100 Fun Facts About Christmas

1. Christmas is a Christian holiday celebrated annually on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ.
2. Despite its Christian origins, Christmas is celebrated worldwide by people of many different faiths.
3. The word Christmas comes from the Old English term “Cristes Maesse”, meaning “Christ’s Mass”.
4. The first recorded date of Christmas being celebrated on December 25 was in 336 CE, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine.
5. Christmas was not immediately accepted as a holiday by all Christians. Some, notably Puritans in the 17th century, rejected it due to its pagan associations.
6. The modern Christmas tree tradition is believed to have originated in 16th century Germany, with devout Christians decorating evergreen trees in their homes.
7. The first printed reference to a Christmas tree was in 1531 in Germany.
8. The first Christmas trees were decorated with edible items, like apples and nuts. Today, we use a mix of homemade and store-bought ornaments.
9. In Victorian times, Christmas trees were decorated with candles to represent stars. Today, we use electric lights.
10. In 1843, the first Christmas card was created and sent by Sir Henry Cole in the UK.
11. The concept of Santa Claus has roots in St. Nicholas, a generous bishop from the 4th century in modern-day Turkey.
12. Santa Claus’s red and white suit was popularized by Coca-Cola in the 1930s.
13. “Silent Night” is one of the most popular Christmas carols and it was written in 1818.
14. The bestselling Christmas single is Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”, selling over 50 million copies worldwide since 1942.
15. Jingle Bells was the first song broadcast from space. Astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra sang it on December 16, 1965.
16. Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, was discovered by Captain William Mynors of the East India Company on Christmas Day, 1643.
17. The tallest Christmas tree ever displayed was in Seattle Washington in 1950. The tree was 221 feet tall!
18. Mistletoe, a common Christmas decoration, was considered sacred by the ancient Druids because it remains green and bears fruit during winter.
19. In Ukraine, it’s customary to hang a spider web-shaped ornament on the Christmas tree, which is believed to bring good luck.
20. The world’s largest Christmas stocking, certified by Guinness World Records, was created in Italy in 2011 and was 168 feet long and 70 feet wide.
21. The tradition of Christmas shopping began in America in the 19th century. Prior to that, gifts were usually simple and handmade.
22. The song “Do You Hear What I Hear?” was written during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a plea for peace.
23. Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, was traditionally a day off for servants when they received a special Christmas box from their masters.
24. Franklin Pierce was the first United States President to decorate an official White House Christmas tree.
25. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was created as a marketing gimmick for Montgomery Ward department stores in 1939.
26. The term X-Mas isn’t irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
27. The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was known to help the poor by throwing bags of gold into people’s homes through the window.
28. The Christmas Wreath is a symbol of eternal life and the unending love of God.
29. In Greece, Italy, Spain, and Germany, workers get a Christmas bonus of one month’s salary by law.
30. There are two islands named Christmas: one in the Pacific Ocean and another in the Indian Ocean.
31. It is a British Christmas tradition for children to write letters to Santa and throw them into the fireplace so they would reach him via the smoke.
32. Iceland has 13 Santas called Yule Lads who each have different roles during the Christmas period.
33. The carol ‘Hark! The Herald Angels Sing’ was composed by Felix Mendelssohn, originally as a secular song to commemorate Johann Gutenberg and the invention of printing.
34. The term “Yuletide” comes from the Norse tradition of Yule, a midwinter festival that predates Christmas.
35. The first recorded instance of a Christmas tree being on display in America was in the 1830s.
36. The poinsettia, a popular Christmas plant, originally grew in Mexico, where it was known as the “Flower of the Holy Night.”
37. St. Francis of Assisi introduced singing carols in church during the 13th century.
38. “A Christmas Carol,” the classic story by Charles Dickens, was written in just six weeks.
39. Before turkey, the traditional English Christmas dinner included a pig head smothered with mustard.
40. The world’s largest floating Christmas tree, according to Guinness World Records, is in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was first erected in 1996.
41. The Moravians in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, had the first recorded American instance of a community Christmas tree in 1747.
42. In the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations were rowdy and raucous—a lot like today’s Mardi Gras parties.
43. Christmas was declared a federal holiday in the United States on June 26, 1870.
44. Astronomers believe the Star of Bethlehem, which guided the wise men to Jesus, may have been a comet or the planet Uranus.
45. Queen Elizabeth still gives Christmas puddings to her staff, continuing the tradition from her father, King George VI, and her grandfather, George V.
46. The Nutcracker Ballet is the most popular ballet performed during the Christmas season.
47. “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was originally published anonymously in 1823 before Clement Clarke Moore claimed the work in 1837.
48. The first Salvation Army Christmas kettle to collect change for the needy was set up in San Francisco in 1891.
49. Candy canes were first manufactured in the 1950s.
50. The character of Jack Frost originates from Viking folklore, where he is known as Jokul Frosti (“icicle frost”).
