anthology
Category=DNT
Category=FBC
Category=FYB
christmas
eq_anthologies-novellas-short-stories
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_classics
eq_fiction
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
family
festive
forthcoming
identity
love
solstice
winter
women
Product details
- ISBN 9780712369909
- Publication Date: 29 Sep 2026
- Publisher: British Library Publishing
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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In medieval times, Christmas was not a single day but a twelve-day festival incorporating saints’ days and feast days, beginning on December 25th and ending on January 5th. It was a structured time of celebration, with twelve days of symbolic indulgence and reflection navigating people through to the year’s rebirth.
Stories for the 12 Days of Christmas seeks to revive this ritual period through a carefully curated selection of stories, which map these ancient celebrations onto their twentieth-century equivalents. Courtly masques become pantomimes, feasts in the Great Hall become festive dinner parties, winter hunts become countryside dog walks and lordly acts of charity become the spontaneous whims of socialites. Alongside these modern equivalencies, the collection also touches on the historic commonalities of the season: love, family, finding connection and embracing new beginnings.
Stories for the 12 Days of Christmas seeks to revive this ritual period through a carefully curated selection of stories, which map these ancient celebrations onto their twentieth-century equivalents. Courtly masques become pantomimes, feasts in the Great Hall become festive dinner parties, winter hunts become countryside dog walks and lordly acts of charity become the spontaneous whims of socialites. Alongside these modern equivalencies, the collection also touches on the historic commonalities of the season: love, family, finding connection and embracing new beginnings.
