CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 1

A Collection of

Christmas Facts
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Used with Permission

Provided in PDF format by

The Activity Director’s Office
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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 2

CHRISTMAS FACTS
"Hot cockles" was a popular game at Christ- After "A Christmas Carol," Charles Dickens
mas in medieval times. It was a game in which wrote several other Christmas stories, one
the other players took turns striking the blind- each year, but none was as successful as the
folded player, who had to guess the name of original.
the person delivering each blow. "Hot cockles"
was still a Christmas pastime until the Victo- Alabama was the first state to recognize
rian era. Christmas as an official holiday. This tradition
began in 1836.
"White Christmas" (1954), starring Bing
Crosby and Danny Kaye, was the first movie to Although many believe the Friday after
be made in Vista Vision, a deep-focus proc- Thanksgiving is the busiest shopping day of
ess. the year, it is not. It is the fifth to tenth busiest
day. The Friday and Saturday before Christ-
"The Nutcracker" is the name for the ballet mas are the two busiest shopping days of the
performed around Christmas time each year. year.
"The Nutcracker Suite" is the title of the music
Tchaikovsky wrote. American billionaire Ross Perot tried to airlift
28 tons of medicine and Christmas gifts to
"Wassail" comes from the Old Norse "ves American POW's in North Vietnam in 1969.
heill"--to be of good health. This evolved into
the tradition of visiting neighbors on Christmas America's official national Christmas tree is
Eve and drinking to their health. located in King's Canyon National Park in Cali-
fornia. The tree, a giant sequoia called the
A Christmas club, a savings account in which "General Grant Tree," is over 300 feet (90 me-
a person deposits a fixed amount of money ters) high. It was made the official Christmas
regularly to be used at Christmas for shopping, tree in 1925.
came about around 1905.
An artificial spider and web are often included
A traditional Christmas dinner in early England in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas
was the head of a pig prepared with mustard. trees. A spider web found on Christmas morn-
ing is believed to bring good luck.
According to a 1995 survey, 7 out of 10 British
dogs get Christmas gifts from their doting own- An average household in America will mail out
ers. 28 Christmas cards each year and see 28
eight cards return in their place.
According to historical accounts, the first
Christmas in the Philippines was celebrated Animal Crackers are not really crackers, but
200 years before Ferdinand Magellan discov- cookies that were imported to the United
ered the country for the western world, likely States from England in the late 1800s.
between the years 1280 and 1320 AD.
Barnum's circus-like boxes were designed with
According to the National Christmas Tree As- a string handle so that they could be hung on a
sociation, Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas tree.
Christmas trees each year; 25 percent of them
are from the nation's 5,000 choose-and-cut As early as 1822, the postmaster in Washing-
farms. ton, D.C. was worried by the amount of extra
mail at Christmas time. His preferred solution

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 3

to the problem was to limit by law the number song hit the top of the pop charts.
of cards a person could send. Even though Christmas caroling began as an old English
commercial cards were not available at that custom called Wassailing - toasting neighbors
time, people were already sending so many to a long and healthy life.
home-made cards that sixteen extra postmen Christmas Day in the Ukraine can be cele-
had to be hired in the city. brated on either December 25, in faithful alli-
ance with the Roman Catholic Gregorian cal-
At Christmas, Ukrainians prepare a traditional endar, or on January 7, which is the Orthodox
twelve-course meal. A family's youngest child or Eastern Rite (Julian calendar), the church
watches through the window for the evening holy day.
star to appear, a signal that the feast can be-
gin. Christmas is a summer holiday in South Africa.
Children are fond of the age-old custom of pro-
At lavish Christmas feasts in the Middle Ages, ducing pantomimes - for instance, "Babes in
swans and peacocks were sometimes served the Wood," founded on one of the oldest bal-
"endored." This meant the flesh was painted lads in the English language. Boxing Day on
with saffron dissolved in melted butter. In addi- December 26th, when boxes of food and cloth-
tion to their painted flesh, endored birds were ing are given to the poor, is observed as a holi-
served wrapped in their own skin and feathers, day.
which had been removed and set aside prior to
roasting. Christmas is not widely celebrated in Scotland.
Some historians believe that Christmas is
Before settling on the name of Tiny Tim for his downplayed in Scotland because of the influ-
character in "A Christmas Carol," three other ence of the Presbyterian Church (or Kirk),
alliterative names were considered by Charles which considered Christmas a "Papist," or
Dickens. They were Little Larry, Puny Pete, Catholic event. As a result, Christmas in Scot-
and Small Sam. land tends to be somber.

