There are 13 Santas in Iceland, each leaving a gift for children. They come down from the mountain one by one, starting on December 12 and have names like Spoon Licker, Door Sniffer and Meat Hook.
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The tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit, nuts and tangerines at the houses of the poor.
42
Louis Prang, a Bavarian-born lithographer who came to the USA from Germany in the 19th century, popularized the sending of printed Christmas cards. He invented a way of reproducing color oil paintings
, the "chromolithograph technique", and created a car
, the "chromolithograph technique", and created a car
1
The first Christmas card was designed in 1843 by J.C. Horsley.
38
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
113
The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night".
15
Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
14
One town in Indiana is called Santa Claus. There is also a Santa, Idaho.
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