Few Facts about Christmas

There are many, many people around the world who celebrate Christmas so I thought I would put together some different facts about Christmas, and here they are for your enjoyment.

• Most people think that it is male reindeer that pull Santa’s Sleigh but male reindeer actually shed their antlers around Christmas so the reindeer are not likely male reindeer but female reindeer.
• The first artificial Christmas tree was made by the Germans and was made out of dyed goose feathers.
• In the United States alone there are over 3 billion Christmas cards sent out every year.
• The world’s tallest Christmas tree that was cut was a 221 foot Douglas fir.
• It was Pope Julius I who was a bishop in Rome in 320 A.D. that proclaimed that December 25^th was the official celebration date for the birth of Christ.
• The world’s largest Christmas stocking measured 106 feet and 9 inches long and over 49 feet wide.
• Every year there are over 20,000 “rent-a-Santa” across the United States.
• The first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas was Alabama in 1836.
• On June 26, 1870 was when Christmas was officially declared a holiday in the United States.
• The last state in the United States to declare Christmas a legal holiday was Oklahoma in 1907.
• There is no real evidence that Christ actual day of birth is December 25^th.
• Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nikolas of Myra who lived during the fourth century.
• The first president to start the white house lighting ceremony was President Coolidge in 1923.
• Actually there are around 21,000 Christmas tree farms in the United States.
• Germany was the first country to make a printed reference to a Christmas tree in 1531.
• The first Christmas postage stamp was issued in the United States in 1962.
• The earliest known decorations for the Christmas tree were apples.
• The Christmas card was invented in 1843.