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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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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Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.
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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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Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year.
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Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.
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The sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
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