101 Fun facts you didn’t know about Christmas
If you want to read some facts about Christmas and you are not sure where to look then check out these 101 fun facts about Christmas.
1. Christmas that big sign of Christian celebration at the end of the year was originally called “Christ’s mass“. As it is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Even though we don’t actually know what his birthday is.
2. In the UK the average family spends roughly 800-pound sterling during the holiday season that is way more money than I can even imagine.
3. In the US the number is a little lower being roughly seven hundred dollars still it’s it’s more money than I can imagine.
4. Wrapping paper isn’t that the best part of Christmas. Ripping off the paper just so you can see what you’ve got inside that big box of yours. Well in the UK we throw away around 226,800 miles of wrapping paper every year.
5. Christmas films are not they wonderful to watch this time of year. Get all snuggled up with your significant other but if you were to watch them all consecutively it would take you roughly a month of constant watching in order to finish them all.
6. The Christmas period is a long one, especially in modern-day commercialism. But originally it was a lot longer in the Irish Catholic faith a holiday named All Saints Day was a celebration commemorating the martyred Saints and began the Christmas tide.
7. The celebration was widely believed to have started in Ireland. Where they began celebrating the holiday on the 20th of April in the seventh or eighth century. The holiday was passed over to the British Isles shortly after who then began to celebrate it in selves.
8. This actually starts just before we start doing the awesome chocolate tradition advent commences four Sundays before Christmas, usually just at the end of November.
9. The tradition is celebrated by many Western Christian churches as a time of wait to prepare for the second coming of Jesus Christ. By both sharing in the ancient logging of its ascent from heaven and to be alert for his second coming.
10. Advent is celebrated in a number of ways. Most of which you’re probably aware of. Advent calendars are used primarily to count from the 1st of December. An Advent wreath to commemorate the four Sundays before Christmas by the candles upon it and by reading a particular prayer on a given day.
11. After the entire four weeks and a bit of Advent is the big day itself. And let’s be real we all know the traditions we have the fairy lights the trees the beautiful over eating the whole shebang. But did you know that before the 1950s in the UK that only the rich would celebrate Christmas like how we do today. Children would get apples, oranges, and sweets in their stockings. Christmas trees were rare and one might have gotten beef on the day but that would be at most.
12. In Soviet (Russia), children hate Christmas upon the conception of the Soviet Union in 1922. State atheism was established. Religion was ridiculed believers only being allowed to worship in private and being harassed. At the height of the persecution children were encouraged to spit on crucifixes on Christmas Day.
13. In the nineteenth century, Charles Dickens released a novella; the Christmas carol. It’s instant popularity help the world see the holiday as family-oriented something that it hadn’t been before.
14. Charles Dickens; the Christmas carol has had roughly 1 billion adaptions.
15. The term Merry Christmas was popularized by the tale. In the 19th century, the term merry was beginning to be known to mean jovial as it is known today. Lebanese a Scrooge and cast using the term throughout the tale.
16. In America, Christmas became a celebration upon Washington Irving writing various short stories depicting the Christmas festivities he experienced upon his stay in Birmingham England.
17. Clement Clarke Moore, wrote the poem a visit from st. Nicholas. The poem began with the phrase Twas the night before Christmas which I think we can all agree; we know quite well.
18. The poem also encouraged the tradition of gift-giving. Promoting the economic value of Christmas. However, this did bring a whole host of Scrooge’s moaning about the true meaning of Christmas being lost in the manic shopping sprees.
19. During the American Revolution in 1776 Christmas was shunned as it was seen as an English custom.
20. In 1870, Christmas was formally declared a United States federal holiday.
21. The English civil war in the 1600s was a thing and it heavily affected Christmas after the Parliament won over Charles the first. Even to the point of banning the holiday, pro Christmas rioting broke out among several cities. Canterbury being under control of the rioters who decorated it with holly.
22. In colonial america, protestant pilgrims within the new england area which is an area consisting of the states Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont; shunned the holiday, spending the day in 1620 work.
23. In 1659, Christmas was completely outlawed in Boston. It took over ten years for the band to be revoked and it wasn’t customary for the holiday to be celebrated until the mid 19th century.
