12 Festive facts
Amid the holiday buzz of wrapping gifts, decorating trees, sipping mulled wine and making snow angels,
you may not give much thought to the festive period that’s celebrated all around the world but we have put
together some facts for you to ponder over the Christmas season, such as how long it would take Santa to visit
the world’s homes, how many Christmas trees are grown in Europe each year and why we love mistletoe...
1
Scientists in the US
calculated that Santa
would have to visit 822
homes a second to deliver
the world’s presents on
Christmas Eve, travelling
at 650 miles a second
5
Before turkey, our
traditional Christmas
dinner used to be a pig’s
head with mustard
9
By law, a one month’s
Christmas bonus is given
to workers of Greece,
Italy, Spain and Germany
2
It was because of the
Dutch custom of leaving
shoes packed with food
for St Nicholas’s donkeys
that we now hang out
Christmas stockings. He
would leave small gifts in
return
6
To thank us for our help
in the Second World
War, Oslo has sent us a
Christmas tree each year
since 1947
10
Much of the Christmas
tree can be eaten with
the needles containing a
good source of vitamin C
3
There are almost 60million
Christmas trees grown in
Europe each year
7
Frigga, the Norse
goddess of love was
associated with mistletoe,
which is why we have the
tradition of kissing under
the plant
11
A wreath of holly
symbolises Christ’s crown
of thorns with the red
berries on top represent
drops of his blood
4
The word ‘Noel’ comes
from the French
expression ‘les bonnes
nouvelles’ or ‘the good
news’
8
Rudolph the red-nosed
reindeer was invented
for a US firm’s Christmas
promotion in 1938
12
The biggest Christmas
cracker which was
45.72m long and 3.04m
in diameter was pulled in
Australia in 1991
31