Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
33
Coca Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa for a winter promotion.
251
The Queen's Christmas speech was first televised in 1957.
18
At Christmas, it is traditional to exchange kisses beneath the mistletoe tree. In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated with peace and friendship. That may account for the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".
27
The world's tallest Xmas tree at 221ft high was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
82
The poinsettia is a traditional Christmas flower. In Mexico (its original birthplace), the poinsettia is known as the "Flower of the Holy Night".
15
Popular belief holds that 3 wise men visited Bethlehem from the east bearing gifts. However there is no mention in the bible about the number of wise men who visited. Three gifts were brought - gold, frankincense and myrrh, but names commonly attributed t
101
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