Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell, Jingle Bell Rock

Arianna Green, Reporter|December 12, 2017

Tis the season to be… informed. While mostly everyone loves Christmas, how many of us know why Christmas is the way it is? Here are some interesting facts about Christmas that you might not have known.

    1. Christmas supposedly marks the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, but the Bible has no mention of December 25. Historians actually believe that he was born sometime in spring.
    2. The Christmas tree was not popular in America until 1846, after Germany’s Prince Albert brought it to England when he married Queen Victoria. The two were sketched in front of a Christmas tree, and the tradition became popular.
    3. Santa Claus comes from St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop living in (what is now Turkey) in the fourth century AD. St. Nicholas had inherited a great deal of wealth and was known for giving it away to help the needy.
    4. Santa Claus’ traditional red suit came from an ad by Coca-Cola in the 1930s.
    5. The image of him flying in a sleigh started in 1819 and was dreamt up by the same author who created the headless horseman, Washington Irving.
    6. Rudolph almost did not have a red nose, because at the time a red nose was a sign of chronic alcoholism.
    7. Rudolph was almost named Rollo or Reginald, but Reginald the Red-Nosed Reindeer did not have quite the same ring to it.
    8. The reindeer names Donner and Blitzen come from the German words for thunder and lightning.
    9. “Silent Night” is the most recorded song in history, with over 733 different versions copyrighted since 1978.
    10. Meanwhile “White Christmas” is the best-selling song of all time.
    11. “Jingle Bells” was originally supposed to be a Thanksgiving song.
    12. All letters addressed to Santa in the United States go to Santa Claus, Indiana.
    13. The Germans made the first artificial Christmas trees out of dyed goose feathers.
    14. Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
    15. Christmas trees have been sold in the U.S. since 1850.
    16. Christmas trees usually grow for about fifteen years before they are sold.
    17. Christmas sends at least 15,000 people to the ER.
  • How the Grinch Stole Christmas is the highest-grossing movie of all time.
  1. The most popular Christmas movie is All I Want For Christmas Is You, by Mariah Carey.

Have a Merry Christmas, may you encounter Santa Claus and one of his reindeer.