Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
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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 first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
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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 sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
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The Christmas tree displayed in Trafalgar square in London is an annual gift to the UK from Norway since 1947. The Norwegian spruce given is a token of appreciation of British friendship during World War II from the Norwegian people.
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The definition of a white Christmas in the UK is for a single snow flake (perhaps amongst a shower of mixed rain and snow) to be observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25th.
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