The tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor.
42
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
113
Black Friday in the UK is the Friday before Christmas. Instead of shopping, many people get very drunk!
10
Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by both rich and poor. It was a forerunner of modern Christmas puddings. It is linked in legend to the Celtic god Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up of all the good things of the earth.
5
7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year.
100
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
Santa Claus has many different names around the world including Father Christmas in the UK, Pere Noel in France, Kriss Kringle in Germany, La Befana in Italy, Julinesse in Denmark, Dedushka Moroz (meaning Grandfather Frost) in Russia and the Three Kings i
22