Books advent calendar
Barnaby Rogerson counts down to Christmas with the stories behind our iconic numbers
Bridget Jones, Santaland Diaries and A Christmas Carol: 25 literary treats to read this December
From David Sedaris’s comic diaries to Maya Angelou’s poem Amazing Peace, count down to Christmas with our Advent calendar of festive reads
Why Derek Jarman’s garden must be saved
The film-maker’s Prospect Cottage and inspirational garden on the Kent shingle should be preserved for future generations
25. Wards of the City of London
We end our festive countdown with all 25 wards of the City
24. Twenty-four angulas make a forearm ...
With one day to go, our festive advent calendar takes on a universal unit of measurement
23. The 23 enigma
Today our countdown, extracted from Barnaby Rogerson's Book of Numbers, explores morbid coincidences
22. Letters of the Hebrew alphabet … and the length of a cricket pitch
Today in our books advent calendar: a significant number in religion and sport, extracted from Barnaby Rogerson's Book of Numbers
21. Twenty-one-gun salute
Today's countdown entry looks at bravado of the gesture, as extracted from Barnaby Rogerson's Book of Numbers.
20: Tolkien's 20 rings of power
JRR Tolkien's 20 rings of power feature in today's advent calendar extract, from Barnaby Rogerson's Book of Numbers
19. Sacred 19 of the Bahá'í
Today our books advent calendar focuses on the Bahá'í community's affinity to the number 19
18. Sacred 18 of the whirling dervish
Our festive countdown continues with a number linking sacred Sufi verses, meditation and food
17. Hidden 17 of the Bektashi
The books advent calendar continues with a group of Turkish patron saints from the Ottoman empire
16. Sixteen prophetic dreams of Queen Trishala
Today in Rogerson's festive countdown, 16 dreams onset by the conception of a Jain monarch's son
15. Fifteen ranks of the Knights Templar
Today's festive countdown instalment sheds light on the influential order of crusaders
14. Bach and gematria
In today's numerical festive countdown, Barnaby Rogerson deconstructs Bach using an ancient pseudoscientific tradition from the near east
13. Hallows of Britain
Barnaby Rogerson continues our numerical festive countdown, with the Welsh legends that have proved inspiring for Tolkien, Rowling and Japanese animators
12. Signs of the zodiac
Our festive countdown reveals the ancient roots of the zodiac, observations of the sun that have impregnated our thought patterns for thousands of years
11. Footballers
Barnaby Rogerson continues our festive countdown, with the perfect number for a team of footballers, detectives or giant-beasts
10. Magpies
Our festive countdown today explains the link between watching the flights of birds and the ancient art of divination
9. The Chinese power of nine
Today, our festive countdown – extracted from Barnaby Rogerson's Book of Numbers – considers why the number nine has powerful resonance in China
8. Cherry stones
Today in our festive countdown, Barnaby Rogerson talks about a childhood rhyme that makes eating cherries even more enjoyable
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