Several species of our feathered friends have associations with Christmas, the robin being one of the most well known and this is one I saw this afternoon.
I've known for a long time about the legend that tells of how the robin acquired its red breast after fanning the flames of the fire in the stable to keep Joseph, Mary and Jesus warm but I recently found out another tale about the robin. In Victorian times when the Royal Mail was founded, the postmen's uniforms were red as were the pillar boxes, bicycles and hand carts to make them easily identifiable. The postmen became very self conscious, were often the target of robbers and were nicknamed "Robins". They soon changed there uniforms to navy with red piping a colour scheme still in use today. So when you are posting your Christmas cards this year, remember the link to the Victorian Robins.
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