Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
14
The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
28
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
113
English Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas between 1647 and 1660 because he believed such celebrations were immoral for the holiest day of the year.
26
Many theologians estimate that Jesus wasn't born on December 25 but sometime in September between 6BC and 30AD.
42
In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.
103
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