California, Oregon, Michigan, Washington, Christmas presents were known in antiquity

Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and North Carolina among kings and chieftains, especially on the
are the top Christmas tree producing states. European continent. However, they have been
Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas common among ordinary people in Iceland
trees - 8.6 million in 1998. only during the past 100 or so years.

Candy canes began as straight white sticks of Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of
sugar candy used to decorated the Christmas pines, spruces, and firs can be eaten. The
trees. A choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral de- needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine
cided have the ends bent to depict a shep- nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of
herd's crook and he would pass them out to nutrition.
the children to keep them quiet during the ser-
vices. It wasn't until about the 20th century that Christmas trees are known to have been popu-
candy canes acquired their red stripes. lar in Germany as far back as the sixteenth
Charles Dickens' initial choice for Scrooge's century. In England, they became popular after
statement "Bah Humbug" was "Bah Christ- Queen Victoria's husband Albert, who came
mas." from Germany, made a tree part of the cele-
brations at Windsor Castle. In the United
Child singer Jimmy Boyd was 12 years and 11 States, the earliest known mention of a Christ-
months old when he sang the Christmas favor- mas tree is in the diary of a German who set-
ite, "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." The tled in Pennsylvania.

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 4

Christmas was once a moveable feast cele- ute. The royal purple Beanie, bearing an em-
brated at many different times during the year. broidered white rose on its chest, became so
The choice of December 25, was made by desired that at Christmas time, American col-
Pope Julius I, in the 4th century A.D., because lectors were willing to spend up to $300 for
this coincided with the pagan rituals of Winter one on the secondary market.
Solstice, or Return of the Sun. The intent was
to replace the pagan celebration with the For every real Christmas tree harvested, 2 to 3
Christian one. seedlings are planted in its place.

Cultured Christmas trees must be shaped as Formally called Kiritimati, Christmas Island in
they grow to produce fuller foliage. To slow the the Indian Ocean is 52 square miles.
upward growth and to encourage branching,
they are hand-clipped in each spring. Trees Frankincense is a sweet smelling gum resin
grown in the wild have sparser branches, and derived from certain Boswellia trees which, at
are known in the industry as "Charlie Brown" the time of Christ, grew in Arabia, India, and
trees. Ethiopia. Tradition says that it was presented
to the Christ Child by Balthasar, the black king
During the ancient 12-day Christmas celebra- from Ethiopia or Saba. The frankincense trade
tion, the log burned was called the "Yule log." was at its height during the days of the Roman
Sometimes a piece of the Yule log would be Empire. At that time this resin was considered
kept to kindle the fire the following winter, to as valuable as gems or precious metals. The
ensure that the good luck carried on from year Romans burned frankincense on their altars
to year. The Yule log custom was handed and at cremations.
down from the Druids.
Franklin Pierce was the first United States'
During the Christmas buying season, Visa president to decorate an official White House
cards alone are used an average of 5,340 Christmas tree .
times every minute in the United States.
Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by
During the Christmas/Hanukkah season, more both rich and poor. It is thought to be the fore-
than 1.76 billion candy canes will be made. runner of modern Christmas puddings. It has
its origins in a Celtic legend of the harvest god
During World War II it was necessary for Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all
Americans to mail Christmas gifts early for the the good things of the Earth.
troops in Europe to receive them in time. Mer-
chants joined in the effort to remind the public Frustrated at the lack of interest in his new toy
to shop and mail early and the protracted invention, Charles Pajeau hired several midg-
shopping season was born. ets, dressed them in elf costumes, and had
them play with "Tinker Toys" in a display win-
Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in dow at a Chicago department store during the
1895. The idea for using electric Christmas Christmas season in 1914. This publicity stunt
lights came from an American, Ralph E. Mor- made the construction toy an instant hit. A
ris. The new lights proved safer than the tradi- year later, over a million sets of Tinker Toys
tional candles. had been sold.

