Monday, December 23, 2019

SOME CHRISTMAS FACTS AND TRIVIA, PART 3

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From: 


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How did Christmas carols get their name? 

The word carol may derive from the French "carol 

L2e'' or the Latin "carula'' meaning a circular dance. The earliest carol, about Mary and Jesus, was written in 1410. 


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Who stuffed the first Christmas stocking? 

Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from the story of three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry and were, therefore, doomed to a life of prostitution. They were saved, however, when the wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna (the precursor to Santa Claus) crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins. 


By the way:

Originally the story was that St Nicholas left the gold via the window and that the stockings were hund on the mantelpiece to dry.  By the Renaissance this had been changed to coming down the chimney. 

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Why is the partridge in a pear tree? 

The legend surrounding the penultimate lyric in The Twelve Days of Christmas is that the partridge is a symbol of Jesus and the pear tree refers to the tree of life that is the cross. 


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Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25? 

In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ. 

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How many calories will I consume on Christmas Day? 

Unless you become a Grinch and deny yourself of a day of Christmas excess, you can expect to consume around 7000 calories. Considering the recommended daily calorie intake is 2000 for women and 2500 for men, this is a big leap. Alcohol, nuts, chocolates, smoked salmon and a turkey dinner all add up to make December 25 one big binge-fest. 

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Why do we eat turkey for Christmas? 

In medieval England, the main course for Christmas was either a peacock or a boar. By the early 1600s the turkey had begun to replace tougher meats at major Tudor banquets held by the rich and the powerful. Unsurprisingly, the corpulent King Henry VIII was the first English monarch to have turkey for Christmas. It soon became the bird of choice in households across the country. 


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What's the deal with Christmas elves? 

Christmas elves - Santa's little helpers - are often depicted as green or red clad with pointy ears and pointy hats. They were first introduced in 1856 by Louisa May Alcott, American author of Little Women, who completed but never published a book entitled, funnily enough, Christmas Elves. 


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Does Santa wear a red suit because of Coca-Cola? 

It's a common belief that Coca-Cola's marketing machine created the image of Santa in red and white suit. Not so. Before the Coca-Cola Santa was even created, St Nick had appeared in numerous illustrations and poems wearing a scarlet coat. He was, however, often portrayed as a tall, gaunt and sometimes even frightening figure - before Coca-Cola came along. 


In 1931, the soft-drinks giant commissioned artist Haddon Sundblom to paint Santa Claus for the company's Christmas ads. The result? The rotund, happy man with the big rosy cheeks, twinkling eyes and white beard that we know and love today. 


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Which author's friend gave her a year's salary for Christmas? 

Harper Lee's wise friend gave her the cash on the condition that she give up work and write. Lee famously went to write To Kill a Mockingbird, an immediate bestseller that won the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is regarded as one of the best novels of the 20th century. 


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What's the best-selling Christmas song? 

It is estimated that Bing Crosby's White Christmas, penned by Irving Berlin, is the best-selling single of all time, with over 100 million sales worldwide. 


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Why does Rudolph have a red nose? 

Just in time for Christmas, scientists say they finally solved the eternal puzzle of Rudolph's beacon of a nose. Researchers now say his hooter beams because it is richly supplied with red blood cells to stop it freezing and to help with the exertion of delivering presents to good children around the globe. 


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From where does the term yuletide originate? 

A Yule log is typically burned during the twelve days of Christmas (December 25 to January 6). Some scholars suggest that the word yule means "revolution" or "wheel," which symbolises the cyclical return of the sun. A burning log or its charred remains is said to offer health, fertility, and luck as well as the ability to ward off evil spirits. 


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What do the Christmas colours symbolise? 

The traditional three colors of Christmas are green, red, and gold. Green has long been a symbol of life and rebirth; red symbolises the blood of Christ, and gold represents light as well as wealth and royalty.\ 


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Will I get dumped on Christmas Day? 

According to data analysed from Facebook posts, two weeks before Christmas is one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. However, Christmas Day is the least favourite. 


