This week at work I came last in the first round of quizzes... I thought I knew what there is about Christmas, but turns out - not.
To recover from the
"s h a m e f u l
d e f e a t",
I prepped a round of Christmas facts for you, guys!
The first commercially designed Christmas Card was sent in 1843[1], all thanks to the penny post of the Victorian era. Because paying a penny was affordable. The card read:
A Christmas tree is a pagan symbol. How else would we explain why we decorate a fir tree for a short period and then throw it away? Also, Latvia and Estonia are currently competing for where the Christmas tree was mentioned first. And we know Baltic has pagan traditions.
The first Christmas tree originated
around the 16th century in Germany.
According to National Geographic [2],
it was the year 1539.
Do you think it will change with the current
claims made by Latvia and Estonia?
Being a Latvian, I wouldn't mind!
Christmas has an island. That's right, you heard it. There is a Christmas Island in the Indian ocean. The name was given to the Island by William Mynors [3] on Christmas day. I mean, you see something on New Year, you name it a New Year! I dare you!
China was the primary supplier of Christmas tree lights [4] & decorations [5] in 2020, which is no surprise. But did you know that the biggest importer of the deco was the USA, followed by the UK [6]? And when it comes to the Christmas lights, the first importer was the USA, followed by the Netherlands and the UK [7].
Canada is the biggest exporter of Christmas trees worldwide [8].
But the biggest producer of Christmas trees is actually Germany.
Although comparing between what is exported and what stays, percentage-wise, Denmark comes on top!
Y E S,
that tiny northern European country.
Cuba saw a 30-year lengthy ban on Christmas between 1969-1998 [9]. The period was known as Las navidades silenciadas (“The Silent Christmases”). Back then, the government of Fidel Castro decided to prioritize the sugar cane industry and remove the religious obstacle for the good of the revolution.
The recent ban in Cuba wasn't the first one the world saw. Similar prohibition occurred in England between 1644-1660 and in Boston between 1659 -1681 [10]. The ban was led by Puritans, who claimed this tradition goes against the bible, making religion purer.
Perhaps not a secret, and most of you know, but I will add it here anyway. The tradition of decorating gingerbread houses began in Germany in the early 19th century [11]. Hence, we associate Gingerbread houses with Germans and German Christmas Markets. However, the origins of Gingerbread root in the 10th century and not at all in Germany.
By the way, in 1600, Nürnberg was named the "Gingerbread Capital of the World" [12]!
What is Christmas without a turkey, you ask? I hear you! But listen, not all of us indulge in meat. If so, a yummy vegetarian meat alternative of nut roast would be a good option for you! And that is a popular choice!
The first Chrismas Market is considered to have been in Germany, Dresden, in 1434 [13]. However, there are also mentions of earlier "December" markets in other cities and even countries. For example, one such mention is of Vienna in 1298.
So, how many of these have you known?
