordinary letter, addressed to them in elegant script, arrived on their doorstep, bearing the unmistakable seal of Santa Claus himself. It was a letter that would forever change their lives, setting them on a thrilling quest to save Christmas from an ancient curse. Prepare to be swept away by this heartwarming story of adventure, friendship, and the enduring spirit of Christmas. Join Mia and Jack as they unravel clues, face challenges, and uncover the true meaning of Christmas. Discover a world filled with talking snowmen, mischievous elves, and enchanted items, all while experiencing the joy and wonder that only the magic of Christmas can bring. So, grab a cozy blanket, a cup of hot cocoa, and settle in for a journey that will warm your heart and fill you with Christmas cheer.

The song “The 12 Days of Christmas” is a mainstay of the holiday season, but the practice of celebrating Christmas as a twelve-day festival fell out of fashion long ago in most cultures. In Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, author Chris Marchand explores the history behind the season and individual feast days from December 25 to January 6, and then offers suggestions for how you can celebrate it with your family, church, or community. Along with this, he provides answers to many of the nagging questions surrounding the holiday, such as the history behind the twelve-days song, why December 25 was chosen as the date, and what to do about its supposedly pagan origins. The challenge before us is to first help people see Christmas as a holiday that begins, rather than ends, on December 25, and then to together figure out how to reinvent Christmas in the present by learning how it was celebrated in the past.

In the whole body of Christmas carols sung in English, among the most famous and beloved is a song universally called "The Twelve Days of Christmas." Although its association with the holiday remains unquestioned, the tune was originally a raucous drinking song with wildly different connotations. This book documents the unfamiliar and distant history of one of the world's most well-known holiday songs, inextricably linked to the earliest celebrations of a festival suppressed by the Church itself. The rowdy and mischievous tone of traditional Christmas has vanished, as have the songs that accompanied the festival of drinking, gambling, fighting, feasting and sex. Modern participants of Christmas may be either embarrassed or pleased to discover the scandalous roots of a beloved holiday classic.

Jane Austen turns sleuth in this delightful murder mystery set over the twelve days of a Regency-Era Christmas party. Christmas Eve, 1814: Jane Austen has been invited to spend the holiday with family and friends at The Vyne, the gorgeous ancestral home of the wealthy and politically prominent Chute family. As the year fades and friends begin to gather beneath the mistletoe for the twelve days of Christmas festivities, Jane and her circle are in a celebratory mood: Mansfield Park is selling nicely; Napoleon has been banished to Elba; British forces have seized Washington, DC; and on Christmas Eve, John Quincy Adams signs the Treaty of Ghent, which will end a war nobody in England really wanted. Jane, however, discovers holiday cheer is fleeting. One of the Yuletide revelers dies in a tragic accident, which Jane immediately views with suspicion. If the accident was in fact murder, the killer is one of Jane’s fellow snow-bound guests. With clues scattered amidst cleverly crafted charades, dark secrets coming to light during parlor games, and old friendships returning to haunt the Christmas parties, whom can Jane trust to help her discover the truth and stop the killer from striking again?

A dog variation on the English folk song "The Twelve Days of Christmas."

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Continuing in a festive annual tradition, Debbie Macomber returns with a new original holiday novel full of romance and cheer—and the magical prospect of finding love in the most unexpected places. Friendly and bubbly, Julia Padden likes nearly everyone, but her standoffish neighbor, Cain Maddox, presents a particular challenge. No matter how hard she’s tried to be nice, Cain rudely rebuffs her at every turn, preferring to keep to himself. But when Julia catches Cain stealing her newspaper from the lobby of their apartment building, that’s the last straw. She’s going to break through Cain’s Scrooge-like exterior the only way she knows how: by killing him with kindness. To track her progress, Julia starts a blog called The Twelve Days of Christmas. Her first attempts to humanize Cain are far from successful. Julia brings him homemade Christmas treats and the disagreeable grinch won’t even accept them. Meanwhile, Julie’s blog becomes an online sensation, as an astonishing number of people start following her adventures. Julia continues to find ways to express kindness and, little by little, chips away at Cain’s gruff façade to reveal the caring man underneath. Unbelievably, Julia feels herself falling for Cain—and she suspects that he may be falling for her as well. But as the popularity of her blog continues to grow, Julia must decide if telling Cain the truth about having chronicled their relationship to the rest of the world is worth risking their chance at love. Praise for Twelve Days of Christmas “Another heartwarming seasonal [Debbie] Macomber tale, which fans will find as bright and cozy as a blazing fire on Christmas Eve.”—Kirkus Reviews “Twelve Days of Christmas is a delightful, charming read for anyone looking for an enjoyable Christmas novel. . . . Settle in with a warm blanket and a cup of hot chocolate, and curl up for some Christmas fun with Debbie Macomber’s latest festive read.”—Bookreporter “If you’re looking for a quick but meaningful holiday romance that will be sure to spark a need inside you to show others kindness, look no further than Twelve Day of Christmas.”—Harlequin Junkie “Twelve Days of Christmas is a charming, heartwarming holiday tale. With poignant characters and an enchanting plot, Macomber again burrows into the fragility of human emotions to arrive at a delightful conclusion.”—New York Journal of Books