Fun facts about Christmas you could have never guessed!
Christmas is here! The shops are decorated with fairy lights, our houses have their prettiest Christmas trees, and we are thinking about what to give our loved ones for Christmas.
Everyone loves this time of year. That’s why we've decided to dig a little deeper into the secrets of this lovely holiday!
After much research, we’ve brought you some surprising facts that you might not have known about Christmas.
The best Christmas gift ever received
Every year we face the same dilemma: What Christmas gift should we give our loved ones? It is not always easy to find the perfect gift. And yet… France did it!
In 1886, France gave the United States an unforgettable Christmas present: the Statue of Liberty! The statue is still considered the most spectacular Christmas present ever given to the world.
Christmas was green, red, and gold Christmas
Three main colors were traditionally associated with Christmas. One of these colors was green, a color that symbolizes love and rebirth, in connection with the story of Christ.
The second color associated with Christmas was red. Coca-Cola didn't make it all up by dressing Santa in red!
But at that time, red was used to represent the blood of Christ. A little more serious than the costume of Santa Claus or the Christmas socks hanging on the fireplace. If you didn’t know about it it might be a little shocking.
The third and final color used to represent Christmas was gold. Gold embodied light, royalty, and wealth. Just like green and red, this color is still used today to add a festive touch to Christmas decorations.
Christmas has been celebrated in space
Christmas is celebrated in most places in the world, regardless of the location and its traditions. What if we told you that the holiday has also been celebrated in space?
Yes, in 1965, the crew of the Gemini A6 spacecraft also got carried away by the magical Christmas atmosphere and then played the famous song "Jingle Bells" on their trip!
It then became the first song to have ever been heard in space: a Christmas that can only put stars in your eyes!
The Christmas tree was decorated with apples
Nowadays it is common to decorate the Christmas tree with beautiful ornaments, such as lights and colored balls. But the tree has not always been this colorful!
Until 1850, the Christmas tree was decorated with apples to pay homage to the story of Adam and Eve. However, in 1858, the North of the Vosges and the Moselle were hit by a great wave of drought preventing the inhabitants from harvesting apples to put them on their Christmas trees.
As a fallback, a glassmaker came up with the idea of creating Christmas balls to replace apples. Without knowing it, he had just created one of the most famous and used Christmas decorations in the world!
The Legend of Christmas Gifts
From a young age, our parents told us about Santa Claus, a generous man traveling through the sky on a sleigh pulled by Christmas reindeer. But have you ever thought about where this legend comes from? I’ll tell you!
This famous Christmas story has its origins in the story of St Nicholas. The Saint was known to distribute presents to nice children while Father Fouettard gave charcoal to children who behaved badly.
Interestingly, St Nicholas distributed the gifts riding on a donkey: not very practical when you have thousands of children to go and see!
This is why in 1821, the American author Clément Moore decided to write a Christmas tale in which a bearded and generous man made a tour of Christmas presents around the world using a sleigh pulled by reindeer.
It is increasingly common to break up on Christmas
While December is generally associated with sharing and loving those closest to you, this is not always the case! According to a Facebook study, the two weeks preceding New Year's Eve show an increase in break-ups among couples.
Merry Christmas!
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