5 interesting facts about Xmas!

HO HO HO, the most wonderful time of the year is coming …

Busy with buying Christmas gifts, preparing the Christmas menu, or organizing the traveling visit to the family: take two minutes to relax and read the 5 things Hummingbag team has found you were probably ignoring about Christmas.

Ho Christmas tree, Ho Christmas tree …

The Christmas tree tradition comes from the ancient pagan festival Saturnalia which celebrated the agricultural god Saturn. Branches from evergreen trees were used during winter as a reminder of the green plants that would grow in Spring. Germans were the first to bring Christmas trees into their houses during winter holidays to decorate them with lights and cookies.

Xmas?

The “Xmas” abbreviation comes from the ancient Greek, with X as the Greek letter “chi” which is an abbreviation of the word “Christ”.

The red-suited Santa Claus 

Santa Claus was created at an 1804 meeting where member John Pintard handed out wooden cutouts of jolly old St. Nick in front of stockings filled with toys. At that time, Santa Claus was wearing blue, white and green garments. The traditional red suit came in 1930’s with Coca-Cola ad.

Xmas Carols

The most recorded Christmas song is “Silent Night” with over 733 different versions copyrighted since 1978.
The best-selling Christmas song is “White Christmas”, ousting the famous and popular “All I want for Christmas is you” song by Mariah Carey.

Christmas Sales

Christmas is a peak season for retailers, where their sales can reach up to 50 to 100% compared to usual purchasing periods. In the US, Christmas purchases account for 1/6 of all yearly retail sales.

Bonus! Xmas spirit

In 1914 (World War 1), a truce was held between Germans and British soldiers on the Christmas night. Each side decorated their shelters and exchanged gifts across the no man’s land … They also played a football game together.