Interesting facts

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

• Father Christmas is called different names around the world. The most popular name now-a-days is Santa Claus.
•  The day after Christmas, December 26, is known as Boxing Day. It is also the holy day of St. Stephen.
•  The holiday Boxing day was originally celebrated in England,for the servants to the rich people. After Chrismas,the servants “boxed up” all the left-overs from the rich people and bring them home.
•  The popular Christmas song “Jingle Bells” was actually written for Thanksgiving. The song was composed in 1857 by James Pierpont, and was originally called “One Horse Open Sleigh”.

•  St. Nicholas was bishop of the Turkish town of Myra in the early 4th century. The Dutch first made him into a Christmas gift-giver, and Dutch settlers brought him to America where his name eventually became the familiar Santa Claus.
•  Roast turkey did not appear consistently on royal Christmas Day menus until 1851 when it replaced roast swan. The medieval dish of Boar’s head remained popular with Royals for much longer.
•  Electric Christmas lights were first used in 1854.