š13 Captivating Facts about Christmas
Christmas is the time of year in the Christian calendar when families come together to really appreciate each other and to celebrate this festive period with gifts and food. Hereās some fun facts about Christmas!
1. Armenian Christmases have interesting menus!
In Armenia, the traditional Christmas Eve meal consists of fried fish, lettuce and spinach. Many Armenians fast for a week before Christmas Eve, so the menu for the Christmas dinner is prettyĀ light.
2. A finger-lickinā Christmas?
Japanese people traditionally eat at KFC for Christmas dinner as itās the closest food to turkey that you can get in Japan ā Itās so popular they usually have to have place their Christmas orders 2 months in advance!
3. Itāsā¦ different, weāll give you that.
The first artificial ChristmasĀ treeĀ wasnāt a tree at all. It was created out of goose feathers that were dyed green ā artificial treesĀ were first developed inĀ GermanyĀ in the 19th century due to major continuousĀ deforestation.
4. Jingle Bells was never a Christmas song.
āJingle Bellsā was originally a ThanksgivingĀ song ā James Lord Pierpont wrote a song called āOneĀ HorseĀ Open Sleighā which he performed at his churchās Thanksgiving concert. It was then in 1857, that the song was re-published under āJingle Bellsā and eventually became one of the most popular Christmas songs ever.
5. Santa Claus has global appeal!
Santa Claus has different names around the world ā Kriss Kringle in Germany, Le Befana in Italy, Pere Noel in France and Dushka Moroz (Grandfather Frost) in Russia.
6. Fancy a punch-up?
There is a village in Peru where people settle the previous yearās grudges by fist fighting. They then start the near year off on a clean slate.
7. Christmas is a big time for British travel.
Before the Covid pandemic it was normal for around 4.25 million British people to travel abroad for Christmas.
8. British people arenāt too frugal when it comes to Christmasā¦
Ā£700 million each year is spent on unwanted Christmas gifts. Make sure to spend your money wisely! Plus, around Ā£18 billion is with withdrawn fromĀ UKĀ cash machines over Christmas.
9. Americans are crackers for cards!
An astonishing 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the USA every year.
10. Watch what you eat where possible.
Around 230,000 tons of Christmas food is wasted and thrown away each year.
11. The Brits love their puddingsā¦
Ā£48 million a year is spent on Christmas puddings by UK families, and around 300 million mince pies are eaten over Christmas.
12. Can your tree beat that?
The world’s tallest Christmas tree was put up in a Washington shopping mall inĀ 1950Ā ā This tree reached 221ft high.
13. Deck the halls, not yourself!
The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 14,700 people visit hospital emergency rooms eachĀ NovemberĀ and December from holiday-relatedĀ decoratingĀ accidents.
FAQs about Christmas
How did Christmas first start?
While Christmas is widely celebrated around the birth of Jesus Christ, itās thought that modern celebrations first emerged in around 500 AD - but weāve been celebrating since ancient times around December 25th.
Is Santa Claus real?
Yes! Santaās legend dates back centuries - heās been delivering presents since around 300 AD. He must be tired!
What does Christmas actually mean, as a word?
Itās a contraction of the phrase Christās Mass, where people come together to celebrate the birth and life of Jesus Christ.
Do you know any fun facts about Christmas? Ā Share them in the comments below!
Like our content? Like us on Facebook and never miss out!
This page was last modified on December 31, 2022. Suggest an edit
