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.
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The tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor.
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Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.
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The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." There is no set date for his birth in scripture and it wasn't celebrated on any particular day. However Christmas was first celebrated on the 25th of December in Rome in 336AD with an aim t
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The world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
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The Queen's Christmas speech was first televised in 1957.
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One town in Indiana is called Santa Claus. There is also a Santa, Idaho.
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The abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
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