Christmas is finally here, so after you’ve unwrapped your presents and finished off Santa’s leftover milk and cookies, take a few minutes to learn more about the holiday that’s like no other.
>> The word Christmas is Old English, a contraction of Christ’s Mass.
>> The first president to decorate the White House Christmas tree in the United States was Franklin Pierce.
>> Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.
>> The first Christmas cards were vintage and invented in 1843, the Victorian Era.
>> “It’s a Wonderful Life” appears on TV more often than any other holiday movie.
>> “Rudolph” was actually created for department store Montgomery Ward in the late 1930s for a holiday promotion. The rest is history.
>> “The Nutcracker” is the most famous Christmas ballet.
>> “Jingle Bells” was first written for Thanksgiving and then became one of the most popular Christmas songs.
>> If you received all of the gifts in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” you would receive 364 presents.
>> The poinsettia plant was brought into the United States from Mexico by Joel Poinsett in the early 1800s.
>> In 1843, “A Christmas Carol” was written by Charles Dickens in just six weeks.
>> The first state to recognize the Christmas holiday officially was Alabama.
>> Christmas became a national holiday in America on June 26, 1870.
>> Coca-Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa Claus for a winter promotion.
Source: Christmas-Celebrations.com
