We found some really interesting Christmas facts that we thought we’d share with you. Take a seat with your favourite yuletide drink, and enjoy these tidbits!
Did you know that New York’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was started by Construction workers in 1931?
Today as we see it either in person or on TV is a celebration that attracts thousands of tourists from around the world every year! This now million dollar extravaganza stems back to the Great Depression, where a number of construction workers back on the Eve of Christmas in 1931, put up the first free that stood 20 feet tall.
On the muddy site now the Rockefeller Center, this newly created tradition would become one of the most commercial monuments that coincided with New York city’s greatest architectural creation! Two years later was the beginning of the first official tree-lighting ceremony that is till this day dazzling onlookers.
If you missed it last year, a pop star by the name Fergie (also a member of the Black Eye Peas) unveiled a 550 pound Swarovski Star created by German artist Michael Hammers. This 10ft tall crystal star composed of 25,000 crystals and a total of 1 million facets, which replaced the old fibreglass gold leaf star that was placed on the tree since the late 1990′s. Wow!
A Picture of Rockefeller Center In The Recent Days!
Did you know that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was originally a poem written for a Department Store? Yup!
Rudolph, known as the the most famous reindeer of all was created back in 1939 by a man named Robert L. May! As a copywriter Robert had written a poem about Rudolph to help draw customers into the Montgomery Ward department store. I wonder if he actually knew how famous this little Red Nosed reindeer would eventually become?
We all know the story of Rudolph, the outcast being teased by the other deer, due to his shiny red nose, but later during a foggy Christmas Eve, Santa comes to him to him for help in delivering all the toys. Of the course the moral of the story was Rudolph saved Christmas, right?
This heart touching story as we know it today, was the inspiration of a special message that millions of people embraced. The message was that given the opportunity, a liability could be turned into an asset. This message sparked mass popularity, and Montgomery Ward sold almost two and half million copies of this story in 1939. Can you image???
With such immediate recognition of this magical story, later inspired a friend of May’s by the name of Johnny Marks to write a short song based on Rudolph’s story, and to this day kids and adults alike from all over the world read and sing the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! By the way, if you didn’t already know, this story has been translated into twenty-five languages. Incredible!
Did You Know The Poinsettia Originated In Mexico? Arriba!
The Poinsettia flower is actually named after an American minister to Mexico, Joel R. Poinsett, who brought the plant from Mexico into America in 1828!
This little Mexican grown Shrub is the number one selling potted plant in North America (which reminds me, we need to go out and buy one soon). Okay, back to 
my story. This plant grosses more than $250 million in sales during the six week period before Christmas, and has become as much a symbol of Xmas, as the Christmas tree, and the mistletoe! Can you believe it?
No one is exactly sure if it was by design or accident on why and how this plant became the symbol of our Festive Season, but it seems to stem back to a legend about a poor small Mexican girl and her brother who brought it as a gift for the baby Jesus. Hence the term "Flowers of the Holy Night" originated.
Also the plants shape has suggested to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem, with red leaves symbolizing the blood of Christ, and white leaves, his purity. I wonder if this girl and boy left Jesus the recipe to make enchiladas???
Pretty interesting so far, huh? Okay, let’s continue anyways, we promise it will get better…
Some Poinsettia Facts:
* This popular roadside shrub from Mexico can actually grow as high as ten feet.
* Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries the Aztecs were known to use poinsettias to control fevers.
* Shortly after the Spanish conquest, Franciscan priests used the poinsettia in their Nativity Processions.
* This plant is rumoured to be extremely toxic, but after exhaustive scientific and medical studies over many years, there was no evidence of toxicity. We still recommend you don’t put the leaves in your Christmas salads.
* More than sixty five million potted poinsettias will be grown for the holiday season. Not bad for a roadside shrub from Mexico!
The very first eggnog made in the US was consumed in Captain John Smith’s 1607 Jamestown settlement!
Eggnog is related to various milk and wine punches that had been concocted long ago in the "Old World". However, in America a new twist was put on the theme.
