Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the USA from Germany in the 19th century, popularized the sending of printed Christmas cards. He invented a way of reproducing color oil paintings
, the "chromolithograph technique", and created a car
, the "chromolithograph technique", and created a car
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Coca Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa for a winter promotion.
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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 word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." There is no set date for his birth in scripture and it wasn't celebrated on any particular day. However Christmas was first celebrated on the 25th of December in Rome in 336AD with an aim t
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Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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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".
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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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