Following Princess Diana's tragic death in George Washington spent Christmas night
1997, the Ty toy company, famous in the late 1776 crossing the Delaware River in dreadful
1990s for its popular Beanie Baby line of bean- conditions. Christmas 1777 fared little better -
bag animals, issued a "Princess" bear in trib- at Valley Forge, Washington and his men had

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 5

a miserable Christmas dinner of Fowl cooked cember 25, date was effectively moved 11
in a broth of Turnips, cabbage and potatoes. days backwards. Some Christian church sects,
called old calendarists, still celebrate Christ-
Greeks do not use Christmas trees or give pre- mas on January 7 (previously December 25 of
sents at Christmas. A priest may throw a little the Julian calendar).
cross into the village water to drive the kal-
likantzari (gremlin-like spirits) away. To keep In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state
them from hiding in dark, dusty corners, he to declare Christmas a legal holiday.
goes from house to house sprinkling holy wa-
ter. In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemo-
rate Christmas was issued in Austria.
Hallmark introduced its first Christmas cards in
1915, five years after the founding of the com- In 1947, Toys for Tots started making the holi-
pany. days a little happier for children by organizing
its first Christmas toy drive for needy young-
Historians have traced some of the current tra- sters.
ditions surrounding Father Christmas, or Santa
Claus, back to ancient Celtic roots. Father In 1996, Christmas caroling was banned at two
Christmas's elves are the modernization of the major malls in Pensacola, Florida. Apparently,
"Nature folk" of the Pagan religions; his rein- shoppers and merchants complained the car-
deer are associated with the "Horned God," olers were too loud and took up too much
which was one of the Pagan deities. space.

If traveling in France during the Christmas sea- In an effort to solicit cash to pay for a charity
son, it is interesting to note that different Christmas dinner in 1891, a large crabpot was
dishes and dining traditions reign in popularity set down on a San Francisco street, becoming
in different parts of the country. In south the first Salvation Army collection kettle.
France, for instance, a Christmas loaf (pain
calendeau) is cut crosswise and is eaten only In America, the weeks leading up to Christmas
after the first part has been given to a poor are the biggest shopping weeks of the year.
person. In Brittany, buckwheat cakes and sour Many retailers make up to 70% of their annual
cream is the most popular main dish. In Al- revenue in the month preceding Christmas.
sace, a roasted goose is the preferred entrée.
In Burgundy, turkey and chestnuts are favored. In Armenia, the traditional Christmas Eve meal
In the Paris region, oysters are the favorite consists of fried fish, lettuce, and spinach. The
holiday dish, followed by a cake shaped like a meal is traditionally eaten after the Christmas
Yule log. Eve service, in commemoration of the supper
eaten by Mary on the evening before Christ's
In 1647, the English parliament passed a law birth.
that made Christmas illegal. Festivities were
banned by Puritan leader, Oliver Cromwell, In Britain, eating mince pies at Christmas
who considered feasting and revelry, on what dates back to the 16th century. It is still be-
was supposed to be a holy day, to be immoral. lieved that to eat a mince pie on each of the
The ban was lifted only when the Puritans lost Twelve Days of Christmas will bring 12 happy
power in 1660. months in the year to follow.

In 1752, 11 days were dropped from the year In Britain, the Holy Days and Fasting Days Act
when the switch from the Julian calendar to of 1551, which has not yet been repealed,
the Gregorian calendar was made. The De- states that every citizen must attend a Chris-

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 6

tian church service on Christmas Day, and believed that witches and mischievous spirits
must not use any kind of vehicle to get to the came out on Christmas Eve and would steal
service. their brooms for riding.

