Random Facts About.....Christmas


1. We frequently abbreviate Christmas as X-mas because of ancient tradition. X is the Greek letter “chi”, which is an abbreviation for the word “Christ” in Greek.
2. Coca-Cola was the first company to use Santa Claus in a winter promotion.
3. Christmas didn’t gain widespread recognition among Christians until quite recently. In some protestant-dominated areas, such as the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the celebration of Christmas was even legally banned.
4. Believe it or not, a real tree is better than the fake counterpart. In fact, an artificial tree would have to be reused for more than 20 years to be greener than buying a fresh-cut tree annually. The calculations included greenhouse gas emissions, use of resources and human health impacts.
5. Oklahoma was the last US State to declare Christmas as a legal holiday in 1907. Alabama was the first in 1836.
6. The people of Oslo, Norway donate the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree every year in gratitude to the people of London for their assistance during World War II.

8. Mistletoe literally means “dung twig". The name derives the fact that mistletoe tends to spring from bird droppings that have fallen on trees, with the seeds having passed through the digestive tract of the birds.
9. Norseman had many traditions and legends concerning the mistletoe. One tradition was that mistletoe was a plant of peace and so that when enemies met under the mistletoe they were obliged to stop fighting for at least a day. Eventually, this spawned a tradition to hang mistletoe over the doorway of one’s home for peace and good luck, including the "kissing under the mistletoe tradition".
10. Ebenezer Scrooge’s original catchphrase was “Bah Christmas,” not “Bah Humbug”.

12. During the Christmas of 1914 (World War 1), a truce was held between Germany and the UK. They decorated their shelters, exchanged gifts across no man’s land and played a game of football between themselves.
13. About half of Sweden’s population watches Donald Duck cartoons every Christmas Eve since 1960.

15. Some zoos take donated Christmas trees and use them to feed their animals.
16. Charles Dickens grew up during a ‘Little Ice Age’ and hence it snowed for each of his first 8 Christmases influencing his writing and hence today’s tradition of a ‘White Christmas’.
17. Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas,” released in 1942 is the best-selling Christmas song of all-time.
18. “Jingle Bells” was originally written for a Thanksgiving Celebration. was also the first song to be sung in space, on December 16, 1965 by astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra.
19. After “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens wrote other Christmas stories annually–although none would be as successful as the first.
20. Telling “scary ghost stories” is an old Christmas Eve tradition that has died out in the past century.

22. Although they have masculine names like Blitzen, Donner,Comet, Cupid and Rudolph, male reindeer shed their antlers around the holidays. So it’s most likely Santa’s sleigh is pulled by female reindeer.
23. Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system. This is the way science can ruin a wonderful story.

25. According to the Guinness world records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
26. The traditional three colors of Christmas are green, red, and gold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; red symbolizes the blood of Christ, and gold represents light as well as wealth and royalty.
27. Saint Nicholas Day (December 6) was the traditional day for giving gifts to children. It is still the day on which children receive gifts from St. Nicholas in the Netherlands. Nothing is known of Saint Nicholas’ life except for the legends that have built up around him, but he was associated with kindness to children. Santa Claus is the American pronunciation of Sinter Klaas, which was colloquial Dutch for Saint Nicholas.

29. Contrary to popular belief, suicide rates during the Christmas holiday are low. The highest rates are during spring.
30. A spider web found on Christmas morning is believed to bring good luck in The Ukraine. Also in Poland, spiders or spider webs are common Christmas trees decorations because, according to legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus. In fact, Polish people consider spiders to be symbols of goodness and prosperity at Christmas.

32. The traditional Japanese Christmas food is Christmas cake (usually a sponge cake with strawberries and whipped cream).

34. The British wear paper crowns while they eat Christmas dinner. The crowns are stored in a tube called a “Christmas cracker. It is also believed in Britain that eating a mince pie on each of the Twelve Days of Christmas will bring 12 months of happiness.
35. Ancient peoples, such as the Druids, considered mistletoe sacred because it remains green and bears fruit during the winter when all other plants appear to die. Druids would cut the plant with golden sickles and never let it touch the ground. They thought it had the power to cure infertility and nervous diseases and to ward off evil.
36. Evergreens (from the Old English word aefie meaning “always” and gowan meaning “to grow”) have been symbols of eternal life and rebirth since ancient times. The pagan use and worship of evergreen boughs and trees has evolved into the Christianized Christmas tree. Actually, The Christmas tree is a Christianized pagan custom that originated in Germany. German settlers introduced it in America. It became popular during the nineteenth century, and then later spread to Britain and Japan from the US.

38. Christmas is not widely celebrated in Scotland. This is believed to be because the country is mostly Presbyterian, and Christmas is considered to be a Catholic event.
39. Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry and were, therefore, doomed to a life of prostitution. They were saved, however, when the wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna (the precursor to Santa Claus) crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins.
40. The first person to decorate a Christmas tree was reportedly the Protestant reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546). According to legend, he was so moved by the beauty of the stars shining between the branches of a fir tree, he brought home an evergreen tree and decorated it with candles to share the image with his children.
41. In Germany, Heiligabend, or Christmas Eve, is said to be a magical time when the pure in heart can hear animals talking.

43. In Norway on Christmas Eve, after holiday dinner and the opening of presents, families hide all the brooms in the house. Norwegians believed in ancient times that witches and mischievous spirits came out on Christmas Eve, and would steal their brooms for riding.
44. The earliest known Christmas tree decorations were apples. At Christmastime, medieval actors would use apples to decorate paradise trees (usually fir trees) during “Paradise Plays,” which were plays depicting Adam and Eve’s creation and fall.
45. In Argentina, a Christmas Eve night tradition includes ‘globos’, paper decorations with a light inside that float into the sky. The sky is filled with them on Christmas Eve after midnight.
46. Commissioned by Sir Henry Cole (1808-1883), British illustrator John Callcott Horsley (1817-1903) invented the first Christmas card in 1843.
47. For every Christmas tree harvested, two to three are planted in its place. That's very heartening.
48. In 1979, the National Christmas Tree wasn’t lighted–save for the top ornament. This was done to honor the American hostages in Iran.
49. If you received every gift in “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” you’d have 364 gifts.

51. Black Friday actually isn’t the busiest shopping day of the year. The Friday and Saturday before Christmas are the busiest shopping days. The Monday after Black Friday is referred to as Cyber Monday because it is the busiest online shopping day of the year.
52. One man, Yves Piaget, spent a whopping £10.4 million on decorating his Christmas tree. The tree was lavishly decorated with 83 pieces of jewellery in Tokyo.
Believe me...while I was writing all these facts I couldn't believe to some, but all are actually true. Hope this Christmas special gave you magical moments, snooping around times and places on Christmas Eve. MERRY CHRISTMAS SNOOPERS....and never stop Snooping Around.
Beatiful and original post :)))
ReplyDeleteBuone feste Gigi The Snooper
Thanks so much.... Buone feste anche a te e a tutta la community :)
DeleteI'm some kind of a Grinch this year... But I'm glad someone else feels the real Christmas atmosphere!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to you!
By the way, when I was a child I was absolutely convinced that Santa could bring gifts all over the world in just one night, due to the time zones ^^"
Sometimes I don't feel the christmas spirit in the air too.... But there's no denying this period always brings something magical :)
DeleteI never regret checking your page for some awesome Christmas trivia. Love these!
ReplyDeleteHappy Christmas to you,dear!
Thanks a lot, dear Lux ! It means the world :)
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