24. At the same time in New York and Virginia it was celebrated, the German settlers of Pennsylvania were avid celebrators of Christmas.
25. Overeating, indulgence, giving gifts, Holly, these are staples of Christmas as we know it. These tax starting in the early 17th century James the first insisted a play being acted in his court on Christmas night.
26. In the 14th century King Richard the second hosted a Christmas feast were 28 oxen and 300 sheep were eaten.
27. Around the same time caroling also became popular although instead of a group of people or singing very nicely and calmly, there would be one singer and a bunch of dancers singing the chorus.
28. In the early Middle Ages Christmas in western Christianity was overshadowed by the Epiphany which told of the Magi visiting Christ.
29. The Maji were the three wise men that visited Christ upon his birth giving him gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
30. In original scripture, it doesn’t mention that there were only three wise men. Modern Western Christianity came to the Assumption due to the fact that Jesus was presented with three gifts.
31. Around the same time of the Epiphany being celebrated. The time of Advent was called the 40 days of st. Martin of Tours whereby a feast would be held.
32. Despite that a lot of people strive to ignore this fact. Christmas was originally on a different day there is a lot of speculation regarding which date is most say it is around March and April though there were also a lot of theories as to why the date was changed.
33. The most popular theory for the move of the date was the reason to Christianize the pagan festival Dies natalis solis inviciti, where they would celebrate the Sun God. According to Christian writers of the time they assimilated the day in order to associate Jesus as the Sun of righteousness.
34. The Church of England litical Commission challenged this view where they presented evidence showing that Christmas was celebrated nine months after the vernal equinox. The day of the conception of Jesus, it has been acknowledged as a viable hypothesis but we cannot be certain.
35. Christians believe that the 25th of March was the birthday of Jesus as his death and human birth occurred on the same day.
36. In Judaism, they believe something similar in which Jesus was believed to have been conceived on the 25th of March and subsequently died on that same day. In their faith great men are believed to die on the day of their conception.
37. When paganism was accepted as the general religion they celebrated the winter solstice. During this time believers would celebrate as less agricultural work needed to be done and spring was around the corner which brought better weather.
38. The Christmas tree made its way to America in the 1830s but wasn’t popular until 1846, after Germany’s Prince Albert brought it to England when he married Queen Victoria. The two were sketched in front of a Christmas tree and the tradition instantly became popular. Royal fever was real even back then.
39. Twelvetide is celebrated as the 12 days after Christmas Eve.
40. The 12 days of Christmas is well-known as a song which has remained relatively the same since its first writing in the 18th century. However we do not know its origins and it is speculated to have originated as a children’s rhyme.
41. This Christmas Day which is celebrated throughout much of the world as a public holiday. In fact in India it is known to both Hindu and Muslim denominations as Barrett in which translates as the great day.
42. Sam’s birthday and by that I mean the 26th of December is a day after. More traditionally known as st. Stephen’s Day whereby one would have a feast Boxing Day which is what is also known as either happens on the 26th or the 27th but in the UK we have a public holiday on both days.
43. The term Boxing Day was found to have originated in the 17th century whereby tradesmen would receive a Christmas box from either their master’s employers or customers.
44. The UK Canada New Zealand and Australia treat Boxing Day in the same way as u.s. treat the day after Thanksgiving.
45. There is the octave of Christmas which is the eight days that follow Christmas Day and there are a lot of feasts on them 27th is of Saint John the Apostle, 28th is of the Holy Innocents, 29th is of st. Thomas Becket and if there is a Sunday join the octave the Feast of the Holy Family but if there isn’t then it would be held on the 30th.
46. Then there is New Year’s Eve which pretty much everyone celebrates because it’s rad but it is also known throughout many Western Christian denominations the feast of saint Sylvester.
47. New Year’s Day follows which I can speak from experience is treated as the day where everyone just rests from drinking too much shot club milk from the night before in the Catholic Church it is known as the solemnity of Mary Mother of God in which people eat.
48. In the Jewish faith, the day is known as the Feast of the circumcision of Christ as Jesus would have been circumcised eight days after his birth on the twenty-fifth.
