Nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.
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Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
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Robins on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them.
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The abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
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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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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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Christmas trees become popular in the UK from 1841 when Prince Albert erected a tree in Windsor Castle following a German tradition. Fir trees have been decorated at Christmas time in Germany since the 8th century.
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