Fun and Interesting Things about Christmas!

Christmas is a time of joy and celebration, bringing people together to share in the spirit of the season. Here are some fun facts about Christmas!

1. Santa Claus is based on a real person named Saint Nicholas who was known for his kindness and generosity. He was a bishop who lived in the 4th century in Turkey.

2. The first Christmas tree was decorated in 1510 in Latvia.

3. The original candy cane was straight and white, but in the 1900s, it was bent into a cane shape and red stripes were added.

4. The tallest Christmas tree ever displayed was over 221 feet tall and was put up in a Washington mall in 1950.

5. The word "Christmas" comes from the Old English "Cristes maesse," which means "Christ's mass."

6. The tradition of hanging stockings comes from the story of St. Nicholas, who left gold coins in the stockings of three sisters who hung them up to dry.

7. In Sweden, it is tradition to celebrate St. Lucia's Day on December 13th, where a girl is chosen to portray St. Lucia and wears a crown of candles.

8. In Ukraine, it is traditional to decorate Christmas trees with spider webs for good luck.

9. The song "Jingle Bells" was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas.

10. The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe comes from the ancient belief that it had healing powers.

11. In Japan, it is customary to eat KFC for Christmas dinner, thanks to a successful marketing campaign in the 1970s.

12. In Italy, it is traditional to eat a fish-based dinner on Christmas Eve, called La Vigilia, or "The Vigil."

13. The first Christmas card was created in 1843 in England by Sir Henry Cole and showed a family raising a toast.

14. The reindeer that pull Santa's sleigh are named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and of course, Rudolph with his red nose.

15. The tradition of hanging stockings by the fireplace comes from the story of St. Nicholas, who was said to have dropped gold coins into a stocking that was hanging by the fire to dry.

16. The Christmas tree tradition started in Germany in the 16th century and was introduced to the United States in the 19th century by German immigrants.

17. In Iceland, children leave a shoe on their windowsill on the 12 days leading up to Christmas, and each day a small gift or sweet is placed in the shoe.

18. The song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was written in 1939 by Johnny Marks for Montgomery Ward and was inspired by a story that Marks' brother-in-law had told him.

19. Candy canes were first made in the 17th century by a German choirmaster who wanted to keep children quiet during the Christmas nativity service.

20. The first artificial Christmas tree was made in Germany in the 19th century, using dyed goose feathers.

21. In Australia, Christmas falls during the summer season, so it's common to have a barbecue or go to the beach on Christmas Day.

22. In the United States, the first official White House Christmas tree was decorated in 1889 by President Benjamin Harrison.

23. In Denmark, it's a tradition to break dishes against your friends' doors on Christmas Eve as a sign of friendship.

24. In Mexico, the tradition of Las Posadas involves re-enacting Mary and Joseph's search for a place to stay in Bethlehem by going from house to house asking for lodging.

25. In the Netherlands, Santa Claus is known as Sinterklaas and arrives by boat from Spain in mid-November to deliver presents to children.

26. In Germany, it is traditional to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, and in the Netherlands, gifts are exchanged on December 5th for St. Nicholas' Day.

27. In the United Kingdom, it's traditional to eat Christmas pudding, which is a dense, spiced cake made with dried fruits and suet, and is often served with brandy butter or custard.

28. Christmas trees are also known as the Yule-tree.

29. Christmas trees are evergreen trees, usually either a fir tree, pine tree or spruce tree.

30. Some people say the Christmas season officially begins when Santa arrives at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.

31. Did you ever wonder where X-Mas came from? X means Christ in Greek so to shorten the word Christmas we sometimes use X-Mas.

32. In 1836 Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

33. Oklahoma became the last state to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1907.

34. In June of 1870 Christmas became a federal holiday in the US.

35. Christmas trees were first decorated with foods such as apples, nuts and dates.

36. In the 18th century Christmas trees began being decorated with candles.

37. Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in 1895.

38. Did you know that giving presents were once banned by the Catholic Church. It was believed that gift giving was connected to paganism.

39. If you received all the gifts from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” you would have 364 presents.

40. Do you know why we say the Twelve Days of Christmas? It is believed that it took the 3 kings 12 days to find baby Jesus.

41. The song Jingle Bells was written by James Pierpont in 1857. It was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh” and was made for Thanksgiving.

42. Many years ago, in England a traditional Christmas dinner included a pig head served with mustard.

43. The tradition of naughty children getting a lump of coal in their stocking comes from Italy.

44. Did you know that tinsel was once made of real silver! It was invented in Germany in 1610.

45. There are two islands named Christmas. Christmas Island (formerly Kiritimati) in the Pacific Ocean and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.

46. Santa is believed to bring gifts to good girls and boys on the night before Christmas (December 24th).