Christmas Fun Facts Friday...On Saturday!

Here's the next batch of Christmas Fun Facts that appear on my television holiday music station!
1. The first Hot Wheels appeared in 1968. Car Models included the Corvette, Mustang, and Firebird.
2. BMX bikes were the hottest selling gifts in 1982.
3. "Toy" comes from the old English word for "tool."
4. Who was almost cast in the role of Ralphie's potty-mouthed father in A Christmas Story? Jack Nicholson!
5. In Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Rudolph has his antlers through the winter. In reality, only the females keep their antlers in the winter.
6.  The National Christmas Tree Association has given a tree to every president since 1966.
7.  Early Christmas trees were actually hung upside down from the ceiling! Um, can you imagine the mess?
8.  Jingle Bells a Thanksgiving song?! Apparently so! The iconic Christmas song was originally written to celebrate Thanksgiving in 1857.
9.  Italians start Christmas on December 17th.  A date they refer to as Novena.
10. Hyvaa Joulua means "Merry Christmas" in Finnish!
11.  Did you know there was a ban on Christmas in England? Many people celebrated Christmas in secret until the ban was repealed in 1660.
12. Japan once banned Hula Hoops because they thought the hip rotating was indecent. 
Hope you enjoyed this batch! More to come!