Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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			Gold-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.
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			Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by both rich and poor. It was a forerunner of modern Christmas puddings. It is linked in legend to the Celtic god Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all the good things of the earth.
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			In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.
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			US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.
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			The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night".
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			Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
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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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