Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
14
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.
415
Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
33
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.
36
The world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
82
The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." There is no set date for his birth in scripture and it wasn't celebrated on any particular day. However Christmas was first celebrated on the 25th of December in Rome in 336AD with an aim t
16
One town in Indiana is called Santa Claus. There is also a Santa, Idaho.
122
The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
28