1. The word ‘Christmas’ comes from the Greek words ‘Cristes Maesse,’ meaning Christ’s mass -
“Christmas” means “mass on Christ’s day.”
2. Christmas is a Christian festival that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, who Christians believe was the son of God. For most people, it takes place every year on 25 December – the day that the Roman Catholic Church chose to mark Jesus’ birthday. But, in fact, no one actually knows the exact date Jesus was born.
3. In the very first times when the tradition of decorating trees for Christmas began, the popular items that were used to decorate the trees were food items such as nuts, dates, apples and other fruits.
4. Have you listened to the song ‘The 12 Days of Christmas?’ If you received all the presents that are mentioned there in the song, you would have a total of 364 presents!
5. Have you ever wondered why it is called ‘The 12 Days of Christmas?’ According to popular tradition, it is believed that the three kings who began on their journey to find the baby Jesus took 12 days actually to do so.
6. We can’t talk about Christmas without a mention to the big bearded, rosy-cheeked jolly man… Father Christmas! But have you wondered how he got the name Santa Claus? It’s from Sinterklaas, which means Saint Nicholas in Dutch, the language of the Netherlands. St. Nicholas was a Christian bishop who lived in the 4th century – known for being kind and generous, he later became the patron saint of children.
7. We all love to sing along to Jingle Bells, but have you ever noticed that the song doesn’t have the word Christmas in it? Or Jesus or Santa Claus? That’s because it wasn’t originally a Christmas song! In fact, the jolly anthem was written in 1850, entitled One Horse Open Sleigh.