Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
14
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 first Christmas card was designed in 1843 by J.C. Horsley.
38
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
26
The sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
81
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
113
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.
191
Gold-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.
196