While the world is drowned in the Christmas spirit and people are busy singing merry songs, we bring to you some of the lesser known facts about Christmas that are a mix of bizarre, informative and funny.
11 Surprising Things No One Told You About Christmas
1. Christmas and ‘Jingle Bells’ definitely seem made for each other, but the song was actually written for Thanksgiving! According to Mental_Floss Magazine, composer James Lord Pierpont wrote the song for his Boston Sunday school class during Thanksgiving as a way to celebrate the popular Medford sleigh races.
2. One of the first commercially sold fake Christmas trees was created from toilet brushes! It was in the latter part of the 19th century that the Addis Brush Company brought to use their toilet brush weaving machinery to make pine-like branches for their fake Christmas trees.
3. You and many others may be wishing upon one Santa, but Iceland has as many as 13 Santas to look forward to. Yes, their Christmas tradition has 13 Santas including one that kidnaps children as a punishment for their bad behavior.
4. Paul McCartney earns nearly half a million dollars every year from his Christmas song, which many critics consider as his worst song ever.
5. The Bible does not actually mention a specific date for Jesus’ birth. Historians draw upon the Biblical account of Christ’s birth – the description of shepherds herding animals, and believe that Jesus was probably born during spring time.
6. It was in the 4th century that the Catholic Church decided to recognize Jesus’ birth as an official holiday. Following the decision, Pope Julius I chose December 25 for the Feast of the Nativity.
7. As Christmas finds its roots in pagan festivals, it was initially not accepted by the religious. In fact, it was illegal and monetarily punishable to celebrate Christmas in Boston (from 1659 to 1681).
8. Donner and Blitzen were not originally part of Santa’s reindeer and Rudolph, the most famous of Santa’s reindeer was created as a part of commercial promotion for Montgomery Ward.
9. Santa Claus delivering presents comes from Holland’s celebration of St. Nicholas’ feast day on December 6. All letters addressed to Santa in the United States go to Santa Claus, Indiana.
10. The 26th President, Teddy Roosevelt found Christmas tree decoration such a waste of resources that he banned Christmas trees at the White House.
11. The custom of putting tangerines in stockings was started in 12th-century by French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor. While hanging stockings out comes from the Dutch tradition of leaving shoes packed with food for St Nicholas’s donkeys.