Did you know…

Finally it’s here, the day every man, woman and child in this part of the world has been looking forward to….Christmas Eve! It marks the start and in most cases the highlight of the the festive season. As I am a die hard history buff and take pride in my often strange and curious knowledge, I’ve been updating myself on some probably useless but nevertheless interesting trivia  about Christmas.

10 things you may or may not know about Christmas

1. The British Queen celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve and not in the morning of Christmas Day as is the Anglican tradition. This is because their German roots stemming from George the I and in Germany they celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve.

2. The common abbreviation for Christmas to Xmas is derived from the Greek alphabet. X is letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christ’s name in the Greek alphabet.

3. Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang “Stille Nacht” for the first time.

4. 26 December was traditionally known as St Stephen’s Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was collected in alms-boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then distributed during to the poor and needy after Christmas.

5. The Christmas tree was first decorated with lights in the 16th century. It is believed that Martin Luther, the Protestant reformer, was the first to add lighted candles to the tree. He was so taken with the Christmas night sky that he wished to bring “the lights of the stars” into the home of his family. From this, decorating the tree with ornaments, messages and notes, and small gifts emerged in later centuries leading to our customs today.

6. The first church the Dutch built in New York City was named in St Nicholas’ honour -St Nicholas Church.

7. The actual gift givers are different in various countries:

Spain and South America: The Three Kings
Italy: La Befana (a kindly old witch)
England: Father Christmas
France: Pere Noel (Father Christmas)
Russia: In some parts – Babouschka (a grandmotherly figure)
Other parts it is Grandfather Frost.
In Germany and in regions of Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Hungary, parts of Hispanic America, the traditional Christmas gift-bringer is Christkind (angelic messenger from Jesus). She is a beautiful fair haired girl with wings.
Scandinavia: Jultomten and his gnomes (Julnissar)
Holland: St Nicholas.

8. Christmas is celebrated on different days depending on the country. In Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Norway, Iceland, Argentina, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, France and Quebec, Christmas presents are opened mostly on the evening of the 24th, – this is also the tradition among the British Royal Family, due to their mainly German ancestry – while in Italy, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, English Canada, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia mostly on the morning of Christmas Day. In other parts of the Latin world Christmas presents are received after the midnight mass.

9. Yuletide comes from the old nordic word Jul, a pre-Christian midwinter festival.

10. If you’re wondering why men may have not flocked to kiss you under the mistletoe, the answer may be that it was said that it will only work if the person you are kissing is a virgin. On the sixth day of the new moon, a Druid priest used to cut mistletoe from an oak tree with a sacred sickle. A passing virgin was called upon to catch the falling plant, which was not allowed to touch the ground.