12 facts about Christmas

1. Christmas started as a Christian festival to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Yet, the exact day when Jesus was born is still unknown.
   
   
2. Gifts are usually opened on Christmas Day in many countries, such as the UK, the USA and Japan. The 26 of December is called 'Boxing Day' because in the old days rich families would give poor families a box filled with gifts on that day. Presents are opened on 26 December in France though.
   
   
3. In Greece, 'X' means Christ. Many people today write 'Merry Xmas', in which 'Xmas' means 'Christmas'.
   
   
4. Families in England used to eat pig’s heads on Christmas Day. They now eat turkey.
   
   
5. The first Christmas cards were sent in the UK in 1843. One of these first cards was sold in 2001 for £22,250 (about HK$224,000)!
   
   
6. Traditionally, Christmas trees are put up 12 days before Christmas Day and taken down 12 days later.
   
   
7. In Ukraine (a country near Russia), if you find a spider web in your house on Christmas morning, it is good luck!
   
   
8. We have two public holidays for Christmas in Hong Kong (usually 25 December and the weekday after 25 December). However, there are no public holidays on Christmas Day in Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, Turkey, Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
   
   
9. The famous Christmas song 'Jingle Bells' was written in 1857.
   
   
10. On the night of Christmas Eve (24 December), children in many countries leave a snack and drink for Santa Claus. He must get very full!
    
    
11. The idea of Santa Claus came from St. Nicholas. He lived in the third century and secretly gave gifts to the poor.
    
    
12. Our image of Santa Claus is somewhat copied from an image of him on a Coca-cola advert in the 1930's.
    
    

If you would like to know more about Christmas, you can read the following articles:

• Christmas (on Wikipedia)
• Christmas Trivia and Fun Facts (on Chistmas Celebrations)
• Interesting Facts on Christmas (on The HolidaySpot)
• Funny Christmas Facts (on ChristmasFacts.net)

Do you like Christmas? What do you think of when you think of Christmas? We hope you enjoy this special festival and the fun facts about Christmas!