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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7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year.
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Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.
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Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
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Coca Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa for a winter promotion.
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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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