Jingle All the Way: Top 19 Unbelievable Fun Facts About Christmas You Never Knew!
1. From Wassailing to Caroling
When Bing Crosby sang of "chestnuts roasting on an open fire," who knew Jack Frost was nipping at the toes of his ancient wassailing ancestors?: Caroling traces its roots back to the old English custom of wassailing, where folks would sing and toast for good health while sipping on a steaming hot brew. This spirited tradition has evolved over time and is now celebrated by carolers performing door-to-door on Twelfth Night or Christmas Eve, as well as by noisy revelers partying it up in apple orchards.
Source => whychristmas.com
2. A Typo Created Santa-Tracking Tradition
In a twist of fate that could have easily found its way into a slapstick comedy routine, a misprinted Sears advertisement sent a flurry of excited children dialing up none other than America's military hub for aerial defense, CONAD – and one bewildered Colonel Harry Shoup found himself answering their calls for Santa Claus! : Turns out, an inadvertent typo in 1955 paved the way for a humbling tradition that has transcended generations: responding to kids from around the world seeking Santa's whereabouts, what began as Colonel Shoup's impromptu role eventually evolved into NORAD proudly stepping in to "track" Santa's progress each Christmas Eve, all thanks to a charming blend of innocence, error, and yuletide goodwill.
Source => myparistexas.com
Did you know that Abraham Lincoln played a key role in making Thanksgiving a national holiday? Discover how a determined editor's persuasion led to this cherished American tradition. 🦃🇺🇸
=> Fun Facts about Thanksgiving
3. Santa's Epic Speed on Christmas Eve
When Santa hits turbo mode on his sleigh to kick off the ultimate GPS game of "Where's Kris Kringle?": NORAD and Google join forces each Christmas Eve to track his hyperspeed journey, traveling at roughly 1,800 miles per second and covering an epic 510 million kilometers. Since 1955, these Santa-watchers have dazzled over nine million users from 200 countries with updates on his gift-giving spree, thanks to an army of 1,500 dedicated volunteers.
Source => outlookindia.com
4. Santa's Martian Adventure
When Santa got Martian-ted in a bad movie, but conquered hearts instead of planets: In 1964, the sci-fi holiday film Santa Claus Conquers the Martians was released, earning its place as a cult classic for bad movie aficionados. The film follows Martian children enamored with Earth's pop culture, leading their ruler to kidnap Santa Claus to cheer them up, despite the low budget, campy special effects, and Santa's utterly un-Mars-suitable wardrobe.
Source => rottentomatoes.com
5. Dickens Shaped Christmas Feast
You may have Dickens to thank for the annual feast that has you stuffed like a goose: A Christmas Carol is not only a tale of redemption but also a key influence in popularizing Victorian Christmas traditions such as festive dishes, family gatherings, dancing, games, and generosity – basically everything that defines "Christmas cheer"!
Source => writersdigest.com
6. Rudolph's Almost Red-Nosed Disaster
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Rein-beer? Almost! The festive season's favorite sleigh-puller nearly sported an entirely different look thanks to the air of inebriation plaguing the image of rosy sniffers: Turns out, Rudolph's iconic red nose was nearly vetoed due to its association with chronic alcoholism, but a charming and bubbly character design by his illustrator friend sealed the deal, ensuring Rudolph's spot in Christmas lore as a beloved guiding light in the night sky.
Source => en.wikipedia.org
7. The World's Tallest Christmas Tree
Deck the halls with boughs of... gigantic tree! Imagine the size of the ornaments needed for this humongous fir: In December 1950, a record-breaking 67.36-meter (221-foot) tall Douglas fir tree was erected and festooned in all its yuletide glory at Northgate Shopping Center in Seattle, Washington, becoming the tallest cut Christmas tree ever displayed.
Source => guinnessworldrecords.com
8. Jingle Bell's Surprising Origin
Before Santa took the reins, a one-horse open sleigh galloped into our hearts and playlists: "Jingle Bells" was first copyrighted as "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont, and only later became synonymous with Christmas during the 1860s. In fact, it reached such heights of Yuletide fame that it was one of the first songs performed as a Christmas prank in the infinite cosmic sleigh ride known as space, by Gemini 6 astronauts in 1965.
Source => en.wikipedia.org
9. Baby-Making Season during Holidays
It seems Santa isn't the only one coming to town during the holiday season: Studies show that winter, especially during the festive months, is a popular time for couples to get busy conceiving babies! This baby-making bonanza may be attributed to biological factors such as higher sperm concentration and fluctuating testosterone levels. However, the gradual weakening of birth seasonality might be due to increased access to birth control and improved reproductive education. And of course, nothing says "family time" quite like the holidays, giving couples all the warm and fuzzy feelings to start their own little tribe.