49. In many places the Epiphany the celebration of both Jesus being born and him realizing that he was a son of God is celebrated the first Sunday after New Year’s Day, if the Sunday is the 2nd of January then that’s the day dile will be celebrated, on this day people eat.
50. There are a wide plethora of decorations that have become a tradition in Western culture regarding Christmas you don’t even have to be Christian to celebrate. Now the holiday has become such a staple in a culture that those of several Creed’s celebrated.
51. Traditionally people hang up their decorations in the month of December but in other countries such as Sweden, people begin to set up their decorations on the first day of Advent.
52. Christmas has a color scheme of evergreen snow white and heart red most decorations follow this color scheme. However quite often blue and white are used to denote winter.
53. The colors are also used to represent Hanukkah, the Jewish celebration which commemorates the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire.
54. Christmas trees we all know Christmas trees I’m sure we all have Christmas trees either hung or to be hung in our living rooms but as we know up until the 1950s in the UK Christmas celebrations were predominantly done by the rich.
55. All about the Christmas decorations where do they come from good baubles for one were used to replace the apples that adorn trees made by German glass worker Hans greener at the end of the sixteenth century.
56. As the popularity of the baubles roads, artisans began making the glass figures with clay molds the shapes of the bubbles at the time only being that of fruit and nuts.
57. In 1850, a silvering technique was made by a German biological chemist that was added into the glass solution once it cooled.
58. In 1800 charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz lured the tradition to Britain having a Christmas tree set for a party that she hosted for children. However, at that time the tradition didn’t go further than the royal family.
59. Queen Victoria was very familiar with the concept of a Christmas tree when growing up and upon her marrying, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Christmas trees then became more popularly known throughout the middle-class families throughout England.
60. This acting as a juxtaposition to Germany where every family has their own tree.
61. Fifty years later a charity was set up for children living in the London slums. So as they could then enjoy a Christmas tree that year. However by this point Christmas trees had been used in a lot of public places such as hospitals.
62. After the first world war anti German attitudes caused a short-lived decline in Christmas trees. In the 1920s they became common again.
63. In 1933, a restriction of the import of trees caused the local tree growing industry to then become Xmas oriented and as of 2013 8 million trees had been grown for the Christmas markets.
64. Christmas trees did begin in Germany however the custom was not widely accepted for some time as German was a widely Catholic country Christmas trees were seen as a Protestant custom only be accepted in 1815.
65. In the 19th century it was accepted as a part of culture by those overseas.
66. In 2014 Los Angeles artist Paul McCarthy created a green inflatable abstract and fundamentally minimalist Christmas tree for Paris. Brilliantly the Christmas tree looked like a giant green but log unfortunately for all us lovers of horrible mistakes tree which is what McCarthy ingeniously called it was vandalized and deflated.
67. The Christmas tree has roots get it in European pagans who survived the Christian conversion in Scandinavia. They would decorate their houses and barns with evergreens to ward away evil during the New Year.
68. Christmas wreaths are hung upon the doors of people in Western cultures for Christmas but originally was used in cultures predating ancient Greece these harvest wreaths were made with harvested crops woven together with red and white threads then hung upon the door all year round.
69. In terms of Christmas the wreaths are used to denote the time of Advent and like most other decorations they would be put up on the first Sunday of Advent. The Christmas wreaths are constructed of evergreens to symbolize the everlasting life of Jesus and the circular shape used to represent God and him having no beginning and no end.
70. Santa is real so don’t let those older kids tell you that he isn’t because he so is. He is just Saint Nicholas of Myra.
71. Saint Nick was a greek bishop in asia minor now known as the town of dem ray in turkey and is known to have performed many miracles. He also engaged in secret gift-giving.
72. He gets his own Saints Day on the 6th of December the day of his death it is a day of feasting.
73. The term Santa Claus came from the Dutch name “Sinterklaas“ in which those in northern Netherlands would celebrate him with the giving of gifts on the 5th of December.
74. Sinterklaas is known in Dutch cultures as being an elderly serious man who wore red Bishop clothes he is still celebrated to this day.
75. This fact debunked the very popular urban legend that coca-cola made Santa wear that crimson little number of his.
76. Father Christmas was a well-known custom in England. Deriving from an old English folktale the modern personification of father Christmas that we know is today was developed in the Victorian era.
