Curious Facts About Christmas

Catholic Culture

By Jacqueline Kelly.

Once again it is Christmas, the feast which we love most. The young and the old all over the world are getting keyed up with eager expectancy as they await the dawn of this much-celebrated feast. A nip in the air, the short evenings and the longer nights, carols and other seasonal melodies coming over YouTube and TV, the brightly bedecked, well-decorated shops with their enthralling display of expensive finery, the tailoring establishments and the dress-designers frantically busy snipping and sewing in a mad rush to complete the Christmas orders, the hustle and bustle in households where feverish preparations are on, all serve to proclaim the happy tidings that it is Christmas time.

The pattern is very much the same all over the world. Christians and non-Christians alike will join in celebrating the day. All nations, one feels, find themselves imbued with that indefinable spirit which envelops the minds and hearts of men at this time of the year: “Peace on earth, goodwill to all men”.

Christmas will dawn at the stroke of midnight on December 24 with the joyous peal of bells from countless churches and the strains of animated choirs intoning the ageless hymns Adeste Fideles and Silent Night, Holy Night and the happy refrain will be echoed by vast congregations in countries far and wide.

Each man, in his own way and in keeping with the customs of his land, will celebrate the family festival, which has its foundation in the Holy Family in Bethlehem, who huddled around a baby born in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. For Christians in many countries where traditions are followed, relics of pagan days grafted into the Christmas tradition will once again become the symbol of the season. In other countries, large non-Catholic populations will make the holiday an occasion for merry-making without religious significance.

Without any understanding of the faith-foundation of our religious traditions, it is easy to dismiss their relevance in our lives today. We follow them now because they are familiar, and “It just wouldn’t be Christmas without them.”. Most of us believe we know a lot about Christmas, but here are some fascinating facts about this delightful season.

