Are you a true Christmas fanatic? If you have already started wearing gaudy Christmas sweaters and have attended a few holiday gatherings this year, that is merely a start. Maybe you can name all of Santa’s reindeer and a couple of his elves, but how much Christmas knowledge do you really have besides information obtained from a couple of carols? Do you know how large the world’s largest Christmas tree was? How about what the best selling Christmas carol of all-time is? Put your Christmas knowledge to the test, and become a seasoned Christmas expert with these 25 uncommon Christmas facts.
1. In the U.S. alone, more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent each year.
2. Scientists have hypothesized that Rudolph’s nose is bright red due to a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
3. All of the gifts from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” add up to 364 gifts.
4. The tallest Christmas tree cut (deemed by Guinness World Records) was a Douglas Fir that stood at 221 feet.
5. Red, green, and gold, the traditional three colors of Christmas, symbolize the blood of Christ, life and rebirth, and light/wealth and royalty.
6. According to Facebook gathered data, two weeks before Christmas is one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. However, Christmas Day is the least common day for breakups.
7. In Poland, spiders and spider webs are common Christmas tree decorations. According to legend, a spider wove a blanket for Jesus.
8. The U.S. didn’t declare Christmas an official holiday until June 26, 1870.
9. Around 30-35 million live Christmas trees are sold each year in the U.S.
10. About 1/6 of all retail sales in the U.S. come derive from Christmas purchases.
11. Santa Claus comes from Saint Nicholas, a Christian bishop who inherited a great deal of money and was known for giving it away to those in need. He also became the protector of children when sainted.
12. Montgomery Ward invented Rudolph as a marketing gimmick to get children to buy coloring books.
13. “Xmas” comes from the Greek letter Chi (“X”), the first letters of Christ’s name. Christianity also used to be spelled “Xianity.” Thus, “Xmas” is actually no less religious than “Christmas.”
14. Released in 1942, Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” is the best-selling Christmas song of all-time.
15. Due to international time zones, Santa Claus actually has 31 hours to deliver presents to children all over the world.
16. The Friday and Saturday before Christmas are the busiest shopping days of the year, not Black Friday.
17. The average Christmas tree takes seven years to grow, but some take upwards of 15 years.
18. Barnum’s Animal Crackers boxes were designed to be hung on Christmas Trees.
19. Since 1991, artificial trees have outsold real ones.
20. Electric lights were first used on Christmas trees three years after Thomas Edison held his first mass demonstration of electric lights in 1879.
21. The melody for “O Holy Night” was written by a Jewish man.
22. The gifts from the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” are collectively estimated to cost around $24,000, with the larges expense coming from the “Swans ‘a swimming.”
23. “Jingle Bells” was the first song to be sung in space.
24. The world’s largest snowman was made in Maine, and measured 113 feet tall.
25. In certain Eastern Orthodox countries, Christmas is celebrated on January 7th.
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