Christmas facts

[Donna]

Christmas Facts

In Ukraine, if you find a spider web in the house on Christmas morning, it is believed to be a harbinger of good luck! An artificial spider and web are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas trees.

In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a goat. It is usually made of straw. Scandinavian Christmas festivities feature a variety of straw decorations in the form of stars, angels, hearts and other shapes, as well as the Julbukk.

Electric lights Christmas trees were first used in 1895.

Alabama was the first state to recognize the Christmas holiday

It wasn't until 1870 that Christmas became a national holiday in America.

Many of the needless, pine nuts and pine cones found on Christmas trees are actually edible.

In the United States alone, Visa cards are used an average of 5,500 a minute during the holiday season.

Each year over 3 billion Christmas cards are sent out in the United States.

The Christmas candy cane, shaped as a shepherds’ crook, represents the humble shepherds who were first to worship the new-born Christ.

Eggnog: Eggnog, a very popular Christmas drink, is prepared by mixing cream, milk, sugar and beaten eggs with some kind of liquor. This has a close connection to the Christmas holiday, and on Christmas Eve, it's fairly common to spot groups of people eggnogging at their neighbors' and friends' places. People also gather round the Christmas tree, drinking eggnog and then move from house to house caroling.

Hanging Stockings: The practice of hanging stockings over the fireplace on Christmas Eve comes from England. The legend of St. Nicholas has it that the latter was a kind saint who was believed to have left gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor maidens, who badly needed the money for their wedding dowries. They hung their stockings to dry over the fireplace, and to their great surprise, they found bags of gold in them the next morning. Following this, children kept hanging Christmas stockings over the fireplace on Christmas Eve in the hope that Santa would drop gifts and toys in them