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Fun Facts About Christmas
With
all the stress and expense of Christmas it's easy to forget that its
supposed to be fun. We've put together some fun facts to get you in
the mood for merriment.
Kissing under the mistletoe, our favourite sprig of green leaves and white
berries, dates back to a 17th century English custom. At that time, a berry
was removed every time a kiss was made, which meant there were no kisses
when there no berries. We seem to have since forgotten about the berry
removal - allowing us to fully concentrate on the kissing!
Long before it was used as a "kiss encourager" during
the Christmas season, mistletoe had long been considered to have magic
powers by Celtic and Teutonic peoples. It was said to have the ability
to heal wounds and increase fertility. Celts hung mistletoe in their
homes in order to bring themselves good luck and ward off evil spirits.
The Christmas card, probably the most popular way to express holiday
sentiments, was started in England in 1843. The first Christmas card
was printed in the United States in 1875 by Louis Prang, a Massachusetts
printer. By running nationwide contests for the best Christmas designs,
Prang helped launch Christmas cards into a multibillion dollar industry.
The decorated Christmas tree can be traced back to the ancient Romans
who decorated trees with small pieces of metal during Saturnalia, a winter
festival in honour of Saturnus, the god of agriculture.
Did you know that Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces,
and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts,
or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition.
If you received all of the gifts in the song 'The
Twelve Days of Christmas', you would receive 364 presents.
Santa's Reindeers are Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner
and Blitzen.
Saint Nicholas of Myra, the original Santa Claus was the patron saint
of children, thieves and pawnbrokers.
The UK spends £20bn on Christmas with £1.6bn going on food and drink.
Based on previous surveys, 17% of you will embarrass
yourselves in some way at your office Christmas party.
