When you're feeling in the mood for Christmas, there's nothing like some random Festive Trivia. Here are 12 Yuletide facts you may not know....
1. Let’s get the depressing fact out of the way – apparently, 2 weeks before Christmas is the most popular times for couples of split up.
2. Get a tangerine or orange in your stocking? This was taken from a French tradition, where nuns would fill up socks with nuts and fruit and leave them for the poor.
3. A whopping 60 million Christmas trees are grown in Europe for the purpose of decorating with tinsel and lights and sticking a fairy on the top
4. We may know him as Father Christmas, but the heavy set chap with the beard, fond of mince pies and presents, has many different names depending on the country you live in : Kriss Kringle – Germany, Befana – Italy, Pere Noel – France, Jultomken (Christmas Brownie) – Sweden
5. Rudolf The Red Nose Reindeer was created in 1939 by Montgomery Ward, a department store in Chicago. The story, was written by Robert May
6. And keeping it in the family, Rocking Around The Christmas Tree, the song Rudolf The Red Nose Reindeer & many other famous pop songs, was written by Johnny Marks, brother-in-law to Robert May!
7. Christmas Pudding was once a soup made with raisins and wine
8. In the Czech Republic, Christmas dinner is fish, eggs ad carp. They must have an even number of people at the table, otherwise the one without a partner will die the following year. Let’s hope they weren’t victim of Fact No.1
9. Santa Claus comes from a Dutch folk tale, based on a St Nicholas, who gives gifts on Dec 6th. His name is Sinterklaas
10. Carols began their life in England, not as Christian hymns, but as wassailing; toasting health and longlife to your neighbours
11. In Indiana, US, there’s a town call Santa Claus.
12. In order for Father Christmas to visit every child on Christmas Eve, he has to travel at 3000 times faster than the speed of sound, and visit approximately 800 homes per second!
