In the Ukraine, if you find a spider web in the house on Christmas morning, it is believed to be a harbinger of good luck! There once lived a woman so poor, says a Ukrainian folk tale, that she could not afford Christmas decorations for her family. One Ch
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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.
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There are 13 Santas in Iceland, each leaving a gift for children. They come down from the mountain one by one, starting on December 12 and have names like Spoon Licker, Door Sniffer and Meat Hook.
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Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.
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The abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
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Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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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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7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year.
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