In Finland and Sweden an old tradition pre- In Portugal, the traditional Christmas meal
vails, where the twelve days of Christmas are (consoada) is eaten in the early hours of
declared to be time of civil peace by law. It Christmas Day. Burning in the hearth is the
used to be that a person committing crimes Yule log (fogueira da consoada). The ashes
during this time would be liable to a stiffer sen- and charred remains of the Yule log are saved;
tence than normal. later in the year, they are burned with pine
cones during Portugal's thunderstorm season.
In France, Christmas is called Noel. This is de- It is believed that no thunderbolt will strike
rived from the French phrase "les bonnes nou- where the Yule log smoke has traveled.
velles," which means literally "the good news"
and refers to the gospel. In southern France, some people burn a log in
their homes from Christmas Eve until New
In Greek legend, malicious creatures called Year's Day. This stems from an ancient tradi-
Kallikantzaroi (also spelled Kallikantzari) tion in which farmers would use part of the log
sometimes play troublesome pranks at Christ- to ensure a plentiful harvest the following year.
mas time. According to the legend, to get rid of
them, you should burn either salt or an old In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is
shoe. Apparently the stench of the burning the Julbock. Made from straw, it is a small figu-
shoe (or salt) drives off the Kallikantzaroi. rine of a goat. A variety of straw decorations
Other effective methods include hanging a are a usual feature of Scandinavian Christmas
pig's jawbone by the door and keeping a large festivities.
fire so they can't sneak down the chimney.
In Syria, Christmas gifts are distributed by one
In Guatemala, Christmas Day is celebrated on of the Wise Men's camels. The gift-giving
December 25; however, Guatemalan adults do camel is said to have been the smallest one in
not exchange gifts until New Year's Day. Chil- the Wise Men's caravan.
dren get theirs (from the Christ Child) on
Christmas morning. In the British armed forces it is traditional that
officers wait on the men and serve them their
In Medieval England, Nicholas was just an- Christmas dinner. This dates back to a custom
other saint - he had not yet been referred to as from the Middle Ages.
Santa Claus and he had nothing to do with
Christmas. In the Netherlands, Christmas centers on the
arrival of Saint Nicholas, who is believed to
In North America, children put stockings out at come on horseback bearing gifts. Before going
Christmas time. Their Dutch counterparts, to bed, children leave out their shoes, hoping
however, use shoes. Dutch children set out to find them filled with sweets when they
shoes to receive gifts any time between mid- awaken.
November and December 5, St. Nicholas'
birthday. In the Thomas Nast cartoon that first depicted
Santa Claus with a sleigh and reindeer, he
In Norway on Christmas Eve, visitors should was delivering Christmas gifts to soldiers fight-
know that after the family's big dinner and the ing in the U.S. Civil War. The cartoon, entitled
opening of presents, all the brooms in the "Santa Claus in Camp," appeared in Harper's
house are hidden. The Norwegians long ago Weekly on January 3, 1863.