Rum was used in the place of wine. In Colonial America, rum was commonly called "grog", so the name eggnog is likely derived from the very descriptive term for this drink, "egg-and-grog", which corrupted to egg’n'grog and soon to eggnog. At least this is one version…
Other experts would have it that the "nog" of eggnog comes from the word "noggin". A noggin was a small, wooden, carved mug. It was used to serve drinks at table in taverns (while drinks beside the fire were served in tankards).
It is thought that eggnog started out as a mixture of Spanish "Sherry" and milk.
The English called this concoction "Dry sack posset". It is very easy to see how an egg drink in a noggin could become eggnog.
The true story might be a mixture of the two and eggnog was originally called "egg and grog in a noggin". This was a term that required shortening if ever there was one.
As you can see here, even the Snoop Dog enjoys the occasional Nog
Did You Know When The First Christmas was Recorded In Canada?
The first Christmas observed and on record in Canada was back in 1535 by the French explorer Jacques Cartier in 1535.
This was Cartier’s second trip to the New World from Saint Malo, France. Dispatched on missions by Francois 1, the King of France, to find gold and valuable minerals, Cartier meticulously noted every detail of the land and its peoples.
This trip, he was bringing an initial group of settlers ready to make their home in Canada. Unlike the joyous event we now experience today, it was not so joyous of an occasion when the explorers arrived.
They settled in a tiny palisaded fortress on the banks of the Ste. Croix River (now the St. Charles), near the present City of Quebec, which at that time was then the Indian Village of Stadacona.
The first Christmas dinner in Canada was a meager event…
Christmas was a meager event in the New World, where the menu consisted of deteriorating vegetables, salted meat, and little else from the precious food stores. But the men were still hopeful for a good life, listening to the stories told by Chief Donnacona of great wealth and magnificent peoples beyond Stadacona. (The Chief was apparently a great imaginative storyteller and the French were not fully aware of this at the time…)
The first Royal Christmas Message was issued by George V in 1932
The King was originally hesitant about using the relatively untried medium of radio to issue a Christmas Message. However he was reassured by a visit to the BBC in the summer of 1932, and agreed to try out the idea. So in 1932 on Christmas Day, King George V issued a Christmas Message from Ilmington Manor to the Empire via "wireless".
The Christmas celebrations in the Middle Ages were rowdy and raucous…kinda like Mardi Gras parties today!
Among those who opposed Yuletide rituals, for centuries, festivities were dominated by the young, the rowdy, and the lusty. In the English colonies, staid souls denounced the custom of wassailing, in which bands of noisy, tipsy, and often costumed males roamed the streets and invaded homes, demanding gifts, money, and liquor in exchange for songs, gags, or the promise of not being harmed!
Among the Pagan traditions that have become part of Christmas is burning the yule log
This custom springs from many different cultures, but in all of them its significance seems to lie in the iul or "wheel" of the year. The Druids would bless a log and keep it burning for 12 days during the winter solstice; part of the log was kept for the following year, when it would be used to light the new yule log. For the Vikings, the yule log was an integral part of their celebration of the solstice, the julfest; on the log they would carve runes representing unwanted traits (such as ill fortune or poor honor) that they wanted the gods to take from them.
Wassail…
Wassail comes from the Old English words waes hael, which means "be well," "be hale," or "good health." A strong, hot drink (usually a mixture of ale, honey, and spices) would be put in a large bowl, and the host would lift it and greet his companions with "waes hael," to which they would reply "drinc hael," which meant "drink and be well." Over the centuries some non-alcoholic versions of wassail evolved.
Christmas Trees and Plants
The tree was an important symbol to every Pagan culture. The oak in particular was venerated by the Druids. Evergreens, which in ancient Rome were thought to have special powers and were used for decoration, symbolized the promised return of life in the spring and came to symbolize eternal life for Christians. The Vikings hung fir and ash trees with war trophies for good luck.
In the middle ages, the Church would decorate trees with apples on Christmas Eve, which they called "Adam and Eve Day."
We hope you enjoyed many of these Christmas Facts, and encourage you to comment. If you have something to share or add, we would love to hear it!
