1531 days ago

Do you get our free gardening ezine?

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

In this week’s issue we say avocados are the fruit we all long to grow. It’s time to plant salad greens in containers, inspire junior gardeners, turn lawns into new garden beds and repot and feed hippeastrums.

We list 10 trees to plant to attract birds to your garden for shelter and a year-round food supply. Plus go in the draw for fertiliser and soil enhancer from Fodda and there’s another chance to win Mr Fothergill’s ultimate garden pack.

Delivered every Friday to your email inbox, Get Growing digital magazine offers seasonal gardening advice from the NZ Gardener magazine's team of experts. Each week we answer all your burning questions on raising fruit and veges and tell you the top tasks to do in your backyard this weekend. Subscribe here:

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More messages from your neighbours
19 hours ago

Poll: Are quality products on the decline?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Gift-giving looks a lot different these days when you can pick up super-cheap goods made overseas. But do they last?

Do you have any old items like appliances, electronics or clothing that have stood the test of time? Share below!

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Are quality products on the decline?
  • 90.1% Yes
    90.1% Complete
  • 8.4% No
    8.4% Complete
  • 1.5% Other - I'll share below
    1.5% Complete
263 votes
1 hour ago

Christmas Carols- A brief history

Kurien Thomas from The Flea 88.2 FM

Hello,
As we head into Christmas and the long holidays, the unmistakable carol music of Christmas will be heard. From shopping malls to radio stations to homes where tree decorating missions are underway not to mention seeds of an argument that reaches it zenith on Christmas Day!

But where did it all originate ( not the argument!), the carols?

Here at the Flea FM, each week we will post a few short snippets* we have curated so that you can appreciate when you hear a carol, a little history about the simple Christmas carol. Enjoy.
* attributes provided at last post.

In medieval times, the word ‘carol’ referred to a round dance with musical accompaniment (‘carole’ in French). It later developed into a song form of verses and a refrain. Not all the original texts had Christmassy words but many were associated with Mary, Advent and Christmas. The term has since come to be applied to all Christmas songs, whether or not in carol form.

Christmas Carols were introduced to formal church services by St. Francis of Assisi.
‘One of the oldest printed English Christmas carols is the Boar's Head Carol, sung as the traditional dish is carried in on Christmas Day at Queen's College, Oxford; it was printed in 1521.’ (Oxford Dictionary of Music)

4 hours ago