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 7

In the Ukraine, a traditional Christmas bread Long before it was used as a "kiss encour-
called "kolach" is placed in the center of the ager" during the Christmas season, mistletoe
dining table. This bread is braided into a ring, had long been considered to have magic pow-
and three such rings are placed one on top of ers by Celtic and Teutonic peoples. It was said
the other, with a candle in the center of the top to have the ability to heal wounds and increase
one. The three rings symbolize the Trinity. fertility. Celts hung mistletoe in their homes in
order to bring themselves good luck and ward
In Victorian England, turkeys were popular for off evil spirits.
Christmas dinners. Some of the birds were
raised in Norfolk, and taken to market in Lon- Mistletoe, a traditional Christmas symbol, was
don. To get them to London, the turkeys were once revered by the early Britons. It was so
supplied with boots made of sacking or sacred that it had to be cut with a golden
leather. The turkeys were walked to market. sickle.
The boots protected their feet from the frozen
mud of the road. Boots were not used for More diamonds are purchased at Christmas-
geese: instead, their feet were protected with a time (31 percent) than during any other holiday
covering of tar. or occasion during the year.
More than three billion Christmas cards are
It is a British Christmas tradition that a wish sent annually in the United States.
made while mixing the Christmas pudding will
come true only if the ingredients are stirred in Myrrh is an aromatic gum resin which oozes
a clockwise direction. from gashes cut in the bark of a small desert
tree known as Commifera Myrrha or the dindin
It is estimated that 400,000 people become tree. The myrrh hardens into tear-dropped
sick each year from eating tainted Christmas shaped chunks and is then powdered or made
leftovers. into ointments or perfumes. This tree is about
5-15 feet tall and 1 foot in diameter. Legend
Jesus Christ, son of Mary, was born in a cave, says Caspar brought the gift of myrrh from
not in a wooden stable. Caves were used to Europe or Tarsus and placed it before the
keep animals in because of the intense heat. A Christ Child. Myrrh was an extremely valuable
large church is now built over the cave, and commodity during biblical times and was im-
people can go down inside the cave. The car- ported from India and Arabia.
penters of Jesus' day were really stone cut-
ters. Wood was not used as widely as it is to- New York City's Empire State Building's world
day. So whenever you see a Christmas nativity famous tower lights are turned off every night
scene with a wooden stable -- that's the at midnight with the exception of New Year's
"American" version, not the Biblical one. Eve, New Year's Day, Christmas Eve, Christ-
mas Day, and St. Patrick's Day, when they are
La Befana, a kindly witch, rides a broomstick illuminated until 3 a.m.
down the chimney to deliver toys into the
stockings of Italian children. The legends say On Christmas Day, 1989, Eastern Europe was
that Befana was sweeping her floors when the permitted to celebrate Christmas freely and
three Wise Men stopped and asked her to openly for the first time in decades. Church
come to see the Baby Jesus. "No," she said, "I masses were broadcast live for the first time in
am too busy." Later, she changed her mind but history.
it was too late. So, to this day, she goes out on
Christmas Eve searching for the Holy Child, One Norwegian Christmas custom begins in
leaving gifts for the "holy child" in each house- late autumn at harvest time. The finest wheat
hold. is gathered and saved until Christmas. This

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 8

wheat is then attached to poles made from out of the carrying of royal dispatches. Red
tree branches, making perches for the birds. A was considered a royal color, so uniforms and
large circle of snow is cleared away beneath letter-boxes were red. Christmas cards often
each perch. According to the Norwegians, this showed a robin delivering Christmas mail.
provides a place for the birds to dance, which
allows them to work up their appetites between Queen Elizabeth's Christmas message to the
meals. Just before sunset on Christmas Eve, nation was televised for the first time on De-
the head of the household checks on the cember 25, 1957. For the next 40 years, the
wheat in the yard. If a lot of sparrows are seen BBC aired the event.
dining, it is suppose to indicate a good year for
growing crops. Right behind Christmas and Thanksgiving, Su-
per Bowl Sunday ranks as the third-largest oc-
One notable medieval English Christmas cele- casion for Americans to consume food, ac-
bration featured a giant 165-pound pie. The cording to the National Football League.
giant pie was nine feet in diameter. Its ingredi- Santa's Reindeers are Dasher, Dancer,
ents included 2 bushels of flour, 20 pounds of Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and
butter, 4 geese, 2 rabbits, 4 wild ducks, 2 Blitzen.
woodcocks, 6 snipes, 4 partridges, 2 neats'
tongues, 2 curlews, 6 pigeons, and 7 black- Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Aus-
birds. trian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day
before Christmas that the church organ was
Originally, Christmas decorations were home- broken and would not be prepared in time for
made paper flowers, or apples, biscuits, and Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and
sweets. The earliest decorations to be bought could not think of Christmas without music, so
came from Nuremburg in Germany, a city fa- he wanted to write a carol that could be sung
mous for the manufacture of toys. Lauscha in by choir to guitar music. He sat down and
Germany is famous for its glass ornaments. In wrote three stanzas. Later that night the peo-
1880, America discovered Lauscha and F.W. ple in the little Austrian Church sang "Stille
Woolworth went there and bought a few glass Nacht" for the first time.
Christmas tree ornaments. Within a day he
had sold out so next year he bought more and St. Nicholas was bishop of the Turkish town of
within a week they, too, had sold. The year af- Myra in the early fourth century. It was the
ter that be bought 200,000 Lauscha orna- Dutch who first made him into a Christmas gift-
ments. During the First World War supplies of giver, and Dutch settlers brought him to Amer-
ornaments from Lauscha ceased, so American ica where his name eventually became the fa-
manufacturers began to make their own orna- miliar Santa Claus.
ments, developing new techniques that al-
lowed them to turn out as many ornaments in Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome
a minute as could be made in a whole day at (125-136 AD) declared that public Church ser-
Lauscha. vices should be held to celebrate "The Nativity
of our Lord and Saviour." In 320 AD, Pope
Per a November 2000 Gallup poll, 60 percent Julius I and other religious leaders specified 25
of Americans thought they would spend at December as the official date of the birth of
least $500 that year on Christmas gifts. This Jesus Christ.
was a slight drop from 1999 gift-spending.
The "Twelve Days of Christmas" was originally
Postmen in Victorian England were popularly written to help Catholic children, in England,
called "robins." This was because their uni- remember different articles of faith during the
forms were red. The British Post Office grew persecution by Protestant Monarchs.

