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.
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Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
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The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
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The twelve days of Christmas are the days between Christmas Day and Epiphany (6th of January) and represent the length of time it took for the wise men from the East to visit the manger of Jesus after his birth.
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In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a goat. It is usually made of straw. Scandinavian Christmas festivities feature a variety of straw decorations in the form of stars, angels, hearts and other shapes, as well as t
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Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.
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Nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.
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Gold-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.
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