Here we present 5 amazing Christmas Facts that you might not have read before.
All About Christmas
Do you know that you can do more this Christmas than just buying and getting gifts, decorating your house, eating great food, enjoying amazing carols, and shopping till you drop? Take a break from the frantic pace of the festive season and add an extra dose of seasonal spirit this year by looking at this list of Christmas facts that will entertain, educate, and amuse you. These Christmas facts will serve as controversial starters around the dinner table, icebreakers for festive family video chats, or anytime someone wants to have a pop quiz.
Christmas celebrations are steeped in traditions, and there is meaning in every aspect of the season. You can read these facts to your kids and help them learn more about the history of this festival, which makes it so special. They will, in turn, share this awesome information with their friends. You will even be inspired to incorporate some of these interesting Christmas facts in your social media posts or your annual holiday cards.
Mind-blowing Christmas Facts
Christmas Facts – Incredible Fact #1
Do you know that the gifts in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” would equal 364 gifts?
The “Twelve Days of Christmas” gifts are
- A partridge in a pear tree (represents Jesus because the bird will sacrifice its life to save its children)
- Two turtledoves (represent the Old and New Testaments)
- Three French hens (represent faith, hope, and love)
- Four calling birds (represent the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
- Five gold rings (represent the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Old Testament)
- Six geese laying (represent the six days of creation)
- Seven swans swimming (represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit)
- Eight maids milking (represent the eight beatitudes)
- Nine ladies dancing (represent the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit)
- Ten lords leaping (represent the 10 commandments)
- Eleven pipers piping (represent the 11 faithful apostles)
- Twelve drummers drumming (represent the 12 points of belief in the Apostle’s Creed)
If you gave all the gifts listed in the song it would equal 364 presents. The reason we say the Twelve Days of Christmas is because it is believed that it took the 3 kings or wise men or magi 12 days to find the Christ Child.
Christmas Facts – Incredible Fact #2
Do you know that the first person to decorate a Christmas tree was supposedly the Protestant reformer Martin Luther?
According to a tale, Martin Luther was so touched by the beauty of the stars shining between the branches of a fir tree, he brought home an evergreen tree. He then decorated it with candles. However, the first printed reference to a Christmas tree was in 1531 in Germany. Christmas trees were sold in the province of Alsace, which was at that time a part of Germany (now France). The records from the town of Strasbourg show that Christmas trees were sold in the town market and set up in homes undecorated.
During the Middle Ages in Europe, actors would decorate paradise trees with apples during “Paradise Plays,” which were plays depicting Adam and Eve’s creation and fall. The custom of setting up Christmas trees did not come to the United States until the late 1700s or early 1800s when German settlers introduced them in Pennsylvania.
Christmas Facts – Incredible Fact #3
Do you know that the traditional Christmas colors have a profound meaning?
The traditional three colors of Christmas used in most Christmas decorations are green, red, and gold.
Green symbolizes life and resurrection and represents growth, harmony, and rebirth. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ and represents His teachings and the compassion and love for people He showed to die willingly on the cross. Gold symbolizes light (also sun that is vital in the dark winter) as well as wealth and royalty. It represents the gold that one of the three wise men or magi brought to the Christ Child as a gift. It also signifies the giving nature of God and the gift of eternal life.
Christmas Facts – Incredible Fact #4
Do you know that Christmas stockings evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry?
The story goes that there was a poor widower who did not have enough money for his three daughters’ dowries and was worried that he would not able to get them married. The wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna was one day wandering through the town when he heard villagers discussing the family’s plight. Though he wanted to help the poor man, he knew that he would refuse any charity.
Knowing that the girls were doomed to a life of prostitution, St. Nicholas went down to their house at night and dropped a bag of gold down the chimney where they had hung their stockings to dry by the fire. The gold ended up in their stockings, and St. Nicholas immediately left the place. In the morning, the family found the gifts, and the daughters became eligible to wed.
Even today, the tradition continues. We hang up stockings during the festive season only to find them filled with tiny gifts on Christmas morning.
Christmas Facts – Incredible Fact #5
Do you know that Christmas was banned by the Puritans in England as well as in America?
When the Puritans led by Oliver Cromwell came to power in England, they enacted a law in the English Parliament in 1647 banning Christmas celebrations and carols. The Puritans claimed that feasting and revelry were immoral and allowed only sermons and prayers. Anybody caught celebrating Christmas was arrested. However, people continued to sing in secret, defying the public ruling. The ban was ultimately lifted when the Puritans lost power in 1660.
In America, the Puritans of Massachusetts enacted a law in 1659 that made it illegal to celebrate Christmas since they viewed Christmas as a decadent Catholic holiday. They also did not believe 25th December to be the exact date of Jesus’ birth. They condemned those who celebrated Christmas as enemies of the Christian religion. Christmas celebrations were banned from 1659-1681 with a penalty of five shillings for each offense. However, some people still celebrated Christmas in secret. In 1681, the Massachusetts Bay Colony repealed the law banning Christmas.
We hope you found these All About Christmas facts unique, interesting, and informative. Here you can find more sensational information about Jingle Bells and Other Famous Carols.
Get inspired this holiday season with our fantastic collection of Christmas articles, which includes remarkable facts, fascinating histories, joyful melodies, spectacular activities, inspiring Bible verses, riveting stories, passionate prayers, and much more.
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