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What's the biggest-grossing Christmas movie? 

It warmed our hearts and made us laugh with its slapstick humour. And it launched Macaulay Culkin into the stratosphere - long before he grew a beard and started singing songs about pizza. Yes, Home Alone is the biggest Christmas movie ever, raking in $533 million globally. Jim Carrey's Grinch comes in at two, bringing in $260 million with Home Alone 2 coming in third. 


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Which country had the world's most expensive tree? 

The most expensive Christmas tree was decorated in the United Arab Emirates in 2010 at an estimated cost of over $11 million. 


By the way: 

From: 
https://www.syracuse.com/news/2010/12/abu_dhabi_luxury_hotel_admits.html  
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Abu Dhabi luxury hotel that boasted an $11 million Christmas tree decorated with gold and gems admitted Sunday it may have taken the holiday spirit a bit too far. A statement from the Emirates Palace hotel said it regretted "attempts to overload" the Christmas tree tradition by adorning it with premium bling including gold, rubies, diamonds and other precious stones from a hotel jeweler. The statement was a rare bit of reflection on the Gulf's ethos of excess. The tree was unveiled last week with full fanfare in a hotel that features its own gold bar vending machine and a one-week $1 million package that includes private jet jaunts around the Middle East.

But the hotel management apparently had second thoughts after questions arose about whether the opulent tree was innocent good cheer or unfortunate bad taste. The hotel regrets "attempts to overload the tradition followed by most hotels in the country with meanings and connotations that do not fall in line with the (hotel's) professional standards," said a statement carried on the state-run news agency WAM.

The hotel even tried to distance itself from the 43-foot faux fir in one of its rotundas, saying a hotel-based jeweler was solely responsible for creating and decorating the tree. "The hotel is just a venue for exhibiting the tree," the statement said.

The hotel also claimed the tree was not a stunt, but rather an effort to boost the holiday mood for its guests based on the United Arab Emirates' "values of openness and tolerance." 
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Why do we put up trees? 

Evergreen plants were a symbol of life for ancient cultures in Egypt and Rome. It became common to decorate the evergreens for the Greek festival of Saturnalia, and the trend was incorporated in early Christian life. This tradition turned into the modern Christmas tree in 16th-century Germany. 


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Why kiss under the mistletoe? 

Myths about kissing under the mistletoe go back to Saturnalia. Others say it a tradition that stems from the Druids, Celts and the Norse. The Druids believed the mistletoe plant - which is actually a parasite - had great powers. 


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How tall is New York's Rockefeller Centre tree? 

This year's Rockefeller tree is a 76-foot (23.2 metres) Norway Spruce. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg turned on the lights on December 12, setting off a dazzling 45,000 multi-coloured LED lights and a gigantic Swarovski star. 


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How many texts are we likely to receive on Christmas Day? 

This Christmas, the average Australian Christmas reveller will send eight SMS messages to close friends, four to extended family members, and three to close family members. 

This year will see record SMS traffic, according to a Telstra survey, with 136 million text messages sent between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day this year - a surge of 13 per cent over last year. 

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What is myrrh actually used for? 

Myrrh - one of the three gifts said to be given to the baby Jesus - comes from a small bushy tree, cultivated in ancient times in the Arabian peninsula. The resin used raw or crushed and mixed with oil to make a perfume. 


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What's all the fuss about eggnog? 

Eggnog, a popular drink in the US, most likely originated from England. Some say the term term derived from egg and grog, a common term used for a drink made with rum. Eventually, that term was shortened to egg'n'grog, then eggnog. 

The drink is made up of cream, sugar, whipped eggs, brandy, rum, whisky, bourbon and vodka. 

Though eggnog is high in fat and cholesterol, low-fat and no-sugar formulations are available using skimmed or low-fat milk. 


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Who wrote Jingle Bells? 

The world's best-known Christmas song was written by James Lord Pierpont at a tavern in Medford, Massachusetts, home of popular sleigh races in the 19th century. The ultimate Christmas song, it was actually originally written to be sung for American Thanksgiving.





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