Source => getmaude.com
10. Feathered Artificial Christmas Trees
Who needs a partridge in a pear tree when you can have a goose on a stick: The first artificial Christmas trees, invented in Germany during the late 1800s, were made from dyed green goose, chicken, or swan feathers, attached to a wooden dowel and metal wires to resemble real fir trees, and were popular in the US until the 1930s.
Source => saukcountyhistory.org
11. Santa's Coca-Cola Connection
Who knew that Kris Kringle had a secret Coke habit? That's right, our jolly old Saint Nick was a loyal fan of the fizzy beverage, or so you might think: In reality, although Coca-Cola's advertising campaigns in the 1930s helped popularize Santa Claus's red suit, they did not invent it—the modern image of Santa rocking the red attire can be traced back to the 19th century, thanks to creative writers and cartoonists.
Source => theferret.scot
12. Pioneers of Electric Christmas Lights
Before Edison's team became the "light of our lives" during the holiday season, they had a bright idea to make Christmas tree decorating electric: The first creators of electric Christmas light strands were Thomas Edison and Edward H. Johnson in the 1880s, but it was Albert Sadacca who foresaw their future potential and decided to market them. His family's novelty lighting company spearheaded the way for Christmas tree illumination, dominating the festive light market through their organization, the NOMA Electric Co., all the way till the 1960s.
Source => loc.gov
13. First Christmas Cards: Tipsy Toddlers
Before Queen Victoria sent holiday cheer via snail mail, the first ever Christmas cards were more like a Victorian-style BuzzFeed listicle featuring tipsy toddlers and acts of charity: The first commercial Christmas card, commissioned by Sir Henry Cole, had an illustration of three generations of a family drinking wine together – including the children! Cole printed 1000 of these controversial cards and sold them for a shilling each under the pseudonym Felix Summerly, making any remaining cards today rare and coveted collector's items.
Source => postalmuseum.org
14. Mistletoe: Parasitic Party-Crasher
Pucker up for a parasitic party crasher: Mistletoe, found on every continent except Antarctica, is a sneaky parasite that lifes off nutrients from trees. While it may have a mooching reputation, this freeloading foliage also plays an important role in its ecosystem by offering food, shelter, and a prime spot for sneaky smooches to various wildlife. With over a thousand species worldwide – each with its own special set of survival skills – one might say mistletoe is the life of the holiday party, all around the globe.
Source => smithsonianmag.com
15. Color-Coded Advent Candles
Did you know that the candles on the Advent wreath go straight-up color-coded for Christmas? The candles are like, "I'm purple, I'm all about prayer, penance, and sacrifice; oh wait, now I'm rose, it's peace time, baby": Well, jokes aside, the Advent wreath features four candles, three purple ones and a rose one, which are symbolically lit each week during Advent, standing for prayer, penance, sacrifice, and peace. The wreath's pine cones signify life and resurrection, with the whole arrangement reminding us of everlasting life promised through Christ.
Source => mercyhome.org
16. Iceland's Terrifying Yule Cat
Ever wondered what cataclysmic fashion crimes could land you in mortal danger? Step into the festively fanged world of Iceland's Yule Cat: This fearsome furball roams the Icelandic countryside seeking unwary victims who failed to receive new clothes before Christmas, allegedly devouring those who didn't have nifty apparel to prove they'd finished their chores ahead of the holiday season. The Yule Cat tradition dates back to the Dark Ages, serving as a philanthropic feline reminder to be generous to the less fortunate—but as of yet, no records of this monstrous meowster feasting on stray pups exist in Icelandic lore.
Source => smithsonianmag.com
17. The Frightful Krampus Tradition
When not galloping through Alpine dreams and nightmares as heavy metal album covers, these half-man, half-goat mythical creatures have a jolly good time terrorizing children: Enter Krampus, Austria's winter holiday figure who punishes naughty kids while St. Nicholas rewards the well-behaved with gifts. Stemming from pagan solstice celebrations, Krampusnacht sees adults dressed as Krampus delivering fearsome visits, and boisterous Austrian men partaking in the "Krampus run" — getting inebriated and charging down the streets, creating pandemonium and keeping the fright alive, one hooved step at a time.
Source => history.com
18. Santa's Canadian Postal Adventures
Whoever said Santa didn't have a "postal-tively" jolly setup clearly didn't know their ABCs and 123s: In truth, the Canadian postal code system, introduced in 1971, doesn't have a special code for Santa Claus, but Canada Post receives over a million of his letters annually and even has a volunteer program to help reply to each one in the language it was written in.
Source => en.wikipedia.org
19. Sweden's Donald Duck Christmas Craze
Who needs a "quacked-up" Christmas tradition? Swedes do: In Sweden, every Christmas Eve since 1959, families have huddled together to watch "Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul," a festive TV special that translates to "Donald Duck and His Friends Wish You a Merry Christmas," which has become a cherished holiday custom.
Source => theweek.co.uk