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page 9

The "true love" represented God, and the gifts The Canadian province of Nova Scotia leads
all different ideas: the world in exporting lobster, wild blueberries,
1 The "Partridge in a pear tree" was Christ. and Christmas trees.
2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testa-
ments The Christmas season begins at sundown on
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity-- the 24th December and lasts through sundown on
Theological Virtues 5th January. For that reason, this season is
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the also known as the Twelve Days of Christmas.
Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the The Christmas turkey first appeared on Eng-
Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which relays lish tables in the 16th century, but didn't imme-
the history of man's fall from grace. diately replace the traditional fare of goose,
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of Creation beef or boar's head in the rich households.
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the
Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments The custom of singing Christmas carols is very
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes old - the earliest English collection was pub-
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy lished in 1521.
Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments The day after Christmas, December 26, is
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles known as Boxing Day. It is also the holy day
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of called The Feast of St. Stephen. Some believe
doctrine in the Apostle's Creed. the feast was named for St. Stephen, a 9th
century Swedish missionary, the patron saint
The abbreviation of Xmas for Christmas is not of horses. Neither Boxing Day or St. Stephen
irreligious. The first letter of the word Christ in have anything to do with Sweden or with
Greek is chi, which is identical to our X. Xmas horses. The Stephen for whom the day is
was originally an ecclesiastical abbreviation named is the one in the Bible (Acts 6-8) who
that was used in tables and charts. was the first Christian to be martyred for his
faith.
The actual gift givers are different in various
countries: The first British monarch to broadcast a Christ-
England: Father Christmas mas message to his people was King George
France: Pere Noel (Father Christmas) V.
Germany: Christkind (angelic messenger from
Jesus) She is a beautiful fair haired girl with a The first charity Christmas card was produced
shining crown of candles. by UNICEF in 1949. The picture chosen for the
Holland: St Nicholas. card was painted not by a professional artist
Italy: La Befana (a kindly old witch) but by a seven-year-old girl. The girl was Jitka
Spain and South America: The Three Kings Samkova of Rudolfo, a small town in the for-
Russia: In some parts - Babouschka (a grand- mer nation of Czechoslovakia. The town re-
motherly figure) in other parts it is Grandfather ceived UNICEF assistance after World War II,
Frost. inspiring Jitka to paint some children dancing
Scandinavia: a variety of Christmas gnomes. around a maypole. She said her picture repre-
One is called Julenisse. sented "joy going round and round."

