Turkey outranks ham as the festive favorite

Although Google searches for “ham” and “turkey” both spike during the month of December, according to Google Trends data the past few years the bird has edged out ham as the favorite to dig into for Christmas dinner

The majority of Americans celebrate Christmas

Christmas decorations feel like they appear in stores earlier and earlier every year. That’s because the majority of Americans really do jingle bell rock their way right through into the Christmas season: about 85% of us. Not all of those who partake in Christmas celebrate the religious aspects of the holiday, but you can bet that come December 25 most people are opening up presents under the tree.

It’s rumored that eggnog originated in medieval Britain

Although there’s no official confirmation on who invented eggnog, most historians agree that eggnog originated in medieval Britain. Eggnog was an upper-class luxury since they were the only ones who had access to the milk, sherry and eggs required to create the original version. Monks in the Middle Ages added figs and eggs and called the drink”posset” while the wealthy kept with the simple recipe and used it for toasts or big events. Research shows that eggnog most likely became associated with the holidays due to a lack of refrigeration. It became a drink for the more common man in America because of the larger farming opportunities and more access to cows and chickens.

Christmas wreaths are religious symbols

The custom of bringing evergreens into the home began in the 16th century among northern and eastern Europeans, primarily Germans, as a means of cleaning up the Christmas tree and making it more uniform. Instead of throwing out cut-off greens, people wove the excess into wreaths.

However, the religious significance is that the circular shape and evergreen material of the wreath represent eternal life. The circle, which has no beginning or end, “symbolizes the eternity of God, the immortality of the soul and the everlasting life we find in Christ.”

Hanging stockings started by accident

The historic St. Nicholas heard about the plight of a local man who did not have enough dowry money to marry off his three daughters. The generous St. Nick tossed some money down the chimney that landed in the ladies’ stockings that were drying by the fire. After that, the tradition stuck!

St. Nick was more generous than jolly

The original Santa Claus was actually St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop in the 4th century. He didn’t wear the red suit that’s so famous today, but he did give all of his inheritance to the poor and needy. In Dutch, his name is Sinter Klaas, which later morphed into Santa Claus.

Gifts have both Christian and Pagan origins

For Christians, gift giving at Christmas mimics the presents the Wise Men gave to Jesus and the charitable giving of the ancient St. Nicholas (the forerunner to Santa!). However, winter gift giving also has its roots in Saturnalia, a pagan holiday where they gave offerings to the gods.

Christmas wasn’t always on December 25

Although Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ, it doesn’t actually mention December 25 anywhere in the bible. In fact, some historians think Jesus was born in the spring, not the winter at all! Christmas on December 25th wasn’t celebrated until about 336 AD.

Rudolph was a marketing ploy

The beloved reindeer was created by a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939. He wrote Rudolph into a children’s story that could be given out to promote the store. It was a huge hit, with more than 2.4 million copies distributed in its first year! In 1949 Gene Autry recorded the famous song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” and in 1964 came the movie featuring the island of misfit toys.

Only about half of Americans attend Christmas services

You might have noticed that church attendance on Christmas Eve has felt less busy lately than when you were a kid. The Pew Research Center found that fewer people think of Christmas as a religious holiday these days. More specifically, about 51% of American adults attend a religious service on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

We ship a ton of packages at the holidays

Last year, the U.S. Postal Service processed more than 11.7 billion pieces of mail and packages during the holiday season. That includes gifts for loved ones, holiday cards, Christmas letters to Santa and of course, those dreaded credit card bills from all the gift shopping.

Santa has his own Canadian postal code

Every year, letters to Santa Claus flood post offices across the world. Cementing their reputation as some of the nicest people ever, some big-hearted Canadian post office workers started writing back. As the program took off, they set up a special postal code for Santa as part of a Santa Letter-Writing Program initiative: HOH OHO.

Celebrating Christmas used to be illegal

From 1659 to 1681, anyone caught making merry in the colonies would face a fine for celebrating. The Massachusetts Bay Colony created the Penalty for Keeping Christmas. It was thought that “such festivals as were superstitiously kept in other countries” and were “a great dishonor of God and offense of others. The penalty for breaking the law was five shillings.

By the Revolutionary War, the day had so little significance that Congress even held their first session on December 25, 1789. Christmas wasn’t even proclaimed a federal holiday for almost another century, proving that the Grinch’s attitude toward the holiday was alive and well long before he was.

**The eight tiny reindeer have had lots of names

Rudolph was almost named Rollo or Reginald and his crew also had lots of other names. They’ve previously been called Flossie, Glossie, Racer, Pacer, Scratcher, Feckless, Ready, Steady and Fireball.

Evergreens are an ancient tradition

The iconic Christmas tree has a lot of roots (forgive the pun). Ancient Egyptians used to mark the winter solstice by decorating their homes with green palms, while the Romans celebrated Saturnalia with evergreen boughs. These green plants signified that the spring would return with new life. The first Christmas trees as we know them today started in Germany in the 16th century

Dry Christmas trees spark more than joy

Neglected, dried-out Christmas trees spark about 260 fires in the United States each year resulting in an average of 12 deaths, 24 injuries and $16.4 million in property damage, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation. An additional 150 fires are started because of holiday lights and other decorative lighting, resulting in an average of eight deaths, 16 injuries and $8.9 million in property damage per year. Not only will an errant spark ruin your holiday, it can put both residents and responding firefighters in danger.

Christmas decorating sends nearly 15,000 people to the ER

If you’ve ever watched Clark Griswold decorate his house in Christmas Vacation this stat likely doesn’t shock you. In fact, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s most recent news release estimates that 14,700 people visit hospital emergency rooms each November and December from holiday-related decorating accidents — which is about 240 injuries per day. The most common accidents involve falling, lacerations and back strains.

You can thank Prince Albert for your Christmas tree

Christmas trees have German roots, but they really took off in popularity thanks to Queen Victoria and her husband, German Prince Consort Albert. In 1848 they were sketched standing in front of their tree with their children by the Illustrated London News, which quickly made Christmas trees fashionable.