The Queen's Christmas speech was first televised in 1957.
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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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7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year.
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Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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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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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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Gold-wrapped chocolate coins commemorate St Nicholas who gave bags of gold coins to the poor.
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