Christmas Facts

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  • The first electric Christmas lights were created by a telephone company PBX installer. Back in the old days, candles were used to decorate Christmas trees. This was obviously very dangerous. Telephone employees are trained to be safety concious. This installer took the lights from an old switchboard, connected them together, strung them on the tree, and hooked them to a battery.


  • The "Hallelujah Chorus" fits into the Easter portion of Handel's Messiah, not Christmas.


  • "Xmas" does not begin with the Roman letter X. It begins with the Greek letter "chi," which was used in medieval manuscripts as an abbreviation for the word "Christ" (xus = christus, etc.)


  • Chia Pets are only sold in December.


  • Boris Karloff is the narrator of the seasonal television special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."


  • Due to different time zones and the Earth's rotation, Santa has a total of 31 hours to deliver his presents (assuming he travels east to west).


  • Alabama was the first state to proclaim Christmas as a legal holiday in 1839. Oklahoma was the last in 1907.


  • Thomas Nast was the first artist to illustrate Santa Claus. He was commissioned to do so by the Coca-Cola Company, hence the red and white color scheme.


  • While working for inventor Thomas Edison, Edward Johnson had lights crafted especially for his Christmas tree - this lead to the popularization of Christmas tree lights.


  • Franklin Pierce was the first president to decorate a Christmas tree in the White House in 1856.


  • Christmas trees (for example Douglas Firs and Evergreens) are grown in all 50 states including Alaska and Hawaii.


  • It is estimated that 400,000 people become sick each year from eating tainted Christmas leftovers.


  • A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.


  • During the Christmas season, over 1.76 billion candy canes will be produced.


  • Ever wonder why retailers begin the holiday season so early? During World War II it was necessary for Americans to mail Christmas gifts early for the troops in Europe to receive them in time. Merchants joined in the effort to remind the public to shop and mail early and the protracted shopping season was born.


  • The first mass-produced Christmas Card was commissioned in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole




    • Oldest Fruitcake

  • In December 2003, Jay Leno took a bite of a 125 year old fruitcake. Fedelia Ford, an Ohio housewife, baked the family dessert on November 27, 1878 and planned to serve it at the following Thanksgiving. Unfortuantely, she died before she was able to do so. Her relatives have not been able to dispose of it ever since.



    • Most Expensive Fruitcake

  • At the time of it's baking in 2005, the Diamond Fruitcake was the most expensive cake in the world at a price tag of 1.65 million dollars. There are 223 diamonds encrusted into the icing.



    • Most Expensive Christmas Tree

  • Singapore jeweler Soo Kee Jewellery created a tree encrusted with 21,798 diamonds. It is a total of 913 carats, has 3,762 crystal beads and is decorated with 456 lights. The pricetag for this beauty is $1,005,000.



    • Top 10 Christmas Movies

  • 10. A Christmas Story - 1983
  • 9. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - 1989
  • 8. Mary Christmas - 2002
  • 7. It's a Wonderful Life - 1946
  • 6. A Charlie Brown Christmas - 1965
  • 5. Miracle on 34th Street - 1947
  • 4. Christmas comes to Williow Creek - 1987
  • 3. A Christmas Carol - 1984
  • 2. How the Grinch Stole Christmas - 1957
  • 1. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - 1964



    • Movies

  • The animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas originally aired as a TV special on CBS in 1966.


  • The Grinch, starring Jim Carey, spent four weeks as the #1 film in the U.S. and eventually earned 260 million dollars.



    • Music

  • Bing Crosby's class "White Christmas" is the best selling Christmas song of all time.


  • "Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer" (originially released in 1979 by Elmo & Patsy) is the biggest selling novelty Christmas single of all time in the U.S.


  • "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was originally recorded by Judy Garland in 1944. She recorded the song for the film "Meet me in St. Louis", starring herself. It has been re-released by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Chicago, Amy Grant, and The Carpenters.


  • RuPaul released "I saw Daddy kissing Santa Claus" in 1997.



    • "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year" in different languages

  • French - Joyeux Noël et Bonne Année!


  • Hawaiian - Mele Kalikimaka & Hauoli Makahiki Hou


  • "Irish - Nollaig Shona Dhuit "


  • Italian - Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo


  • Japanese - Shinnen omedeto. Kurisumasu Omedeto


  • "Korean - Sung Tan Chuk Ha "


  • Russian - Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva i s Novim Godom


  • Spanish - Feliz Navidad y Próspero Año Nuevo


  • Swedish - God Jul och Gott Nytt År