Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
14
One town in Indiana is called Santa Claus. There is also a Santa, Idaho.
122
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
113
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
The abbreviation Xmas isn't irreligious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
273
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
Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.
42