The best selling Christmas trees are Scotch The first Christmas card was created in Eng-
pine, Douglas fir, Noble fir, Fraser fir, Virginia land on December 9, 1842.
pine, Balsam fir and white pine.
The first commercial Christmas card sold was

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CHRISTMAS FACTS Page

designed by London artist John Calcott Night". It was first brought to America by Joel
Horsley. He was hired by a wealthy British Poinsett in 1829.
man to design a card that showed people
feeding and clothing the poor with another pic- The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was
ture of a Christmas party. The first Christmas composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and
card said, "Merry Christmas and a happy New was originally called "One-Horse Open
Year to you." Of the original one thousand Sleigh."
cards he printed for Henry Cole, only twelve
exist today. The Puritans forbade the singing of Christmas
carols.
The first printed reference to Christmas trees The real St. Nicholas lived in Turkey, where he
appeared in Germany in 1531. was bishop of the town of Myra, in the early
4th century. It was the Dutch who first made
The four ghosts in Charles Dickens's "A Christ- him into a Christmas gift-giver, and Dutch set-
mas Carol" were the ghosts of Christmas Past, tlers brought him to America where his name
Christmas Present, Christmas Yet to Come, eventually became the familiar Santa Claus.
and the ghost of Jacob Marley.
The Super Ball® was born in 1965, and it be-
The movie "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" came America's most popular plaything that
(2000) features more than 52,000 Christmas year. By Christmas time, only six months after
lights, about 8,200 Christmas ornaments, and it was introduced by Wham-O, 7 million balls
nearly 2,000 candy canes. had been sold at 98 cents apiece. Norman
Stingley, a California chemist, invented the
The modern Christmas custom of displaying a bouncing gray ball. In his spare time, he had
wreath on the front door of one's house, is bor- compressed a synthetic rubber material under
rowed from ancient Rome's New Year's cele- 3,500 pounds of pressure per square inch, and
brations. Romans wished each other "good eventually created the remarkable ball. It had a
health" by exchanging branches of ever- resiliency of 92 percent, about three times that
greens. They called these gifts strenae after of a tennis ball, and could bounce for long peri-
Strenia, the goddess of health. It became the ods. It was reported that presidential aide
custom to bend these branches into a ring and McGeorge Bundy had five dozen Super Balls®
display them on doorways. shipped to the White House for the amuse-
ment of staffers.
The northern European custom of the candlelit
Christmas tree is derived from the belief that it The table for Christmas Eve dinner in the
sheltered woodland spirits when other trees Ukraine is set with two tablecloths: one for the
lost their leaves during winter. ancestors of the family, the other for the living
members. In pagan times, ancestors were be-
The poem commonly referred to as "The Night lieved to be benevolent spirits who, when
Before Christmas" was originally titled "A Visit shown respect, brought good fortune.
From Saint Nicholas." This poem was written
by Clement Moore for his children and some The tradition of Christmas lights dates back to
guests, one of whom anonymously sent the when Christians were persecuted for saying
poem to a New York newspaper for publica- Mass. A simple candle in the window meant
tion. that Mass would be celebrated there that night.

The poinsettia, traditionally an American The traditional flaming Christmas pudding

Christmas flower, originally grew in Mexico; dates back to 1670 in England, and was de-
where it was known as the "Flower of the Holy rived from an earlier form of stiffened plum

From Corsinet.com. Used with permission. Provided in PDF format by The Activity Director’s Office
CHRISTMAS FACTS Page

porridge.

The world's first singing commercial aired on

the radio on Christmas Eve, 1926 for Wheaties
cereal. The four male singers, eventually
known as the Wheaties Quartet, sang the jin-
gle. The Wheaties Quartet, comprised of an
undertaker, a bailiff, a printer, and a business-
man, performed the song for the next six
years, at $6 per singer per week. The commer-
cials were a resounding success.

Theodore Roosevelt, a staunch conservation-

ist, banned Christmas trees in his home, even
when he lived in the White House. His chil-
dren, however, smuggled them into their bed-
rooms.

There are twelve courses in the Ukrainian

Christmas Eve supper. According to the Chris-
tian tradition, each course is dedicated to one
of Christ's apostles.

When Robert Louis Stevenson, author of

Treasure Island, died on December 4, 1894,
he willed his November 13 birthday to a friend
who disliked her own Christmas birthday.

Yuletide-named towns in the United States in-

clude Santa Claus, located in Arizona and Indi-
ana, Noel in Missouri, and Christmas in both
Arizona and Florida.

From Corsinet.com. Used with permission. Provided in PDF format by The Activity Director’s Office