Christmas is an annual religious and cultural holiday commemorating the the birth of Jesus Christ and is usually celebrated on December 25.
Interestingly, Christmas is recognized as a civil holiday in much of the world and is celebrated culturally by an increasing number of non-Christians.
The fact is that the date is only symbolic since there is no hard evidence of the real date. There are many who question whether Jesus ever actually existed at all, but it seems most accept the claims of his existence as a reality.
The celebratory customs associated with Christmas have a mix of pagan, pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, Christmas music and caroling, an exchange of Christmas cards, church celebrations, a special meal, and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights,nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly.
The holiday has become a significant economic event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The commercial impact of Christmas is a factor that has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.
Apart from the information above, here are some more facts you probably don’t know about Christmas:
1. The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
2. Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
3. In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.
4. According to the Guinness world records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut was a 221-foot Douglas fir that was displayed in 1950 at the Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington.
5. According to Facebook posts, two weeks before Christmas is one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. However, Christmas Day is the least favorite day for breakups.
6. The world’s largest Christmas stocking measured 106 feet and 9 inches (32.56 m) long and 49 feet and 1 inch (14.97 m) wide. It held almost 1,000 presents and was made by the Children’s Society in London on December 14, 2007.
7. Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S. since 1850.
8. Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.
9. The British wear paper crowns while they eat Christmas dinner. The crowns are stored in a tube called a “Christmas cracker”.
10. Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.
11. Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.
12. Oklahoma was the last U.S. state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907.
13. The Puritans in America viewed Christmas as a decadent holiday and banned all Christmas celebrations from 1659-1681 with a penalty of five shillings for each offense.
14. Christmas has its roots in pagan festivals such as Saturnalia, the Kalends, and Deus Sol Invictus or Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun. The Christian church heartily disapproved of such celebrations and co-opted the pagans by declaring December 25 as Christ’s day of birth, though there is no evidence Christ was born on that Day.
15. Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nikolas of Myra who lived during the fourth century. Born in Patara (in modern-day Turkey), he is the world’s most popular non-Biblical saint, and artists have portrayed him more often than any other saint except Mary. He is the patron saint of banking, pawnbroking, pirating, butchery, sailing, thievery, orphans, royalty, and New York City.
16. Puritan Oliver Cromwell outlawed Christmas celebrations and carols in England from 1649-1660. The only celebrations allowed were sermons and prayers.
17. Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry and were, therefore, doomed to a life of prostitution. They were saved, however, when the wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins.
18. There are competing claims as to which president was the first to place a Christmas tree in the White House. Some say it was President Franklin Pierce in 1856 while others claim President Benjamin Harrison brought in the first tree in 1889. However, it was President Coolidge who started the White House lighting ceremony in 1923.
19. President Teddy Roosevelt banned Christmas trees from the White House in 1912 on environmental grounds.
20. The song “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin is the best selling single of all time, with over 100 million sales worldwide.
21. There are approximately 21,000 Christmas tree farms in the United States. In 2008, nearly 45 million Christmas trees were planted, adding to the existing 400 million trees.
22. Approximately 30-35 million real Christmas trees are sold each year in the U.S.
23. In 1962, the first Christmas postage stamp was issued in the United States.
24. Commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, British illustrator John Callcott Horsley invented the first Christmas card in 1843.
25. Christmas purchases account for 1/6 of all retail sales in the U.S.
Do you celebrate Christmas as a religious event?
If not, what do you do at Christmas time? How do you feel about the commercialization of Christmas?
You can share your thoughts by using the comments feed below.
