Gold-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.
196
Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
33
The world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
82
The typical image we have of Santa Claus dressed in red clothes with white fur trim, is an amalgamation of cultural input over many years. Some people claim the image of Santa we know today is from Coca-cola advertising, but this simply isn't true. The st
33
Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.
42
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.
415
Popular belief holds that 3 wise men visited Bethlehem from the east bearing gifts. However there is no mention in the bible about the number of wise men who visited. Three gifts were brought - gold, frankincense and myrrh, but names commonly attributed t
101
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
