Regional variations on Christmas classics fascinate me. In parts of England, for example, the eleventh of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” sees “Eleven dames-a-dancing” rather than piper’s piping, which sounds a lot more interesting (unless I’m missing something). Albeit, the term “dame,” for me, evokes the kaleidoscopic burlesque of the Barbary Coast and buxom gun [...]
‘Twas a Wine Country Christmas