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.
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The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.
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The word Christmas comes from Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." There is no set date for his birth in scripture and it wasn't celebrated on any particular day. However Christmas was first celebrated on the 25th of December in Rome in 336AD with an aim t
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7.6 million Christmas trees are sold each year.
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Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was invented for a US firm's Christmas promotion in 1938.
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Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.
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The sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
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One town in Indiana is called Santa Claus. There is also a Santa, Idaho.
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