Christmas Facts

    Random Christmas Facts

    There are 44 Christmas Facts!

    The Queen's Christmas speech was first televised in 1957.
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    At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".
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    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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    Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
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    The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
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    Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
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    In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.
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    Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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