**COMING SOON! NEW EDITION FOR YULE 2025 **
On the 1st day o Yuletide,
My true luve gied tae me
A reid robin in a rowan tree.
The 12 Days o Yule is a Scots version of ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ – but it is not a straight translation into Scots.
Instead of lords, ladies and milking-maids, there are skaters skooshin, hoolets hootin and sheep a-shooglin – along with a reid robin in a rowan tree!
Retold in Scots by Susan Rennie
Illustrated by Matthew Land
Published by: Birlinn
ISBN: 9781780279725
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- This book was first published in 2015 by Floris Books.
- Read my article ‘Translating the 12 Days o Yule‘ in Books From Scotland.
- Find out about earlier Scottish versions of the rhyme in Yule Days & Daft Days.
Reviews (of the first edition) :
‘The Scots words are easy to pronounce and fun to say making this a version that is perfect for all to join in and chant together.’ (Guardian Children’s Books)
‘The familiar rhyme gets a braw shoogle, skooshing along in tandem with scenes of bonnie revelry.’ (Kirkus)
‘a charming, old-fashioned Christmas offering’ (Publishers’ Weekly)
Susan Rennie 