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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In Greek legend, malicious creatures called Kallikantzaroi sometimes play troublesome pranks at Christmas time. In order to get rid of them, salt or an old shoe is burnt. The pungent burning stench drives off, or at least helps discourage, the Kallikantza
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'Klaxon' is a name that does not belong to one of Santa's reindeer. A klaxon is actually a powerful electric horn. Its name comes from a German word meaning "shriek".
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In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a goat. It is usually made of straw. Scandinavian Christmas festivities feature a variety of straw decorations in the form of stars, angels, hearts and other shapes, as well as t
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The sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
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The Queen's Christmas speech was first televised in 1957.
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The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
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