Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer
Robert L. May, a 34 year-old copywriter for Montgomery Ward, wrote the story. Read more
Candy Canes
In the late 1800s, a candy maker in Indiana wanted to express the meaning of Christmas through a symbol made of candy. He came up with the idea of bending one of his white candy sticks into the shape of a Candy Cane. The white peppermint stick symbolizes the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. Three small red stripes symbolize the pain inflicted upon Jesus before His death on the cross. There are three of them to represent the Holy Trinity. The crook on the top is like a shepherd’s staff because Jesus is the shepherd of man. If you turn it upside down, it becomes the letter J symbolizing the first letter in Jesus’ name. The candy maker made these candy canes for Christmas, so everyone would remember what Christmas is all about.
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is actually based on the early Church Bishop Saint Nicholas. He was born during the third century (around 270 AD), in the village of Patara in Turkey, and was known for secretly giving gifts of money to the poor. The modern image of him as a jolly man in red most likely comes from the 1823 poem “A visit from St Nicholas” also known as “The Night before Christmas”
XMAS
In Greek, X means Christ; that is where the word “Xmas” comes from!
Christmas World Records
The world’s largest Christmas present was the Statue of Liberty. The French gave it to the US in 1886. It is 46.5 meters high and weights 225 tons!
Christmas Songs
Bing Crosby's ‘White Christmas’ was released in 1942 and is considered to be the best-selling Christmas song of all time!
Boxing Day
26 December was traditionally known as St Stephen's Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was collected in alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then distributed during to the poor and needy after Christmas.
Christmas Statistics
- 1 in 10 – The number of the presents received that will be broken by the New Year
- 7 in 10 – The number of dogs that get Christmas gifts from their owners
- 33 – The average amount spent per person on last-minute purchases
- 25 – The percentage time spent in queues when Christmas shopping
- 832 – The number of homes Santa visits every second to deliver all his presents
- 5340 – Average number of times Visa Cards are used every minute during Christmas time
Christmas Trees
The fir tree has a long association with Christianity, it began in Germany almost 1,000 years ago when St Boniface, who converted the German people to Christianity, was said to have come across a group of pagans worshiping an oak tree. In anger, St Boniface is said to have cut down the oak tree and to his amazement a young fir tree sprung up from the roots of the oak tree. St Boniface took this as a sign of the Christian faith. But it was not until the 16th century that fir trees were brought indoors at Christmas time.
Germany made the first artificial Christmas trees. They were made of goose feathers and dyed green.
It can take up to 15 years to grow an average-sized tree of 6-7 feet or as little as 4 years, but the average growing time is 7!
Christmas Trivia
Christmas Tree Quiz
Xmas Fun
Christmas Facts
General Christmas Facts
Christmas - Celebrations Trivia
