Recently in Classic Literature Category

Shelley and I just returned from a few days away in Kangaroo Valley. There, we discovered a wonderful second hand book and antique store that sucked the time from our day and the money from our pockets. I walked away with a pile of fascinating old comics and 'story papers' dating all the way back to 1901 and representing a wide shift on childhood reading.

Even I'm having trouble believing I said it. This morning I awoke after a luxurious lie-in: early to bed, late to rise. Boy, did it feel good. I turned to the wife and said "Wow, I really needed that Raymond Chandler".

What did I mean? A big sleep!

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…"

I'm sure I don’t need to spell out that today, being Christmas Day, is the first of the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Of course, these days, most people only consider the twelve days of Christmas when singing the song, but Christmas as a holiday actually extends from December 25th to the feast of the Epiphany on January 5th.

Although a staple Christmas story for nearly two centuries, the full significance of Clement Moore's poem is often forgotten.

Published in 1822, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' crystalised for many what would become the widely understood depiction of Santa Claus. This particular incarnation would later become intertwined with the European Father Christmas, creating the international figure we know today.

So here's the thing; an American corporation ruined a Christmas classic.

Strong words, I know, but hear me out.

If you live in the UK, you may already be familiar with Raymond Briggs' 'Father Christmas' books from the 1970s and the wonderful cartoon adaptation produced in 1991 by TVS, the award winning producers of 'The Snowman'. Briggs is the undoubted forgotten hero of comics. His comic books - for that's what they are - are among the greatest comics ever written, but never having entered the superhero mainstream, he remained relegated to the children's picture book category.