Just when you think you know everything there is to know about Christmas, you stumble across these kind of facts! Check out the list, I'm sure most of these things will surprise you!

1. We celebrate Jesus's birthday on December 25th, but his true birth date is not known. December 25th isn't even mentioned in the Bible.

2. Germans get credit for the Christmas tree. They are thought to be the first people to bring the tree into their home and decorate it.

3. The reason that you get presents on Christmas is to symbolize the gifts that the three wise men gave to Jesus.

4. Santa Claus is real. He was a rich Christian Bishop named St. Nicholas who gave a lot of his money to help the needy.

5. Edward Johnson invented the Christmas lights in 1882.

6. Christmas caroling was originally called wassailing. It was meant as a way to wish people a long life!

7. The letter X used in the word Xmas (Christmas) is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.

8. Burning a Yule log is a Scandinavian tradition. It's supposed to bring good luck.

9. There are 364 gifts given in the "Twelve Days of Christmas" song. You could give one to your significant other each day of the year.

10. The first Christmas tree was made out of dyed goose feathers.

11. Mistletoe means "dung twig."

12. The stocking tradition comes from three girls who were poor and didn't have enough money to get married. They hung their wet stalkings by the chimney to dry and when they woke up they realized that St. Nick had put gold into their stockings.

13. Only about 1/3 of the world's population celebrate Christmas each year.

14. Coca Cola was the first company that actually used Santa in their winter advertising.

15. Minnesota wasn't the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday. It was Alabama in 1836.

16.  The candy cane was meant to symbolize a Jesus's Shepard hook.

17. Bah Humbug or Bah Christmas? It's actually supposed to be Bah Christmas. That's how Ebeneezer Scrooge originally referred to Christmas.

18. The best-selling Christmas song of all time isn't Jingle Bells. It's actually Bing Crosby's "White Christmas."

19. Because of all of the time zones, Santa actually has 31 hours to deliver presents to all of the children of the world.

20. Hallmark didn't start making Christmas cards until 1915. What in the world did people do before that?!

21. The first Christmas decorations were actually apples to represent Adam and Eve. Kind of neat.

22. Dutch children don't put stockings under their trees. They leave out their shoes.

23. The song "Jingle Bells" was actually written to be a Thanksgiving song.

24. The first president to decorate a White House Christmas tree was Franklin Pierce.

25. Artificial Christmas trees have been more popular than real Christmas trees since 1991.

So, how surprised were you? Were there any facts that you already knew?

 

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