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
1
The world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
82
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
6
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
The abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
273
'Klaxon' is a name that does not belong to one of Santa's reindeer. A klaxon is actually a powerful electric horn. Its name comes from a German word meaning "shriek".
3
Nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.
74
Robins on cards were a joke 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them.
20