Some fun facts about Christmas you never knew

It’s that time of the year again when you relish in cakes, wine and nuts!Merry Christmas to all! Many won’t know about some of the really cool facts surrounding Christmas, one of the eagerly awaited festivals and celebrated all around the world with pomp and show, more so because it coincides with the year end and New Year eve celebrations.

Let’s go into some trivia mode, with this Christmas let all be showered with loads of gifts and happiness by Santa!

  • The ritual of decorating Christmas trees started in Germany in 16th century, where it was a popular mode of celebration and get-together to distribute delicious cakes and decorate Christmas trees
  • We are all aware of X-Mas trees as being the indisputable symbol of Christmas festival. But do you know where did the term X-Mas come from? In Greece, X used to denote Christ, hence the term X-Mas to denote Christmas!
  • The most famous carol “Jingle bells” was authored by the Brit James Pieperpont in the year 1857, and was originally titled “The One horse open sleigh”! Moreover, it was written for Thanksgiving day and not Christmas.
  • Santa didn’t always have a beard associated with his personality – it was the work of a political cartoonist Thomas Nast in “Harper’s weekly” which made Santa’s figure popular as we know him today as a fat, old bearded man!
  • Santa ranks among the world’s wealthiest fictional man, far outweighing the world’s current richest mortal. The data compiled by Forbes places St. Nick’s value at infinity!
  • While we celebrate 25th December as Christmas, the day when Lord Jesus was born, historically this date has fluctuated all over the calendar – from Greeks to romans to Egyptians, all had their own version, until in 4th century, Pope Julius I proclaimed it as the date.
  • We usually associate X-mas with red colour and its variants. But do you know that there are 2 other colours which are used widely? Green – signifying life and re-birth, Gold represents wealth!
  • Christmas, at one point of time was banned in USA! Yes, in 1659 some puritanical group banned festival from celebrated and even imposed fines for its breach!
  • The tallest Christmas tree ever unveiled is actually 221 feet tall, this was showcased in Seattle, Washington in 1950
  • Santa has a real zip code! Now that’s something which is hard to digest, but it’s true! Canada’s Santa Letter Writing Programme initiative caused it to be flooded with so many letters that it warranted a zip code “H0H 0H0”!
  • The Christmas and New Year Eve is such a spending culture in Western countries, that it contributes to about 1/6th of all retail spending according to many surveys
  • Christmas actually is a compound word, formed out of two words: Christ’s Mass, originating from Medieval English.