Christmas Trivia & Fun Facts
Spice up your Christmas conversations by impressing family and friends with these entertaining tidbits about Christmas.
- The tradition of sending Christmas cards began in 1843. Today, more than 2 billion paper Christmas cards are sent each year to family and friends in the United States.
- When grown in the wild, poinsettias—which originated in Mexico—can reach 12 feet tall with leaves that grow as large as 6-8 inches across.
- For extra good luck in the coming year, legend tells us to set our tables for Christmas dinner for an even number of people, even if we have an odd number of guests. It also says that when we’re preparing our holiday cakes and puddings, we should stir the ingredients together exactly three times with a wooden spoon before cooking.
- Eggnog was first consumed in 1607 and was originally used to treat the sick.
- Santa has female competition in some parts of the world! In France, Father Christmas, or Pere Noel, is often upstaged by cape-wearing fairy Aunt Airie, who gives holiday gifts to French children while traveling across the country on her donkey.
- In America, Christmas became a national holiday in 1870.
- Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer was first created as part of a holiday promotion in 1939 by the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward department store. The names “Rollo” and “Reginald” were considered for this traditional symbol of Christmas before the creator finally decided on “Rudolf.”
- Alabama was the first state to make Christmas an official holiday.
- Indoor electric Christmas tree lights were first used by President Grover Cleveland in 1895 when he requested that the White House family tree be decorated with hundreds of strands of multicolored light bulbs.
- First released in 1946, It’s A Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart and Donna Reed, remains one of the most popular Christmas movies of all time and has been shown on television more often than any other holiday movie.
- Charles Dickens originally wrote his classic story A Christmas Carol as a way to make money quickly for his growing family. He wrote it in just over six weeks to be sure he could take advantage of the Christmas market and sell as many copies as possible.
- A total of 364 gifts are included in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.”
- The custom of kissing under the mistletoe comes from ancient times when enemies met in the forest under this legendary plant and were forced to stop fighting and observe a truce until the following day.