Now for the Answers to the Annual

Across

• 1) Father Christmas gives bloomin' presents to good girls and boys (6,9)
  
• 12) The BBC is the proper television corporation famed for Doctor Who (3)
  
• 15) Rudolph has to do Run twice or Run, Run when Santa's gotta make it to town. (3)
  
• 18) When a Bell rings an angel gets his wings. (4)
  
• 19) On the First Day of Christmas my true love gave to me.
  
• 20) Herod the Great, Client King of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. Also the name of at least four of his sons, including ones he didn't murder. (5)
  
• 22) 1978 Christmas #1: Boney M 'Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord' (2)
  
• 23) The most financially successful Christmas film is Home Alone (5)
  
• 24) Dec is the Ant-friendly abbreviation for the twelfth month of the year. (3)
  
• 26) Boxing Day is the 26th December and also called the Feast of Stephen. (6,3)
  
• 28) Donner is the reindeer often mistaken for a kebab. (6)
  
• 30) Icing is found on Christmas cakes. (5)
  
• 32) Once in Royal David's city, also Royal Icing is found on Christmas Cakes. (5)
  
• 34) The first Noel the angels did say. (4)
  
• 37) There was no room at the Inn. (3)
  
• 38) Winifred Atwell was Christmas #1 in 1954 with 'Let's Have Another Party' and Saint Winifred's school choir was 1980 Christmas #1 with 'Grandma'. (8)
  
• 40) We're walking in the Air. (3)
  
• 41) Mary's cousin Elizabeth's husband was Zechariah, John the Baptist's dad. (9)
  
• 44) A Note is a Musical sound, a quick Note is often written in Christmas cards (4)
  
• 46) Rudolph the reindeer had a red, shiny, glowing Nose. (4)
  
• 48) People eat too much Food at Christmas.
  
• 51) 'Only You', 1983 Christmas no 1 for The Flying Pickets. (4)
  
• 53) Father Christmas sits on a Chair when children sit on him. (4)
  
• 54) Father Christmas lives at the North Pole. (5,4)
  
• 56) In other words IE (2)
  
• 57) Polygamous Herod had ten wives. Multiple wives may live in a Harem (5)
  
• 59) Inuit person living in the Arctic Circle may be an Eskimo. (6)
  
• 63) Mary is the name of both Jesus' mother and the woman in the lingerie department in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. (4)
  
• 64) Reins are horse and reindeer harness. (5)
  
• 66) 'Christmas at Sea' is an 1888 poem by Robert Louis Stevenson. (3)
  
• 67) The NYPD Choir is mentioned in 'The Fairy Tale of New York'. (4)
  
• 68) Magi is another name for Wise Men or Three Kings. (4)
  
• 69) Wenceslas was Duke of Bohemia murdered by his brother in 935, posthumously promoted to king by the Holy Roman Emperor a few years later. (9)
  
• 72) Snow is wet white fluffy stuff. (4)
  
• 75) Oh no it isn't. Oh Yes It Is (2,3,2,2)
  
• 80) Every time a Bell rings, an angels gets his Wings, Paul McCartney's band who sang 'Mull of Kintyre', 1977's Christmas #1. (5)
  
• 82) Eric Morecombe Comedian with Ernie Wise. (4,9)
  
• 83) Hook is a Pirate used to hang up stockings. (4)

Down

• 1) Frankincense is a Gift given to the baby Jesus along with Gold and Myrrh. (12)
  
• 2) We'll tak' a cup of kindness yet for the sake of Auld Lang Syne (4,4,4)
  
• 3) Ebenezer Scrooge. (8)
  
• 4) Rudolph's nose is Red. (3)
  
• 5) Father Ted was given a Golden Cleric award. (6)
  
• 6) A Robin is a bird often pictured on Christmas cards; a round Robin is a type of letter. (5)
  
• 7) Greg Lake believed In Father Christmas. (2)
  
• 8) Six geese-a-laying. (3)
  
• 9) People who eat too much at Christmas aren't Thin. (4)
  
• 10) The Three Kings are also known as Wise Men (3)
  
• 11) In Good King Wenceslas, Heat was in the very Sod? (3)
  
• 13) Harry Belafonte was 1957 Christmas #1 with 'Mary's Boy Child'. (3)
  
• 14) Childermass is 28th December, the day when it was traditionally good luck to beat children with a stick to remind them of the children killed by Herod. (11)
  
• 16) There was No room in the inn. (2)
  
• 17) Bing Crosby first sang 'White Christmas' in Holiday Inn? (3)
  
• 21) The 25th December is Christmas Day. (3)
  
• 25) In the meadow we Can build a snowman and pretend that he is Parson Brown. (3)
  
• 27) The Grinch is Dr Seuss' green and hairy creature who dislikes Christmas. (6)
  
• 29) Sage and Onion stuffing. (5)
  
• 31) Carol is a girl's name sung at Christmas. (5)
  
• 33) I'm dreaming Of a white Christmas. (2)
  
• 35) It's Now Or Never' was 1960's Christmas #2 by Elvis (2)
  
• 36) Wherefore have ye Left your sheep On the lonely mountain steep? (4)
  
• 38) Christmas time, Mistletoe and Wine. (4)
  
• 39) Roars are animal noise fireplaces make. (5)
  
• 42) Ho is Father Christmas's favourite word; he often says it thrice. (2)
  
• 43) 'A Spaceman Came Travelling' and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial are both about an Alien (5)
  
• 45) A Tie is a colourful noose given to men at Christmas, no-one knows why. (3)
  
• 47) And So this is Christmas and what have you done? (2)
  
• 49) The Teletubbies' 1997 Christmas #2 hit was 'Say Eh-Oh' (2)
  
• 50) Herod's first wife was called Doris and Doris Day is particularly revered by the LGBTQ+ community¹. (5)
  
• 52) God rest Ye merry gentlemen. (2)
  
• 55) A Page is a piece of paper; Page and monarch forth they went together (4)
  
• 58) Ox and Ass before him bow. (3)
  
• 60) KP is the UK's largest producer of peanuts. (2)
  
• 61) An ID card proves that you are old enough to buy alcohol. (2)
  
• 62) 1978 Christmas #1: Boney M 'Mary's Boy Child / Oh My Lord' (2)
  
• 63) I in my kerchief and Ma in her cap had just settled down to a long winter's nap. (2)
  
• 64) RE Abbreviation for Religious Education. (2)
  
• 65) The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl sang 'Fairytale of New York' (3)
  
• 70) cs Lewis wrote The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. (2).
  
• 71) Long time Ago in Bethlehem so the Holy Bible say. (3)
  
• 73) He's making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out who's naughty Or nice. (2)
  
• 74) The WI is an institute for women dedicated, among other things, to making a lot of Christmas cakes. (2)
  
• 76) HM the Queen makes a speech each year, also HM is the initials of 'Hoots Mon', Lord Rockingham's XI song that contains the lyric 'there's a moose, loose, aboot this hoose'. (2)
  
• 77) Yo is the word used in Santa Claus: The Movie to make reindeers go. (2)
  
• 78) 1963's Christmas #1 was 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' by the Beatles (2)
  
• 79) I'm dreaming of a White Christmas. (2)
  
• 81) St Winifred's School Choir sang 'There's No one quite like Grandma' (2)

Please note: all songs and Christmas chart positions are based on Britain's national chart.

Bluebottle

30.12.19 Front Page

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