Spot the frippet: manger.

There are mangers everywhere at the moment. This manger is very like the one in my hall at home:


This nativity set was on display at the Salvation Army's headquarters in Waterbeach, England.

(It's not often you find a knitted manger, you know.)

There are also mangers to be found on Advent calendars, in High Streets, schools and churches.

And, of course, farms.

Well, I say of course, but it took me decades to realise that mangers have a life outside Christmas. They're used to hold food for the animals. No wonder the cows and horses came along to have a good look on Christmas Day.

If you're in Norway you just might get to see a Manger manger. There's probably one in here:



That's the church of the village of Manger. Beautiful, isn't it?

Then there's Pret a Manger, which is sort-of-French for ready to eat. It's a posh sandwich shop with branches in the UK, Hong Kong, Paris and the USA. Presumably that's as opposed to fast food outlets where the food isn't ready to eat. "I'm afraid you'll have to boil the ham yourself, sir..."

Lastly, how about one of these?



Yes, it's a mince pie. The pastry symbolises the baby Jesus's manger and the mince meat the baby Himself.

Odd, when you come to think about it. But definitely tasty.

Enjoy!

Spot the frippet: manger. This word comes from the Old French maingeure, food trough, from the Latin manducare, to chew. Pret a manger is based on the French Prêt à Manger, which is based on Prêt à Porter, ready to wear.