Dec. 19, 2018
By Nick Zaino
Editor
The 12 days of Christmas begin on Dec. 25 and run through Jan. 5. Here are a dozen fun facts to take you through this celebratory time:
1. “Jingle Bells” was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas.
2. The image of Santa Claus flying his sleigh originated in 1819 and was created by Washington Irving, the same author who dreamt up “The Headless Horseman.”
3. The Montgomery Ward department store created Rudolph the Reindeer as a marketing gimmick to encourage children to buy their Christmas coloring books.
4. The original Rudolph did not have a red nose.
5. Most of the reindeer names on Santa’s sleigh are male-sounding names. Male reindeer shed their antlers in the winter, however, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are more than likely female or castrated.
6. Santa Claus’ character is based on St. Nicholas, who was known to be very affectionate and kind to children, in addition to being a secret gift giver.
7. Initially, Santa Claus wore a green, purple and blue cloak. However, it is believed that Coca-Cola depicted Santa with the much adored red and white clothes to make him match their brand colors.
8. Most of us associate Christmas with the exchange of gifts. However, there was a period of time in which the Catholic Church banned the exchange of gift as it was believed to be related to paganism.
9. We all have heard the story of the three kings who follow the star to reach the birthplace of Jesus and bestow him with gifts. Do you know the three gifts Jesus got on the day of his birth? They were gold, frankincense and oils.
10. A large part of Sweden’s population watches Donald Duck cartoons every Christmas Eve since 1960.
11. In 1918 and for the past 40 years, the Canadian province of Nova Scotia has sent the city of Boston a giant Christmas tree as a thank you for its support after the 1917 maritime disaster known as the Halifax explosion, which killed 2,000 people.
12. The U.S. playing card company Bicycle had manufactured a playing card during World War II which would reveal an escape route for prisoners of war when soaked. These cards were Christmas presents for all POWs in Germany. The Nazis never found out about this.
References:
1. Pastbook
4. List 25
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