  • X’mas is derived from the Middle English ‘Christemasse’ and old English ‘Cristes Mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038.
    • “Christianity” was spelled “Xianity” as far back as 1100. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter? [chi], is the first letter of the word “Christos” meaning “Christ”. Since the mid-sixteenth century, the similar Roman letter “X”, was used as an abbreviation for Christ.
    • So,”X” and back in the 4th century, Constantine the Great, often referred to the shorthand version. Some say it was as early as 1021 that the abbreviation “XPmas” was used to refer to the holiday, which was later abbreviated to “Xmas”. The term “Xmas” dates back to the 1500s. 
  • Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome [125-136 A.D] declared that public Church services should be held to celebrate “The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour”. In 320 A.D. Pope Julius I and other religious leaders declared December 25 as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.
  • After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the very early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as “geol”[1] the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word “Yule” is derived.
  • The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian  traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas [December 26 – January 6]. Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.
  • December 26 was traditionally known as Saint Stephen’s Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was collected in alms boxes placed in Churches during the festive season. This money was then distributed to the poor and needy after Christmas.
  • Melbourne, Australia has a sporting Boxing Day tradition. The Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts a Cricket test match. Cricket is Australia’s premier summer sport.
  • Christmas trees received their first written acknowledgement in Germany in 1531.
  • The first artificial Christmas tree was made in Germany from goose feathers which were dyed green.
  • Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S. since 1850.
  • The tradition of hanging stockings over the fireplace derived from Dutch children placing their shoes next to the fireplace on Christmas Eve. Stockings later replaced the shoes.
  • Until the turkey, a goose was the most popular fare served at a Christmas meal.
  • The popular Christmas carol Silent Night was written by an Austrian Priest named Joseph Mohr in 1818. He was informed a day before Christmas that the Church organ had broken and would not be repaired in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by the choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night, the people in the little Austrian Church sang, “Stille Nacht” for the first time. Silent Night is the most recorded Christmas song in history.
  • Saint Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas carols for formal Church services.
  • Santa has a calculated 31hours to give thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west.
  • Christmas trees such as Douglas Fir and Evergreen are grown in all 50 States of America.
  • Some Priests in Australia suggest saying “Happy Christmas” and not “Merry Christmas”, because ‘Merry’ has connotations of getting drunk- which brings its own problems. One should say ‘Happy’ instead.
  • Alabama was the first state in America to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.
  • Oklahoma was the last state to proclaim Christmas day as a legal holiday in 1907.
  • Bing Crosby’s Christmas classic “White Christmas” is the best-selling Christmas song of all time.
  • Poet Clark Moore is credited with naming Santa’s reindeer; Blitzen sometimes known as Blixem, Comet, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donner or Dunder, Prancer, Vixen and the most famous[drum roll] reindeer, Rudolph. Rudolph the “Red Nosed Reindeer” was written by Robert May in 1939.
  • The tiny reindeers have had many names. Rudolph was almost named Rollo or Reginald. L. Frank Baum’s 1902 story, “The Life and Adventure of Santa Claus” includes  Flossie, Glossie, Racer, Pacer, Scratcher, Feckless, Speckless, Ready, Steady and Fireball.
  • Santa didn’t always wear red. The colours in Santa Claus’ suit, red and white, were the creation of artist Haddon Sundblom. He was commissioned by the Coca-Cola Company to redesign Santa Claus, although, Thomas Nas was the first artist to illustrate Santa Claus. The typical image is an amalgamation of cultural input over many years.
  • In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria.
  • December 6, is Saint Nicholas Day – the first of the gift-giving days, especially in Holland and Belgium.
  • The United States President, Franklin Pierce, was the first in 1856 to decorate an indoor Christmas tree in the White House.
  • While working for inventor Thomas Edison, Edward Johnson had lights crafted especially for his Christmas tree leading to the popularization of Christmas tree lights.
  • The red stripe in the candy cane was intended by the inventor as the Blood of Christ.
  • Mistletoe myth states that should a woman appearing under the mistletoe not receive a kiss, she will not marry the following year.
  • The first Christmas card was designed by John Horsley in 1840 but was not sold until 1843. Christmas wreaths of holly and berries are believed to represent Christ’s thorns and blood.
  • Three billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. each year since 1843.
  • It takes about 15 years to grow the average Christmas tree.
  • In Mexico, the poinsettia plant is called “Flower of the Holy Night”.
  • Tinsel became a popular Christmas tree adornment after a mythical spider created sprawling webs from branch to branch.
  • Tinsel was originally made with real silver.
  • With more than 450 figures and hundreds of yards of landscape, the world’s largest diorama of the Nativity is found in Einsiedeln, Switzerland. In the 1930’s, crib maker Ferdiand Pottmesser built a giant Christmas crib along with hundreds of figurines.
  • The custom of giving toys for tots was started in Los Angeles in 1947. 5000 toys were collected and the first donation was a handmade doll.
  • The biggest Christmas gift was sent in 1865.
  • Gifts have both Christian and Pagan origin.
  • Santa Claus, the gift giver has many different names around the world, in Germany ,he became Das Weihnachtsmann“Christmas Man”, Père Noël in France, Father Christmas in Britain, La Befanaz in Italy, Julenisse in Denmark, Sinterklaas in Netherland, Dedushka Moroz [Grandfather Frost] in Russia and the Three Kings in Spain and Mexico,in the U.S. and Canada, some call him Kris Kringle,which originates from the German word Christ kind [Christ child].
  • Jingle Bells was the first Christmas song in space in 1965.
  • Jingle Bells was originally a Thanksgiving Song. James Lord Pierpont wrote the song called “One Horse Open Sleigh” for his Church’s Thanksgiving Concert in the mid-nineteenth century. Then in 1857, was released under the title Jingle Bells.
  • Oliver Cromwell, in England banned Christmas Carols between 1649 and 1660. Cromwell thought that Christmas should be a very solemn day so he banned carols and parties. The only celebration was a sermon and a prayer service.
  • In 1643, the British Parliament officially abolishes the celebration of Christmas.
  • Celebrating Christmas used to be illegal from 1659-1681.
  • The Puritans in America tried to make Thanksgiving Day the most important annual festival instead of Christmas.
  • The original Christmas pudding recipe had meat in it.
  • President Grant declared Christmas a federal holiday in 1870.
  • The first recorded use of the word “Christmas” was in England in 1038.
  • Decorating Christmas trees in England began in the 16th
  • The British Royalty helped popularize the tree in Britain by decorating the first Christmas tree at Windsor Castle in 1841. Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, decorated the first British Christmas Tree with candles, fruits, candies and gingerbread.
  • Santa had his own Canadian Postal code.
  • Silent Night is the most recorded Christmas song in history.
  • It took six weeks for Charles Dickens to write a Christmas Carol.
  • A Facebook study in 2010 revealed that, two weeks before Christmas is the most popular time for couples to break up.
  • The concept of carolling had nothing to do with Christmas. Medieval carols were liturgical songs in the 12th While travelling to different homes came from a tradition in England of wishing good fortunes to your neighbours in exchange for gifts.
  • The most popular theory of why we leave cookies and milk out for Santa is because Dutch children would leave food and drink out for Saint Nicholas on his Feast Day.
  • Most historians agree that Eggnog originated in medieval Britain. Eggnog was an upper-class luxury since they were the only ones who had access to the milk, sherry and eggs required to create the original drink. Monks in the Middle Ages added figs and eggs and called the drink “Posset”- a hot milky ale-like drink.
  • The Christmas tree displayed in Trafalgar Square in London is an annual gift to the U.K. from Norway since 1947. The Norwegian spruce given is a token of appreciation of British friendship during World War II from the Norwegian people.
  • Modern traditions have come to include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace.

CHRISTMAS

C – Child Jesus born in a poor, humble stable

H – Herald of good news for the entire people

R – Redeemer for all the oppressed human clan

I  – Incarnation of Eternal Word for sinful men

S – Saviour for all those who live in darkness

T – Truth, Life and Way of right and justice

M – Model of Mother Mary for all to treasure

A – Advocate of yesterday, today and forever

S – Star of wonder! Our only joy and pleasure

Christmas Message:

We want to live our life the way we want to. We want to be the King – with whatever authority or power we have to, to rule over the people around us, in our family, in our society and neighbourhood.

Yes, we have abandoned that little BABY JESUS from our lives, little realizing that He is our King. Can Christmas mean anything to us if we abandon that little Baby Jesus? Think! We need to make room for Him in our hearts forever.