Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, be plenteous in mercy is to have the real spirit of Christmas. Calvin Coolidge.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

Interesting Facts About Christmas

1. Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzer, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrati.
2. Norwegian scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s red nose is probably the result of a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
3. The “true love” mentioned in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” does not refer to a romantic couple, but the Catholic Church’s code for God. The person who receives the gifts represents someone who has accepted that code. For example, the “partridge in a pear tree” represents Christ. The “two turtledoves” represent the Old and New Testaments.
4. In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.
5. According to the Guinness world records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
6. The world’s largest Christmas stocking measured 106 feet and 9 inches (32.56 m) long and 49 feet and 1 inch (14.97 m) wide. It weighed as much as five reindeer and held almost 1,000 presents. It was made by the Children’s Society in London on December 14, 2007.
7. Many European countries believed that spirits, both good and evil, were active during the Twelve Days of Christmas. These spirits eventually evolved into Santa’s elves, especially under the influence of Clement C. Moore’s The Night Before Christmas(1779-1863) illustrated by Thomas Nast (1840-1902).
8. Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.
9. Ancient peoples, such as the Druids, considered mistletoe sacred because it remains green and bears fruit during the winter when all other plants appear to die. Druids would cut the plant with golden sickles and never let it touch the ground. They thought it had the power to cure infertility and nervous diseases and to ward off evil.
10. Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry and were, therefore, doomed to a life of prostitution. They were saved, however, when the wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna (the precursor to Santa Claus) crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins.

7 comments:

  1. - Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.
    - Oklahoma was the last U.S. state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907.
    - Approximately 30-35 million real (living) Christmas trees are sold each year in the U.S.

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  2. THE NIGHT WHEN ANIMALS SPEAK

    In many lands, there is an age-old folk belief that from midnight on Christmas Eve until dawn breaks on Christmas Day morning, animals are blessed with the gift of human speech, in memory of the lowly stable creatures that surrounded the Holy Family in the manger. During that magical period, they are able to converse with one another, enabling them to voice their adoration of the newborn Jesus, and also to discuss how well (or otherwise) they are cared for by their human masters.

    This belief formed the basis of a wonderful Gamma Films cartoon special entitled 'The Night The Animals Talked' (1970), which was regularly shown on television at Christmas in the UK when I was a child, but which, sadly, has not made an appearance now for many years.



    Moreover, according to the same folk belief the farmyard cattle and horses kneel in prayer, turning to the east as they recall how they knelt in humble homage before the divine infant on that first Christmas of all, in a stable far away at Bethlehem. After being converted to Christianity by European missionaries, many native American Indians adopted a similar tradition to their Old World teachers, claiming that the wild deer kneel in the forests at midnight on Christmas Eve, in respect for the Great Spirit.

    Even today, according to rural superstition in parts of Britain it is said to be extremely unlucky to observe farm animals in their stables and stalls during the early hours of Christmas morning. Not only will the animals not carry out their homage, but misfortune will plague those whose prying behaviour has prevented the creatures from doing so. By the same token, because farm animals were present at the birth of Jesus, it is a longstanding farming tradition to give their livestock extra food at Christmas - a gift in recognition of their ancestors' sacred status as witnesses during that first Christmas. Of course, in modern times this custom has been extended to pet animals too, especially dogs.

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  3. The Tallest Christmas Tree of the 2012 Season

    For the third year in a row, Phoenix, Arizona is the site of a magnificent Christmas treat. Just days before Halloween, the nation’s tallest, fresh-cut Christmas tree arrived on a 75-foot stretch trailer at the Outlets at Anthem factory outlet center. Traveling almost 750 miles from Northern California, this colossal tree stood at 110 feet tall as it welcomed the Christmas season. You can learn more about the tallest christmas tree of the 2012 season, visiting http://www.ornamentshop.com/christmas-blog/americas-tallest-christmas-tree/

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  4. Xmas Jokes! =)

    Why are Christmas trees like bad knitters ?
    They both drop their needles !


    What do elves learn in school?
    The Elf-abet


    What did the bald man say when he got a comb for Christmas ?
    Thanks, I'll never part with it !


    What do you get if you cross an apple with a Christmas tree ?
    A pineapple !


    Knock Knock
    -Who's there ?
    -Mary
    -Mary who ?
    -Mary Christmas !


    What do snowmen eat for lunch ?
    Icebergers !


    What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
    Frosted Flakes


    What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire?
    Frostbite


    Why was Santa's little helper depressed?
    Because he had low elf esteem.


    What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus?
    Claustrophobic.


    What do sheep say to each other at Christmastime?
    Merry Christmas to ewe!


    What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
    It's Christmas, Eve!


    Why is it so cold at Christmas?
    Because it's in Decembrrrr!


    What do lions sing at Christmas?
    Jungle bells!


    How do snowmen get around?
    On their icicles


    What do you call a cat on the beach at Christmastime?
    Sandy Claus!

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  5. The Candy Cane

    According to a popular account, in 1670, in Cologne, Germany, the choirmaster at Cologne Cathedral, wishing to remedy the noise caused by children in his church during the Living Crèche tradition of Christmas Eve, asked a local candy maker for some sweet sticks for them. In order to justify the practice of giving candy to children during worship services, he asked the candy maker to add a crook to the top of each stick, which would help children remember the shepherds who paid visit to infant Jesus. In addition, he used the white colour of the converted sticks to teach children about the Christian belief in the sinless life of Jesus.From Germany, the candy canes spread to other parts of Europe, where they were handed out during plays reenacting the Nativity

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  6. Some people believe that Santa has an evil twin brother. The Dutch believe he has an alter ego named 'Black Pete' that puts black coal in bad children's stockings. In Austria and The Netherlands, St. Nicholas has a demon companion named Krumpus that carries the bad children away in a basket.

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