The first Christmas card was designed in 1843 by J.C. Horsley.
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Nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.
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Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
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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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The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night".
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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
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'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".
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The "Urn of Fate" is part of the Christmas celebrations in many Italian households. The Urn of Fate is brought out on Christmas Eve. It holds a wrapped present for everyone. The mother tries her luck first, then the others in turn. If you get a present wi
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