The sun sets on 24 December at 3.55pm in the UK, and rises the following morning at 8.05am.
81
English Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas between 1647 and 1660 because he believed such celebrations were immoral for the holiest day of the year.
26
The twelve days of Christmas are the days between Christmas Day and Epiphany (6th of January) and represent the length of time it took for the wise men from the East to visit the manger of Jesus after his birth.
36
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.
191
Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
33
Nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe.
74
In 1999, residents of the state of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall.
103
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