5 Things You Didn't Know About Christmas

Ah, Christmas! That time of year when the TV is plagued with festive reruns, you eat way more than you should, end up with a pile of knitted jumpers, t shirts and socks that you will probably never, ever wear and everyone thinks it’s perfectly acceptable to wear paper hats at the dinner table. I absolutely LOVE it!

I’m already starting to feel a little festive despite the fact we’re not even in November yet and in recognition of the fact that the big day is creeping closer, we take a look at a few things you might not have known about our favourite time of year - Christmas!
The First US State to Acknowledge Christmas as a Holiday
Alabama became the first state in the USA to make Christmas a legal holiday. This happened in 1836 and paved the way for other states to follow suit and spread a little festive joy around the USA.


The Last State?
Not all the states were as quick as Alabama though and it was over 70 years later before the last State to do so declared Christmas a legal holiday. Any guesses as to which state this was? Well, it was Oklahoma in 1907.

Christmas StockingsThe common tale told about the symbolism behind the Christmas Stocking is that Saint Nicholas was concerned about the well-being of 3 sisters. They were poverty stricken and he was determined to save them from a potential life of prostitution. As such, he dropped three pieces of gold down the smoke hole of their house one night. Legend has it that the gold landed in stockings that were hanging on the heath. This is where the symbolism of the Christmas stocking comes from.

Christmas Cards
The Christmas Card is a beloved Christmas tradition. But you might not have known that the humble Christmas card was invented by Sir Henry Cole in 1843.

Merry Christmas – the Lingo
And just in case you’ve ever wondered how to say ‘Merry Christmas’ in multiple languages, here you go. ‘Merry Christmas’ in a few of the many world languages!

• French – Joyeux Noel
• German - Fröhliche Weihnachten
• Spanish - Feliz Navidad
• Finnish - Hyvaa joulua
• Greek - Kala Christouyenna
• Hawaiian - Mele Kalikimaka

And there you have it! 5 things you might not have known about Christmas before you read this! Why not add a few of your own little Christmas facts in the comments below?

Author: Stacey Cavanagh works in Digital Marketing for UK agency, Tecmark. She contributed this article on behalf of awesome funny t-shirts retailer, 8ball.co.uk.