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FACTS ABOUT CHRISTMAS

FACTS ABOUT FATHER CHRISTMAS

Father Christmas has two addresses, Edinburgh and the North Pole. Letters addressed to 'TOYLAND' or 

'SNOWLAND' go to Edinburgh, but letters addressed to 'THE NORTH POLE' have to be sent there because therereally is such a place!

What are the names of Santa's reindeer?

Father Christmas' reindeers are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid,

Donner/Donder, Blitzen, and Rudolph. Eight of these names are taken from Clement C. Moore's "A Visit From St Nicholas," and the ninth from the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (NB. Donder is also known as Donner

White Christmas

England has only known seven white Christmases in the entire

twentieth century. According to the records of theMeteorological Office in London, snow fell on Christmas Day

only in 1938 and 1976.

(The definition of a white Christmas in England is when one

snowflake falls on the roof of the London Weather Centre inthe 24 hours of 25 December.)

The last time we had a White Christmas with snow falling

across the UK was 2004, although large parts of the southeast

England missed significant falls.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are more likely to have a white Christmas than England.

Facts about Christmas Food

An old wives' tale says that bread baked on Christmas Eve will never go mouldy.

The Christmas turkey was imported to France by the Jesuits and it is still known in some French dialects as a

'Jesuite'.

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Christmas Turkey

Christmas pudding was first made as a kind of thick soup with raisins and wine in it.

Christmas Pudding

Christmas pudding originates from an old, Celtic dish known as 'frumenty'.

In the 19th century, the Christmas Cake was eaten on Christmas Eve. It was consider unlucky to cut a Christmas

cake before dawn on Christmas Eve.

It is considered unlucky to cut a mince pie with a knife.

Mince pies should only be eaten between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night and one should be eaten on every day

of the twelve days of Christmas to bring good luck.

Facts about Christmas Day

25th December was not celebrated as the birthday of Christ until the year AD 440.

The Queen's Christmas speech was televised for the first time in 1957.

Christmas crackers were invented by Thomas Smith. He had imported some French novelties to sell as Christmasgifts, but these were not popular until he wrapped them up and added a snapper.

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Christmas crackers

Facts about Christmas Decorations

Each year between 34-36 million Christmas trees are produced to cope with the holiday

demand

Electric tree lights were first used just 3 years after Thomas Edison has his first mass public demonstration of electric lights back in 1879. Thomas Edison’s assistant, Edward

Johnson, came up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882. His lights

were a huge hit. It took quite a few years, however, before they would be made available t

the general public.© copyright of projectbritain.com

In 1895 Ralph Morris, an American telephonist, invented the string of electric Christmas lights similar to the

ones we use today. The actual strings of lights had already been manufactured for use in telephone switchboards.

Morris looked at the tiny bulbs and had the idea of using them on his tree.

Christmas Banned

In 1647, the English parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal. Christmas festivities were banned by

Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be

immoral. Anybody caught celebrating Christmas was arrested. The ban was lifted only when the Puritans lost power in 1660.

Facts about Christmas Cards and Christmas Post

In 1843, the first Christmas card was created on the instructions of an Englishman, Sir 

Henry Cole. J.C. Horsley designed the card and sold 1000 copies in London.

Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called "robins". This was because their uniforms were red. Victorian Xmas cards often showed a robin delivering Xmas mail.

In the nineteenth century, the British Post Office used to deliver cards on Christmas morning.

The first Christmas stamp was released in Canada in 1898.

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Facts about Christmas Carols

St Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas Carols to formal church services.

The word comes from the ancient Greek 'choros', which means "dancing in a circle", and from the Old French

word carole, meaning "a song to accompany dancing"

The first instrument on which the carol "Silent Night" was played was a guitar 

The popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called

"One-Horse Open Sleigh". It was actually written for Thanksgiving, not Xmas.

Facts about Twelfth Night

It is not until Twelfth Night that the figures of the Three Kings are supposed to be added to the Christmas crib.

In Germany, Twelfth Night is known as 'Three Kings Day'.

The "Twelve Days of Christmas " gifts: A partridge in a pear tree, two turtledoves, three French hens, four calling

 birds, five gold rings, six geese laying, seven swans swimming, eight maids milking, nine ladies dancing, ten lordleaping, eleven pipers piping, and twelve drummers drumming. There are 364 gifts altogether, one for everyday o

the year.

The poem commonly referred to as "The Night Before Christmas" was originally titled "A Visit From Saint

Nicholas." This poem was written by Clement Moore for his children and some guests, one of whom anonymouslsent the poem to a New York newspaper for publication.

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Christmas is the time when Christians around the world celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Christmas in an English home

Why do we celebrate Christmas?

Every year in December we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. That is why we call this time of year 'Christmas' - we celebrate the 'Mass', or church service, for Christ.

Where does the word Christmas come from?

The word Christmas (or Christ's Mass) comes from the Old English name 'Cristes Maesse' - Christ's Mass - and

is the celebration of the birth of Jesus. The first recorded observance occurred in Rome in AD360, but it wasn't

until AD440 that the Christian Church fixed a celebration date of 25 December.

How is Christmas Celebrated in Britain?

Christmas is a truly magical season, bringing families and friends together to share the much loved customs and

traditions which have been around for centuries. Most people are on holiday in the UK and stay at home with thei

family on Christmas day, the main day for Christmas celebrations in Britain.

What day is the main Christmas celebration in Britain?

Christmas is celebrated on the 25th December, with a Christmas dinner at midday for the whole family.

How do the British prepare for Christmas?

During the weeks before Christmas Day, we send cards, watch nativity plays and go to carol services. We put up

Christmas decorations in our homes and churches.

You can read more about our Christmas customs and traditions by selecting a link on the left of this page.

History of British Christmas Customs and Traditions

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Christmas Words

Teachers may want to save this page as a text file then load it into a word processor to delete inappropriate wordand add other words.

General Words

bells

candles

cards

celebrate

festival

family reunion

Frosty

greetings

holiday

jubilee

merry

Noel

paradesparty

red/green

Scrooge

season

spirit

stocking stuffers

stockings

tidings

tradition

traffic

trips

vacation

wassail

wassailingyule

yuletide

Food

brandy butter

bread

candy

candy canes

Christmas cookies

cranberry sauce

dressingeggnog

fruitcake

ham

mince pies

mince meat

pie

plum pudding

pumpkin pie

punch

sauce

spice tea

sweet potato

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turkey

white sauce

Flowers

holly

mistletoe

poinsettia

wreath

Religious

Advent

alleluia

angelic

angels

announcement

astrologers

babe

baby

Bethlehem

birthcamel

ceremonies

Christ Child

creche

donkey

Emmanuel/Immanuel

Epiphany

flocks

frankincense

gifts

gloria

gold

goodwill

holyincarnation

inn

Jerusalem

Joseph

Lord

Magi

manager

Mary

miracle

myrrh

nativity

pageant

Prince of Peaceproclamation

prophecy

sacred

Savior

shepherds

stable

star

wisemen

worship

Christmas Tree

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artificial

cedar

Christmas tree

decorations

fir

icicles

ivy

lights

pine

stand

star

tinsel

Shopping

crowds

dolls

gift boxes

lists

presents

ribbon

ribbon

sales

seals

stickers

toys

wrapping paper

Santa Claus

chimney

elves

fairies

jolly

North Pole

reindeerRudolph

sled

sleigh

sleigh bells

St. Nick

toys

Feelings

anticipating

excited

exhaustedhappy

sad

Reindeer Names

Blitzer

Rudolph

Comet

Cupid

Dancer

Dasher

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Donner

Prancer

Vixan