77. Sinterklaas became Santa Claus upon an American ization in 1773. It being a combination of both Sinterklaas and father Christmas mr. Claus lost his Bishop apparel in the interpretation and was first shown as a thick bellied Dutch sailor with a pipe and a green winter coat.
78. Washington Irving was actually writing a parody of the aforementioned character in an attempt to mock Dutch culture.
79. Upon the publication of a visit from st. Nicholas the present interpretation of Santa Claus became known such as him riding on a sleigh his look of being chubby and plump his belly shaking like a bowl full of jelly when laughing and even his reindeers.
80. Santa’s reindeers were even named in the poem. Dasha, dancer, Prancer, vixen, comet, Cupid, dunder, and blixem. The names dunder and blixem were changed to Donner and Blitzen to sound more German.
81. The idea that Santa lives in the North Pole is thought to have been created from the German born American cartoonist Thomas Nast; who captioned a Christmas illustration with Santa Claus Ville North pole.
82. In 1869 George P Webster published colored versions of NASA’s illustrations in them they were captioned near the North Pole in the ice and snow.
83. It is also believed that the idea of Santa having a wife mrs. Claus was American made by authors in the early 19th century.
84. There are other interpretations of Santa Claus however and they’re creepy one of them being Krampus he is a demon goat man thing which punishes the bad children by unknown means, however there are greeting cards that depict Krampus stuffing a child into a wicker basket.
85. Another is Belsnickel deriving from german-speaking Europe he is ragged wears furs and has a long tongue beneath a brown beard. He holds a switch in his hand to beat the bad children but for the good children he has cakes and candies.
86. Though I’ve taught a lot about Christmas in the West but what about in the East well there is only a small percentage of Christians in Asia only about 12% but Western culture has been known to heavily affect how people celebrate the Yuletide time of year.
87. In one day China Christmas is not recognized as a legal holiday though it is a public holiday. Christmas is not heavily observed only a small percentage of Chinese citizens who consider themselves Christians celebrate it though this is done privately.
88. Hong Kong is an exception to this and the holiday is heavily accepted and celebrated buildings facing Victoria Harbour are covered in Christmas lights as well as this and several public buildings have Christmas decorations.
89. In Japan, Christmas isn’t recognized as a national holiday in the country so people don’t have time off of work but it is still celebrated encouraging commercialism perfect for the Christmas spirit.
90. On the big day itself parties are hosted all around Japan cities are decorated with Christmas lights and Christmas trees adorn shopping centers and living areas.
91. In 1970 KFC opened a test store in the Osaka World Expo. After the success several stores were opened in both rural and urban areas. By December 1973 100 stores had been opened the following Christmas eating KFC at the Yuletide season was promoted.
92. Due to the popularity of eating fried chicken instead of Turkey for Christmas office staff executives and even the president of KFC Japan massage Charlie wantanabe come to help in the front lines during Christmas Eve. The busiest time for the fast food chain.
93. In South Korea, Christmas is recognized as a public holiday but as it is not in North Korea people living in the Korean Demilitarized Zone can’t have outdoor decorations.
94. India was a British colony up until 1947. So Christmas is still relatively prevalent being a state holiday and is celebrated by other religions in the country.
95. Pakistani Christians celebrate the day by going from house to house singing carols and collecting money for either local charities or for the church.
96. In Indonesia Christmas is celebrated as a public holiday 25 million Christians live in the country so there are Christmas trees decorations and sinter Klass.
97. Christmas is a big deal in the Philippines with Catholicism being the lead religion of the country. Christmas carols are heard as early as September and continue on to the Epiphany.
98. In Christmas Eve many attend Midnight Mass at their local churches and engage in nausia Buena a feast began in the 15th century where Caribbean colonists hunted down and roasted pig.
99. On Christmas Day, Filipinos spend time to attend mesa de gallo a master commemorate Egeria the Galatian woman who travelled to the holy land in the 4th century and to visit extended family members.
100. Singapore also treats Christmas like a public holiday and local areas are decorated with bright lights and tall Christmas trees gifts are given on the last working day before Christmas and many end of year sales are tailored around the time.
