Interesting Xmas facts

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1. Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S. since 1850.
2. Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.
3. Bolivians celebrate Misa del Gallo or “Mass of the Rooster” on Christmas Eve. Some people
bring roosters to the midnight mass, a gesture that symbolizes the
belief that a rooster was the first animal to announce the birth of
Jesus.
4. The British wear paper crowns while they eat Christmas dinner. The
crowns are stored in a tube called a “Christmas cracker.”
5. Spiders or spider webs are common Christmas trees decorations
because according to legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus.
In fact, some people consider spiders to be symbols of goodness and
prosperity at Christmas.
6. Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially
recognize Christmas in 1836.
7. Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States
until June 26, 1870.
8. Oklahoma was the last U.S. state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907.
9. Christmas has its roots in pagan festivals such as Saturnalia (December 17-December 23), the
Kalends (January 1 -5, the precursor to the Twelve Days of Christmas), and Deus Sol Invictus or
Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun (December 25). The Christian church heartily disapproved
of such celebrations and co-opted the pagans by declaring December 25 as Christ’s day of birth,
though there is no evidence Christ was born on that day.
10. Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nikolas of Myra (also known as
Nikolaos the Wonderworker, Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna, and
Nikolaos of Bari), who lived during the fourth century. Born in Patara (in
modern-day Turkey), he is the world’s most popular non-Biblical saint,
and artists have portrayed him more often than any other saint except Mary.
He is the patron saint of banking, pawnbroking, pirating, butchery, sailing,
thievery, orphans, royalty, and New York City.
11. Puritan Oliver Cromwell outlawed Christmas celebrations and carols in
England from 1649-1660. The only celebrations allowed were sermons and prayers.
12. President Teddy Roosevelt, an environmentalist, banned Christmas
trees from the White House in 1901.
13. There are approximately 21,000 Christmas tree farms in the United
States. In 2008, nearly 45 million Christmas trees were planted, adding
to the existing 400 million trees.
14. The first person to decorate a Christmas tree was reportedly the
Protestant reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546). According to legend, he
was so moved by the beauty of the stars shining between the branches of a
fir tree, he brought home an evergreen tree and decorated it with candles
to share the image with his children.
15. Approximately 30-35 million real (living) Christmas trees are sold each
year in the U.S.
16. Christmas is a contraction of “Christ’s Mass,” which is derived from the Old English Cristes
mæsse (first recorded in 1038). The letter “X” in Greek is the first letter of Christ, and “Xmas”
has been used as an abbreviation for Christmas since the mid 1500s.
17. In 1962, the first Christmas postage stamp was issued in the United States.
18. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are 2,106 million children
under age 18 in the world. If there are on average 2.5 children per
household, Santa would have to make 842 million stops on Christmas Eve,
traveling 221 million miles. To reach all 842 million stops, Santa would need
to travel between houses in 2/10,000 second, which means he would need
to accelerate 12.19 million miles (20.5 billion meters) per second on each
stop.
19. Christmas purchases account for 1/6 of all retail sales in the U.S.
(Source: randomhistory.com)

Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE?

a) People have been selling Xmas trees since the middle of the 18 th century.
F
b) People grow Xmas trees for one and a half decades before they sell them.
T
c) “Mass of the Rooster” is a famous Bolivian celebration. Bolivian people think that a
rooster announced the birth of Christ first.
T
d) Paper crowns are worn while British people have their Xmas lunch.
F
e) A spider web is one of the ornaments on Halloween.
F
f) Before 1970, people in the USA did not celebrate Xmas officially.
F
g) The Christian Church disliked winter pagan festivals, therefore, they declared that
Christ’s birthday was on 25th December so as to gain followers.
T
h) The original Santa Claus was Turkish.
T
i) Teddy Roosevelt did not allow to put up Xmas trees in the White House in 1901.
T
j) 30-35 million artificial Xmas trees are sold in the UK annually.
F
k) The letter “X” in the word of “Christmas” comes from the Greek language.
T