Ten things you did not know about Christmas
So it’s your favourite festival? Do you think you know all about it? We bet there are some tips here that you don’t know.
1. “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” was conceived by author Robert May in 1939. Two other names he considered before deciding on Rudolph were Reginald and Rollo (office favourite is Reginald and henceforward that’s how we’re going to be singing it!).
2. Christmas carolling began as an old English custom called Wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long and healthy life. Andrea went last year in Stoke Newington, great fun!
3. Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces, and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C. Pine nuts, or pine cones, are also a good source of nutrition, please be very careful about telling children this, we don’t want any of them choking.
4. Christmas trees are known to have been popular in Germany as far back as the sixteenth century. In England, they became popular after Queen Victoria’s husband Albert, who came from Germany, made a tree part of the celebrations at Windsor Castle.
5. The traditional flaming Christmas pudding dates back to 1670 in England, and was derived from an earlier form of stiffened plum porridge.
6. Christmas is not widely celebrated in Scotland. Some historians believe that Christmas is downplayed in Scotland because of the influence of the Presbyterian Church (or Kirk), which considered Christmas a “Papist,” or Catholic event. As a result, Christmas in Scotland tends to be somber…but boy do they make up for it at Hogmanay!
7. “X” is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ: Xristos; so saying or writing “Xmas” is the same as “C-mas.” My grandmother would most definitely have argued against this!
8. The first Christmas card was created in England on December 9, 1842. It’ll be interesting to see how much longer the paper versions will remain the traditional greeting, our younger relatives send increasingly complicated Christmas text messages.
9. In Britain, the Holy Days and Fasting Days Act of 1551, which has not yet been repealed, states that every citizen must attend a Christian church service on Christmas Day, and must not use any kind of vehicle to get to the service. This one is definitely something we in the office didn’t know.
10. The mastermind behind the Christmas cracker was a London sweetshop owner called Tom Smith. In 1847, after spotting French bonbons wrapped in paper with a twist at each end, he started selling similar sweets with a “love motto” inside. They were so popular as a Christmas novelty that Tom made them bigger and included a trinket. But the real flash of inspiration came when he poked the fire and a log exploded with a sharp CRACK! He launched his “Bangs of Expectation” with top-of-the range gifts such as jewellery, ivory carvings, perfume and miniature dolls. By 1900 he was selling 13 million a year.
