INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CHRISTMAS

1. INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CHRISTMAS

2. In this event gifts are given, holiday cards sent and special church services attended, and more. A Party bus rental near me is the best option to reach your destination.

3. The Christmas holiday is viewed by many as a secular holiday filled with traditions. Many Christmas traditions have interesting origins. In this blog, we will look at all kinds of Christmas facts, some historical, and some just plain fun. Use Christmas facts as conversation starters at parties, to challenge your friends and family, or to use in holiday conversations to make them more interesting and beautiful. CHRISTMAS WASN’T ALWAYS ON DECEMBER 25: While Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, the actual date of the big event is lost to history. There’s no mention of December 25 in the Bible and many historians say Jesus was most likely born in the spring. Some historians put forward as a basis of argument the date was originally chosen because it coincided with the pagan festival of Saturnalia, which honored the agricultural god Saturn with celebrating and gift-giving. GIFTS HAVE BOTH CHRISTIAN AND PAGAN ORIGINS Christians may have grown up learning that we give gifts at Christmas to mimic the presents the Three Wise Men brought the baby Jesus. But like so many other traditions, that also has its roots in Saturnalia. The pagans originally gave offerings to the gods, too. EVERGREENS ARE AN ANCIENT TRADITION: The tradition of Christmas trees goes all the way back to the ancient Egyptians and Romans, who decorated using evergreens during the winter solstice to signify that spring would return. So if you deck your halls with a green tree, wreaths, or evergreen garland, you’re honoring history. work closely with our nationwide network of limo bus l vendors to find the limo bus that best meets your needs. YOU CAN THANK PRINCE ALBERT FOR YOUR CHRISTMAS TREE: Brew a cup of tea when trimming your tree this year to pay homage to its origins. When Prince Albert of Germany got a tree for his new wife, Queen Victoria of England, the tradition really took off across the pond. A drawing of the couple in front of a Christmas first tree appeared in Illustrated London News in 1848. To use modern parlance, the idea went viral. ST. NICK WAS MORE GENEROUS THAN JOLLY: You probably already knew that the idea of Santa Claus came from St. Nicholas. The saint wasn’t really a bearded man who wore a red suit; that look came much later. In the fourth century, the Christian bishop gave away his large inheritance to the poor and rescued women from servitude. In Dutch, his name is Sinter Klaas, which later morphed into Santa Claus in English.

4. THE DUTCH GAVE US THE IDEA TO LEAVE COOKIES AND MILK If your kids leave Santa a little snack to keep him sated on his journey, thank the Dutch. On St. Nicholas’ feast day on Dec. 6, Dutch children leave him food and drink in exchange for the gifts he leaves overnight. “JINGLE BELLS” WAS ORIGINALLY A THANKSGIVING SONG Turns out, we first started dashing through the snow for an entirely different holiday. James Lord Pierpont wrote the song called “One Horse Open Sleigh” for his church’s Thanksgiving concert in the mid-19th century. Then in 1857, the song was re-released under the title we all know and love. Today, it’s still among the most popular Christmas songs. ASTRONAUTS BROADCAST “JINGLE BELLS” FROM SPACE Many of us have done a prank that almost went too far. Nine days before Christmas in 1965, two astronauts aboard the Gemini 6 told Mission Control that they saw an “unidentified flying object” about to enter Earth’s atmosphere, traveling in a polar orbit from north to south. Just as things got tense, they interrupted the broadcast with “Jingle Bells,” as Wally Schirra played a small harmonica accompanied by Tom Stafford shaking a handful of small sleigh bells. CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS USED TO BE ILLEGAL From 1659 to 1681, anyone caught making merry in the colonies would face a fine for celebrating. By the Revolutionary War, the day had so little significance that Congress even held its first session on December 25, 1789. Christmas wasn’t even proclaimed a federal holiday for almost another century, proving that the Grinch’s attitude toward the holiday was alive and well long before he was. CHRISTMAS DECORATING SENDS NEARLY 15,000 PEOPLE TO THE ER If you’ve ever watched Clark Griswold decorate his house in Christmas Vacation, that stat likely doesn’t shock you. In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 14,700 people visit hospital emergency rooms each November and December from holiday-related decorating accidents. So please, be careful when you’re putting up the holly and the ivy.