Posted by Shane Scanlon
It’s official, we can now start talking about Christmas! Yes, we’ve held in our excitement for long enough, but with the passing of Bonfire Night, Christmas feels a whole lot closer! The lights are going up in all the towns and villages across the UK and the decorations are out in full force in shops and homes. So, what better way to get you in the festive mood than with some fun Christmas facts! Stuff to wow your colleagues, friends and family with before the festivities commence.
We’ve created a list of our favourite and most obscure Christmas facts, for you to show off with.
It’s a matter of taste, but everyone has their own favourite Christmas song and film. But, if we’re talking about the highest grossing and bestselling, we can confirm that there is one song and film, that take the Christmas cake.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Starring Jim Carrey, this film is the highest grossing Christmas film to date. Released back in 2000, this film is a titan of the Christmas film industry and has not been surpassed by the likes of Elf or any other festive favourite.
White Christmas – To much surprise, the bestselling tune of all time is White Christmas by Bing Crosby, with an estimated excess of 50 million copies sold worldwide. (personally, my favourite is from another Carey – All I want for Christmas)
Some of the most famous staples of Christmas were created as parts of marketing campaigns and dreams, from the early 1900s and even further back. Santa Claus was originally depicted in green clothing until Coca-Cola swapped the forest green for a vibrant red in the early 20th century.
Whilst Rudolph, Santa’s little red nosed friend, was created to promote Montgomery Ward’s holiday colouring books in 1939. His original name was going to be Reginald and his nose was never supposed to be red – as a red nose emulated the nose of an alcoholic.
Santa’s famous sleigh was created by Washington Irving as early as 1819, in a series of short stories. Irving described a dream where he saw good ol’ St. Nick flying across the sky, in a wagon of sorts. Dicken’s may have even been inspired by Irving when he penned his classic, A Christmas Carol.
An estimated 6.8 million IOS and other mobile and tablet devices are activated on Christmas Day. Whilst, 4.25 million of us Brits will travel abroad for Christmas. 6 million rolls of Sellotape are estimated to be sold in Britain in the lead up to Christmas. One more for the millions, 60 million Christmas trees are gown in Europe, each year.
On to the percentages; 13% of families will attend church on Christmas day and a mere 27% will watch her Majesty’s speech on the telly.
Finally, during the 20th century, there have only been 7 recorded white Christmases in the UK. For a Christmas to be declared as a ‘White Christmas’, officially, a single snow flake must be seen from the roof of the Met office within 24hours.
Over the years, Christmas has come with some rather odd traditions which we all just accept because, well, they’re Christmas traditions… When you find a tangerine in your stocking, it actually originates from French Nuns leaving socks filled with fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor, in the 12th century.
The act of hanging stockings from the fire place comes from Dutch traditions, where food would be left out for St. Nicholas’ donkeys and in exchange, he would leave small gifts. Eating mince pies on Christmas? You could be breaking the law. In the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas pudding and mince pies from being consumed on Christmas day. To this day, the law has never been retracted.
Whilst we have strange traditions here in Britain, the most popular food of choice in Japan on Christmas day is KFC. Yes, orders for the festive season must be put in 2 months in advance, in order to deal with the increased demand. Whilst in Sweden, it is extremely popular to watch cartoons on Christmas Eve. But, not just any cartoons – specifically, Donald Duck ones. This tradition dates back as early as 1960.
In Norway, families will hide their brooms to avoid them being stolen by witches and evil spirits. One of the stranger traditions, in Norway, it was believed that evil spirits and witches returned on Christmas eve, to find a broom to ride. The most terrifying tradition we’ve heard comes from Australia. Where Krampus, Saint Nick’s evil counterpart, comes out to punish the naughty children and taking them away. Young Australian men dress up as Krampus, running through the streets at night in December with chains and bells – Halloween’s supposed to be over right?
And there you have it! Some fun Christmas facts you can show off this festive season. For upcoming Christmas events, stay tuned to our Blog or visit our events page by clicking HERE.
Shane loves the outdoors and travels around the UK visiting and reviewing all the top attractions.
