One town in Indiana is called Santa Claus. There is also a Santa, Idaho.
122
The Queen's Christmas speech was first televised in 1957.
18
Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
33
The abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
273
The sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
81
Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the USA from Germany in the 19th century, popularized the sending of printed Christmas cards. He invented a way of reproducing color oil paintings
, the "chromolithograph technique", and created a car
, the "chromolithograph technique", and created a car
1
The twelve days of Christmas are the days between Christmas Day and Epiphany (6th of January) and represent the length of time it took for the wise men from the East to visit the manger of Jesus after his birth.
36
At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".
27