07/12/2025
LIGHT UP KINROSS
SOME MORE CHRISTMAS FACTS
1. The first ever Christmas tree wasn’t a tree at all, it was in fact made of dyed goose feathers and came from Germany in the 19th Century. These were created as a response to concerns about deforestation from harvesting real trees. They were a popular alternative, particularly during the early 20th century,
2. The "X" in "Xmas" represents the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ, Χριστός (Christos). It's a historical abbreviation, not a modern invention to remove Christ from Christmas. Over time, the "X" became a shorthand way to refer to Christ, and "Xmas" evolved as an abbreviation for Christmas.
3. The first use of a string of lights on a Christmas tree was in 1882 by Edward H Johnson, a close friend of Thomas Edison (who first invented the incandescent bulb). He hand-wired 80 red, white, and blue light bulbs and placed them around his Christmas tree, which was also rotating. This event is widely recognized as the first time electric lights were used on a Christmas tree. While Thomas Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, Johnson is credited with the first use of these lights on a Christmas tree.
4. The tradition of putting tangerines in stockings on Christmas Eve came from 12th century French nuns who left socks filled with tangerines, nuts and fruit at the houses of the poor.
5. The world’s tallest Christmas tree, a Douglas Fir, was 221ft high and was displayed in a Washington shopping mall in 1950.
6. 2.1 billion Christmas cards will be sent this festive season worldwide.
7. £700 million pounds is the approximate amount spent annually on unwanted Christmas gifts in the UK.
8. Every Christmas 10 million turkeys are cooked and consumed in the UK alone.
9. ‘White Christmas’ by Bing Crosby is the bestselling Christmas song of all time, with estimated sales exceeding 50 million copies. The song, written by Irving Berlin, was first introduced in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.
10. On Christmas Day in Japan, fried chicken is the most commonly eaten food, making it the busiest time for restaurants such as KFC (where they can make orders in advance!)
11. The earliest known Christmas decorations were apples which represented Adam and Eve, and were used by medieval actors, particularly in Germany. Apples were indeed used as decorations on a "paradise tree," which was a prop in plays depicting the story of Adam and Eve. These plays were often performed during Advent or on Christmas Eve. The apples symbolized the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. Over time, other decorations were added to the paradise tree, such as wafers (symbolizing the eucharist) and later, cookies shaped like stars, bells, and angels. Candles were also added, symbolizing Christ as the light of the world.
12. Turkey was not always the favourite food on Christmas Day, traditionally it used to be a pig head served with mustard or boar's head, goose, or capon, while turkey only became popular much later, particularly during the Victorian era.
13. The most lights lit at the same time on one Christmas was 194,672 in Belgium in 2010.. This record was achieved by Kiwanis Malmedy / Haute Fagnes in Malmedy, Belgium, on December 10, 2010. They used 350 garlands, each 3 meters long, with 576 lights on each.
14. In 1843 the first Christmas card was produced and sent by Sir Henry Cole. He was a prominent figure in Victorian England, known for his work in reforming the postal system and as the first director of the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A).
15. Rudolph should be portrayed without antlers, as male reindeers shed them in the winter.
16. The amount of wrapping paper used in the UK alone each Christmas is enough to cover the island of Guernsey!
17. You can send a ‘postcard’ on the internet to the crew on the International Space Station sending a Christmas message. NASA provides an online platform where you can send greetings, including postcards, to the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISS. You can find this option on the NASA website, typically under a link like "Send Holiday Greetings to the Station Crew".
18. A fruitcake from Robert Falcon Scott's 1910 Antarctic expedition, found in 2017, was still considered "almost edible" after 106 years. The extreme cold of Antarctica, along with the cake's high sugar content and dried fruits, helped preserve it.
19. The Christmas song with the most recorded versions is "Silent Night", with over 733 copyrighted recordings since 1978. While "White Christmas" is the best-selling Christmas single of all time, "Silent Night" has been recorded by countless artists in various genres, making it the most recorded song.
20. Christmas decorations in the UK do lead to a significant number of accidents, with many requiring hospital treatment. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) estimates that over 80,000 people in the UK visit Emergency Departments due to Christmas-related accidents each year, with around 6,000 requiring hospital admission.
21. What are the 5 needs for Christmas?
The 5 Gift Guide for Christmas -
The idea is to give one gift to each child in five categories: Want, Read, Wear, Need, and Do.
