Christmas Trivia - Bells

The ringing of bells is an early pagan winter celebration to drive out evil spirits.

Later, the tradition was to ring bells on Christmas Eve to welcome in the spirit of Christmas with joyful noise.

In Norway, bells still ring throughout the country on Christmas Eve at 5 PM.

In Yorkshire, England, on Christmas Eve, the bell is rung once for each year that has passed since the birth of Christ.

Aroud the Christmas Net #5

Christmas Trivia

I recently came across this Christmas trivia site, aptly named Christmas Trivia. If you’re into Christmas trivia you’ll surely like this site, as it’s got plenty of quizzes on a wide range of Christmas topics both easy and difficult.

Christmas Trivia - Candy Cane

A 18th century English candy maker decided to make a candy commemorating Christmas (this was during the time that Christmas celebrating was outlawed in England). The result was a candy cane representing the Shepherds staff. Made of white candy to represent purity with three red stripes for the Trinity and one large red stripe for Jesus' blood shed.

Christmas Trivia - Candles

Lighting candles is an early pagan tradition to drive away the forces of cold and darkness.

The Romans decorated their temples with greenery and candles.

The early Christians started to light candles as symbolic of the birth of Jesus, the Light of the World.

Christmas Trivia - Christmas Cards

Card making began with school children drawing pictures of biblical scenes and a message like Happy Holidays and I promise to be good, etc., that was given to their parents before Christmas.

In 1846, after the advent of the British postal system, the first Christmas Card was produced, showing a family celebrating a Christmas dinner in the center and on each side were acts of charity picturing feeding and clothing the poor, with the message "A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.", made by John Calcott Horsley. 1,000 cards were made.

Christmas Trivia - Kris Kringle

German for “Christ's Child” or “Christkindlein.” A name for an early German gift-bringing infant Jesus or angelic being, who was thought of as a Christ's helper and gave gifts to poor and needy children. As cultures merged, visits from the similar St. Nicholas, Pere Noel, Pelznickel and Christkindlein all became overshadowed or mutated into Santa Claus.

Christmas Trivia - Mistletoe

Ancient Celtic priests called Druids around the New Year would collect mistletoe from their holy oak tree and offer some as a sacrifice to the gods. Some would be hung up during a ceremony which people would stand under it and kiss showing an end to their old grievances with each other. This later practice never actually died out.

Christmas Trivia - Holly

Early Christians of Northern Europe decorated their homes and churches with this easily grown evergreen that was called “Holy Tree” later “Holly”, because the pointed green leaves reminded them of the crown of thorns and the red berries of the drops of blood at Jesus' crucifixion.

Christmas Trivia - Nativity Scene

St. Francis of Assisi is responsible for popularizing the nativity scene, but it most probably existed earlier. In 1223 or 1224, St. Francis wanted to add hope and joy of God's love to his message by constructing a life-size manger scene with live animals, with the gospel sung around the scene.

Christmas Trivia - Ornaments

Early Christmas trees had real fruit and flowers and candles as decorations, it looked good but was very heavy on the branches.

German glass blowers began producing glass balls to replace the heavy decorations. These became known as Blubs.

In the 1800's the women's publication, "Godey's Lady Book" popularize the making of homemade Christmas ornaments & decorations.

Christmas Trivia - Rudolph

The Montgomery Ward Company had been giving out coloring books for Christmas at their stores for years. In an attempt to cut their cost they had one of their employees, copywriter Robert May write a story. Robert May wrote the story to cheer up his 4-yr-old daughter Barbara whose mother was dieing of cancer. Rollo then Reginald were the first names he'd named the deer before he settled on Rudolph. His wife died shortly before the story was published. He had Denver Gillen from the Ward’s art dept. illustrate the story. Montgomery Ward’s distributed 2.4 million copies of the booklet.

Christmas Trivia - Stocking

Stockings for Christmas may originate from an old St. Nicholas legend of the 3 doweryless girls, in which each time St. Nicholas threw the bag of gold down the chimney, it landed in a stocking that happened to be hanging to dry.

In Holland the tradition arose of St. Nicholas “Sinter Klaas” coming around and putting gifts in children's wooden shoes, this may have developed in the filling of hanging stockings drying in front of the fireplace.

Christmas Trivia - Postage Stamps

On Christmas day, 1898, Canada started its Penny Postal System and issued a stamp to commemorate Christmas.

Christmas Trivia - Wreath

In ancient Rome, people hung decorative wreaths as sign of victory. The hanging of Christmas wreath seems to have derived from this. Denoting the victory of God over Satan with Jesus' birth into the world.