GaryMrMets
11-23-2002, 09:44 PM
Random Holiday Fact (Christmas; Chanukah; Hanukkah; Kwanzaa)
Ten percent of American households leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas eve.
The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and had the original title "One-Horse Open Sleigh"
Christmas festivities in Mexico begin on December 16 with "Las Posadas". Every night until Christmas Eve, children reenact the holy family's search for lodging in Bethlehem by dressing up and traveling from house to house, singing Spanish carols and carrying brightly decorated "báculos" (walking staffs) or "faroles" (paper lanterns). "Las Posadas" is Spanish for inn or shelter.
More than 1.76 billion candy canes will be made during the holiday season.
Sending a red Christmas card to anyone in Japan would be a bad idea, since funeral notices in Japan are customarily printed in red.
The first Christmas card was created in England in 1842.
The average American household wraps 30 Christmas gifts each holiday season.
More diamonds are purchased at Christmas time (31 percent) than any other celebration during the year.
According to the Greek alphabet, X is the letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ's name, hence the term, X-mas.
Traditionally known as St. Stephen's Day, December 26 is more commonly known as Boxing Day. The Boxing Day term comes from the practice of collecting money for the needy in alms-boxes at churches the day after Christmas.
Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, was the first president to have a Christmas tree in the White House.
Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1836.
Oklahoma was the last state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907.
Celebrity births on December 25: Dido, Helena Christensen, Annie Lennox and Sissy Spacek.
Charles Dickens original phrase for Scrooge was "Bah Christmas" instead of "Bah Humbug".
The Chanukah menorah has nine candles, one called the Shamash or "the servant candle" and the other eight are for each night of Chanukah. The Shamash is lit first and is used to light the rest of the candles.
The name Kwanzaa comes from the African language of Swahili and means "first fruits of the harvest."
Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, Christmas and Kwanzaa are all holidays where cultures use candles to symbolize an important part of their holiday.
The first electric tree lights were mass-manufactured in 1903 by the Ever-Ready Company of New York, but they were expensive and if one light went out so did the rest of the string.
The first Christmas stamp was issued December 7, 1907 in Wilmington, Delaware. Each stamp cost a penny and all proceeds were used to fight tuberculosis.
Long before it was used as a "kiss encourager", mistletoe was considered to have magical powers according to Celtic peoples. Celts decorated their homes with mistletoe to ward off evil spirits and to bring good luck.
Artificial spiders and their webs are often used to adorn Ukranian Christmas trees. According to Ukranians, Finding a spider web on Christmas morning is thought to bring good luck.
Caroling during the Christmas holiday began as an old English custom called Wassailing - toasting neighbors with health and good fortune.
Over three billion Christmas cards are sent out each year in the United States.
"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was created in 1939 by author Robert May. Two other names he considered before Rudolph were Reginald and Rollo.
The Christmas custom of hanging wreaths on front doors is borrowed from ancient Rome's New Year's celebration. Romans wished each other "good health" by exchanging branches of evergreen trees. It became the custom to bend these branches into a ring and display them on doorways.
In Mexico, the poinsettia plant is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night." It was first brought to America in 1829 by Joel Poinsett, a nineteenth-century ambassador to Mexico.
Instead of hanging stockings, Dutch children set out shoes to receive gifts any time between mid-November and December 5, the birthday of St. Nicholas.
Ten percent of American households leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus on Christmas eve.
The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and had the original title "One-Horse Open Sleigh"
Christmas festivities in Mexico begin on December 16 with "Las Posadas". Every night until Christmas Eve, children reenact the holy family's search for lodging in Bethlehem by dressing up and traveling from house to house, singing Spanish carols and carrying brightly decorated "báculos" (walking staffs) or "faroles" (paper lanterns). "Las Posadas" is Spanish for inn or shelter.
More than 1.76 billion candy canes will be made during the holiday season.
Sending a red Christmas card to anyone in Japan would be a bad idea, since funeral notices in Japan are customarily printed in red.
The first Christmas card was created in England in 1842.
The average American household wraps 30 Christmas gifts each holiday season.
More diamonds are purchased at Christmas time (31 percent) than any other celebration during the year.
According to the Greek alphabet, X is the letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ's name, hence the term, X-mas.
Traditionally known as St. Stephen's Day, December 26 is more commonly known as Boxing Day. The Boxing Day term comes from the practice of collecting money for the needy in alms-boxes at churches the day after Christmas.
Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, was the first president to have a Christmas tree in the White House.
Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1836.
Oklahoma was the last state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907.
Celebrity births on December 25: Dido, Helena Christensen, Annie Lennox and Sissy Spacek.
Charles Dickens original phrase for Scrooge was "Bah Christmas" instead of "Bah Humbug".
The Chanukah menorah has nine candles, one called the Shamash or "the servant candle" and the other eight are for each night of Chanukah. The Shamash is lit first and is used to light the rest of the candles.
The name Kwanzaa comes from the African language of Swahili and means "first fruits of the harvest."
Hanukkah, St. Lucia Day, Christmas and Kwanzaa are all holidays where cultures use candles to symbolize an important part of their holiday.
The first electric tree lights were mass-manufactured in 1903 by the Ever-Ready Company of New York, but they were expensive and if one light went out so did the rest of the string.
The first Christmas stamp was issued December 7, 1907 in Wilmington, Delaware. Each stamp cost a penny and all proceeds were used to fight tuberculosis.
Long before it was used as a "kiss encourager", mistletoe was considered to have magical powers according to Celtic peoples. Celts decorated their homes with mistletoe to ward off evil spirits and to bring good luck.
Artificial spiders and their webs are often used to adorn Ukranian Christmas trees. According to Ukranians, Finding a spider web on Christmas morning is thought to bring good luck.
Caroling during the Christmas holiday began as an old English custom called Wassailing - toasting neighbors with health and good fortune.
Over three billion Christmas cards are sent out each year in the United States.
"Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was created in 1939 by author Robert May. Two other names he considered before Rudolph were Reginald and Rollo.
The Christmas custom of hanging wreaths on front doors is borrowed from ancient Rome's New Year's celebration. Romans wished each other "good health" by exchanging branches of evergreen trees. It became the custom to bend these branches into a ring and display them on doorways.
In Mexico, the poinsettia plant is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night." It was first brought to America in 1829 by Joel Poinsett, a nineteenth-century ambassador to Mexico.
Instead of hanging stockings, Dutch children set out shoes to receive gifts any time between mid-November and December 5, the birthday of St. Nicholas.