51. King William I of England was crowned on Christmas Day 1066.
52. The tradition of hanging stockings comes from a Dutch legend about St. Nicholas placing gold coins in the stockings of three poor sisters.
53. The first artificial Christmas trees were made in Germany out of dyed goose feathers.
54. The song “Winter Wonderland” was written in 1934, and has since been covered by over 200 artists.
55. The first charity Christmas card was produced by Unicef in 1949. The picture chosen was painted by a seven year old girl.
56. Christmas lights were first made available for sale in 1890, but were so expensive that most people couldn’t afford them. They didn’t become popular until 1900.
57. The Christmas cracker was invented by London sweet shop owner, Tom Smith, in 1847.
58. The earliest known Christmas tree decorations were apples; they represent the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden.
59. In Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
60. Each year more than 3billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
61. The tradition of Christmas markets dates back to the Middle Ages in German-speaking parts of Europe.
62. The custom of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts, and tangerines at the houses of the poor.
63. The popular song “Jingle Bells” was composed by James Pierpont in 1857, and was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh”.
64. The largest Christmas dinner included 3,000 people eating a meal of turkey, vegetables, and Christmas pudding.
65. The most expensive Christmas tree was valued at over $11 million and was erected in the United Arab Emirates in 2010.
66. The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was first introduced to the American public in 1939 by the Montgomery Ward Department Stores.
67. The word Noel derives from the French phrase “les bonnes nouvelles” or “the good news”.
68. The tradition of caroling began as an old English custom. It was originally called wassailing, a toast to good health.
69. The three traditional colors of most Christmas decorations are red, green, and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ, green symbolized life and rebirth, and gold represents light, royalty and wealth.
70. In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas (or Santa Claus) arrives from Spain, not the North Pole.
71. Some zoos accept donated Christmas trees as food for their animals.
72. In Ireland, it is traditional to leave mince pies and a bottle of Guinness as a snack for Santa.
73. The highest-grossing Christmas movie of all time is “Home Alone”.
74. In Armenia, the traditional Christmas Eve meal consists of fried fish, lettuce, and spinach.
75. Hanging ornaments on a Christmas tree dates back to the tradition in 16th century Germany of decorating evergreen trees with apples.
76. A tradition in Iceland, called Jólabókaflóð, involves giving books as gifts on Christmas Eve and then spending the evening reading.
77. In Poland, spiders or spider webs are common Christmas tree decorations because according to legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus.
78. Christmas wasn’t always on December 25. It wasn’t declared a federal holiday in the United States until 1870.
79. In England, the traditional Christmas dinner used to be a pig’s head prepared with mustard.
80. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe began in ancient Greece, during the festival of Saturnalia and later in marriage ceremonies, because of the plant’s association with fertility.
81. Franklin Pierce was the first president to decorate an official White House Christmas tree.
82. The tradition of hanging stockings originated from the Dutch custom of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas’s donkeys. He would leave small gifts in return.
83. Tinsel was once banned by the government. Tinsel contained lead at one time, now it’s made of plastic.
84. In Ethiopia, Christmas is called Ganna and is celebrated on January 7, not December 25.
85. “Jingle Bells” was originally a Thanksgiving song.
86. The ancient pagan festival celebrating the winter solstice was known as Yule. The Yule log was a whole tree meant to be burned for 12 hours of celebration.
87. The first recorded instance of the phrase “Merry Christmas” was in a Christmas letter sent in 1534.
88. The tradition of the Christmas pudding or plum pudding dates back to the Middle Ages. It traditionally contains 13 ingredients to represent Christ and his 12 apostles.
89. The concept of the Christmas elf appeared in literature during the mid-19th century as a helper for Santa Claus.
90. In the Czech Republic, they enjoy dinners of fish soup, eggs, and carp. The number of people at the table must be even, or the one without a partner will die next year.
91. The popular Christmas song “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” was temporarily banned in Boston when it first came out.
92. Saint Nicholas, the inspiration for Santa Claus, is the patron saint of children, but also of thieves and pawnbrokers!
93. The first commercial Christmas and New Year card was designed and printed in London in 1843 by John Calcott Horsley.
94. The Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square is donated to the people of London every year by the people of Oslo, Norway in thanks for their assistance during World War II.
95. The busiest shopping day of the year is not Black Friday, but the Saturday before Christmas.
96. Traditional “Christmas rose” is a hellebore, a perennial flower that blooms in winter. It is not related to the rose family.
97. In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a goat.
98. The candy cane dates back to 17th century Europe but did not appear in the U.S. until the 1800s.
99. In the United States, approximately 30-35 million real (living) Christmas trees are sold each year.
100. Every Christmas Eve, astronauts aboard the International Space Station celebrate with a special meal, thanks to a cargo spacecraft that delivers their holiday goodies.

Originally posted 2023-09-21 22:06:10.

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