One of my bestest friends, who we shall refer to as Chickster, has often told me that she is the most interesting person to sit next do at dinner parties because she is loaded with useless trivia and facts.
Who better to sit next to, at a boring, conservative party than a woman with an encyclopaedic knowledge of useless facts and a wit sharper than Tom Hiddleston’s cheekbones? (Sorry, he’s my pin up boy at the moment, much to my husband’s annoyance.)
Soooo, inspired by Chickster, here’s some fun facts about Christmas…
Also at the end you will find a link to a wonderful charity named Cody’s Angel Heart Foundation, that is currently selling 2014 Calendars in order to raise money to provide financial funeral assistance to parents of children who suffered from a Congenital Heart Defect in Australia. They are only $10 each and filled with stunning photos of the Australian landscape and 13 gorgeous Angel Kids who will melt your heart with their courage. They make great presents and all profits go to help parents during this devastating time. (Don’t worry about the 2013 typo – it’s in the process of being altered to 2014!)
5 fascinating Christmas facts that will leave your friends, families, colleagues and strangers utterly bedazzled!
1. The modern day Santa Claus is modelled on Saint Nicholas, a Greek saint who was born in AD270. He is the patron saint of: Greece, sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children, prisoners, unmarried women and …wait for it…pawnbrokers!
2. Santa once topped the Forbes Wealthiest list for fictional people, his wealth being estimated at ‘infinity’.
3. Mistletoe is derived from the word Misteltan which means ‘little dung twig’ because the plant is germinated via bird droppings. Kind of takes the romance out of kissing under the mistletoe, doesn’t it? However the Druids believed that Mistletoe was an aphrodisiac, so we’ll leave that one open to discussion.
4. The first artificial Christmas trees were made during the 1880′s in Germany, in order to avoid deforestation. They were made out of goose feathers that had been dyed green and became very popular during the early 20th century.
and finally,
5. Jesus’ birthday isn’t actually December 25th. That date was given in the fourth century as it coincided with two other Pagan seasonal celebrations: the birthday of Mithra and the Feast of Saturnalia. Guestimations for the actual birth of Jesus vary from November through until the end of March.
Meanwhile, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Thank you to the following websites for their amazing information. These facts, and many more can be found on: http://facts.randomhistory.com/christmas-facts.html and http://thefw.com/christmas-facts/
Cody’s Angel Heart Foundation 2014 Calendars