1Christmas Controversies
Puritans hated Christmas celebrations. To them, it had “no biblical justification” and only led to immoral behavior. It was banned in England in the 1650s, leading to pro-Christmas rioting. It was also banned in the Puritan colonies (including Boston), where it only became popular after 1776.
2. The first-ever Christmas movie came out in 1898. Titled “Santa Claus”, it depicted Santa leaving presents on Christmas Eve.
3. Over 80,000 trees were planted on Sable Island in an effort to stabilize it. Only one tree survived, and despite being over 50 years old, is only a few feet tall. It is decorated yearly as a Christmas tree in December as part of a tradition among the station staff.
4. Christmas TV movie production has quadrupled over 10 years partly due to streaming algorithms.
5. Advent doesn't start on 1st December. It starts on the 4th Sunday before Christmas so varies by up to a week. The 1st December 'tradition' was invented by companies making advent calendars so the same units/designs can be sold every year.
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6Mari Lwyd
Mari Lwyd is a Welsh Christmas tradition in which a horse’s skull is put on a pole and marched around by someone hidden under a cloth with an accompanying troupe. They march from house to house terrifying residents until they join in a singing competition.
7. A tree in Glastonbury, England, is said to flower on Christmas day and people were disappointed that it did not obey the switch to the Gregorian calendar in 1752.
8. Jimmy Boyd’s “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus,” was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church in Boston when it was released on the grounds that it mixed kissing with Christmas. Boyd was photographed meeting with the Archdiocese to explain the song. After the meeting, the ban was lifted.
9. In 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony imposed a penalty for observing Christmas due to its pagan origins, calling it a “great dishonor of God and offense of others.”
10. Sweden celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve instead of on Christmas day.
11Bosheers family
The Bosheers family of Loretto, Tennessee celebrates Christmas by throwing fireballs at each other - as in “softball-sized balls sewn together from old clothes, soaked in kerosene overnight, and set ablaze” fireballs.
12. Every Christmas Eve in the Netherlands dutch children honor the graves of Canadian soldiers who died liberating Holten at the end of World War 2.
13. Mummering is a medieval practice that continues today in places like Newfoundland. People dress up in disguises and visit houses during Christmas time.
14. In China, for Christmas, it's popular to give apples as gifts because Christmas Eve (平安夜) sounds similar to apple (苹果).
15. The modern Christmas tree originated in western Germany. They combined the Adam and Eve idea of the “paradise tree" with various Christ symbols (like candles, figurines, and stars). By the 16th century, the Christmas pyramid and the paradise tree had merged, becoming the Christmas tree.
16Hawaiian Christmas Celebrations
One of the annual public Christmas celebrations on the Hawaiian islands is the highly anticipated arrival of Santa Claus being conveyed on an outrigger canoe at Waikīkī Beach. This tradition is very recent and generally, Santa is met by cheering crowds, hula dancers, and musicians.
17. During Christmas 2000/New Year's Eve 2001, Czech TV suffered a bizarre crisis that, among other things, left the public channel off the air for 2 days.
18. 10th century Norwegian Viking ruler King Haakon the Good made the household production of Juleøl (Christmas Beer) a law. Families that did not have beer at their Christmas feast were issued a fine.
19. Telling ghost stories around a fire was originally a Christmas Eve tradition. Beginning with Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" it was an annual tradition throughout the Victorian Era and only changed when Halloween became popular in the 1920s.
20. The Babbs Switch Fire killed 35 people who attended a party on Christmas Eve when “Santa” knocked a candle off of the tree. New renovations to the building trapped people inside, which led to updated fire codes throughout Oklahoma.
21Iron Maiden Christmas Song
British band Iron Maiden released 'Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter' on Christmas Eve 1990 in order to "scare the living daylights out of Cliff Richard", who was promoting 'Saviour's Day'. Despite being banned by the BBC and rarely being played live, it remains the band's only UK #1.
22. In 1978, Jimmy Carter had to leave a Christmas party for White House staffers "to receive emergency treatment" for a painful hemorrhoid that left him "almost completely incapacitated from participating in any kind of public events."
23. People in Ireland leave out Guinness for Santa on Christmas Eve.
24. The Christmas pickle is a supposedly German tradition, where you hide a pickle in the Christmas tree, and whoever finds it first gets a reward. Apparently, this is a well-known tradition in the US, but not of German origin and in fact completely unknown in Germany.
25. Christmas is banned in North Korea and instead of Christmas, the birthday of Kim Jong-suk (grandmother of the current supreme leader of North Korea) is celebrated on Christmas eve. However, some North Korean Christian believers still celebrate Christmas in secret.
