Christmas Amazing Facts

The Top 50 Amazing-but-True Holiday Facts

• In the village where the original Saint Nicholas was born, children celebrate Christmas by giving gifts to old men with long white beards.
• Children whose families celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas have a 97 percent higher chance of getting socks as a gift.
• The yule log was originally a symbol of good digestion following an overlarge Christmas feast.
• The Japanese term for Christmas, Kurisumasu Omedeto, can also be loosely translated as "Morning of the Greedy Children."
• On December 23, 1775, as Ben Franklin staggered out of the Continental Congress Christmas Party on the arm of colonial party girl Patience Rutledge, a furious Mrs. Franklin hurled a fruitcake at him, striking the Liberty Bell
• The sugar rush of a fruitcake is canceled out by its alcohol content.
• For the past decade, the Spanish-speaking Santa at the Del Amo mall in Torrance, CA, has been played by Erik Estrada.
• Resurrected by Budweiser in the 20th century, the phrase "Wassup!" comes from a Christmas drinking game from the Middle Ages in which players chugged hot wassail. The first to vomit -- or "wass-up" -- woul
• Next year, Mars, Inc. will debut special M&M versions for Purim and Yom Kippur.
• The dogs barking "Jingle Bells" on the novelty record were not dogs at all, but parrots, which can mimic dogs and are easier to train.
• Jesus was actually born on January 1, but Joseph and Mary moved the date back a week to get a government-approved tax deduction.
• As part of top-secret "Operation Bagdhad Bells," the Bush administration actually considered sending Salvation Army troops into Iraq.
• The first-ever Hanukkah latke recipe featured turnips, rhubarb and kale. These proved so unpopular that many different vegetables were substituted until the current potato version prevailed.
• In certain parts of the world, eggnog is used as a sexual lubricant.
• In Latvia, indoor Christmas trees were originally fake. Real trees started being used in 1923 when the factory making the fake ones burned down.
• During the early 1970s, the Hasbro company attempted to build a "North Pole" toy factory at Point Barrow, Alaska. Construction was halted when feasibility studies predicted labor shortages.
• In freshly-fallen snow, reindeer hoof prints are indisguishable from those of the common Missouri white-tailed deer.
• In some parts of Scandinavia where evergreens are legally protected, people still follow a tradition of making Christmas trees from potted poison ivy plants tended indoors. The locals say that along with gifts, Kris Kringle b
• Most serious drummers consider "pa-rum-pum-pum-pum" a distastefully pedestrian riff.
• "It's a Wonderful Life" was original a detective story written for star Humphrey Bogart -- and in the story, whenever a bell rang an angel got cement shoes.
• The literal translation of "Chanukah" from ancient Hebrew into English means, "Buy seven, get the eighth one free."
• After the Three Wise Men left, Joseph bartered the gold and frankincense for more practical gifts: a camel-ready infant seat and three hours of babysitting. He kept the myrrh because of its well-known ability to heal swaddlin
• Studies show that neighbors tend to complain about wattage-sucking, multimedia outdoor decorations because they're *jealous*.
• On the eighth day of Christmas, Jesus was circumcised.
• The oil in the Temple menorah lasted twice as long as now thought, but the information was suppressed by parents who couldn't afford 16 nights of Chanukah presents.
• The most popular eggnog in Russia is not made from chicken eggs, but from caviar.
• Every year between Christmas Day and New Year's day, there is a 2-for-1 sale on caribou patties at the Anchorage Deli.
• The tradition of kissing under the mistletoe originated in Germany in the 18th century when a person who was deathly allergic to mistletoe came in contact it and had to be revived by mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
• Balthasar, the third King of Orient, was gay.
• Absurd as it seems, behavioral scientists claim kids don't want expensive toys -- what they REALLY want is just to be loved.
• Beginning in 2001, the White House Christmas tree decorations have included a novelty ornament given to President Bush by Dick Cheney: A silver-plated election ballot with a hanging chad.
• Holiday fruitcake began as a prank made from carefully reshaped reindeer droppings.
• The Egyptians celebrated a holiday they called "Chrystmus" over 1700 years before the birth of Christ.
• The primary causes of death during the holidays are heart attacks and suicide caused by the arrival of credit-card bills.
• According to the Department of Homeland Security's 2007 strategic plan, 2006 will be the last year youngsters can sit on a mall Santa's lap without first passing through a metal detector.
• Properly prepared, figgy pudding is a potent aphrodisiac.
• The average height of a Christmas tree (5' 4") is exactly the same as the distance between Jesus's hands on the cross.
• For years, the U.S. Postal Service has secretly answered letters addressed to Santa Claus. Due to outsourcing of the Holiday Mail division to Mumbai, such letters are now more likely to get positive responses if they are writ
• Studies show that while toddlers love Christmas tree lights, they prefer Christmas tree *fires*.
• "Black Friday" originated as a ritual of purchasing highly prized whimsical curios for unconverted village urchins and then burning them together at the stake.
• Tinsel is an excellent garnish for chicken or veal.
• Red and green became official Christmas colors in 1939, when it was recognized that red marked-down price tags brought in green cash during the shopping season.
• "Extreme-Ultra-Orthodox" Jews have only six non-holidays a year.
• "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was banned from the airwaves and bookstores from 1950-1956 because of its implied support for Communism.
• Pope Gregory moved Christmas from its original day, March 17, at the request of Irish bishops and barley farmers who were promoting a new holiday to commemorate Saint Patrick.
• Eggnog was created after its predecessors beefnog, hamnog and troutnog failed miserably.
• The reason you almost never see purple Christmas lights is that Saint Nicholas, the prototype for Santa Clause, believed purple was satanic. He even threatened to have any of his parishioners who wore purple excommunicated.
• Reindeer feces have been known to burn holes in roof shingles.
• For nine years following the 1843 publication of "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer was the most popular boys' name in Great Britain.
• If you pour sourmash whiskey on a pine wreath purchased at Wal-Mart anytime between 1998 and 2002 and set it aflame, it gives off the scent of warm apple cider.