THIS BLOGS TELLS SOME CHRISTMAS FACTS

Rumor has it that Santa's red-and-white suit was an invention of the Coca-Cola Company to promote the colors of its popular soft-drink label. In 1931 the company did hire an artist to create depictions of Santa drinking Coke, and those images became very popular--so much so that Coca-Cola takes credit for inventing Santa as we know him today. However, there is plenty of evidence to the contrary, including a holiday greeting card dating back to 1885 with an image of a jolly, bearded, red-suited Santa; and a 1927 description from The New York Times:"A standardized Santa Claus appears to New York children. Height, weight, stature are almost exactly standardized, as are the red garments, the hood and the white whiskers. The pack full of toys, ruddy cheeks and nose, bushy eyebrows and a jolly, paunchy effect are also inevitable parts of the requisite make-up."

Thanksgiving is not the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States. Yes, many people flock to malls and big-box stores on "Black Friday" to take advantage of deep discounts and get a start on their holiday shopping. But while many stores report record numbers of shoppers on that day, those numbers aren't necessarily reflected in the sales figures. The rankings vary from year to year, but the day after Thanksgiving generally ranks no higher than fifth, after the two Saturdays and Sundays preceding Christmas. The biggest shopping day of the year is usually either the Saturday before Christmas or, if Christmas falls on a Saturday, December 23.

The date of Jesus' birth is not mentioned in the Bible. In fact, the context of the story of the birth of Jesus indicates that it occurred in the springtime. There are many theories as to why Christmas is celebrated on December 25, the most common of which holds that the date was chosen by Christians to overshadow a pagan festival celebrating the winter solstice. Learn more about the origins of Christmas.

In addition to providing missile warnings and air defense for the United States and Canada, NORAD has been tracking Santa's progress for 50 years. It all started when a Colorado department store printed the wrong phone number for a "Santa hotline" on a promotional flyer, and CONAD (NORAD's predecessor) was flooded with calls from children eager to talk to Santa. Rather than disappoint them, the staff took it upon themselves to track Santa on their radar and keep the kids informed of his whereabouts. Nowadays, kids can also keep tabs on Santa on NORAD's Web site: http://www.noradsanta.org/

The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created as a holiday promotion for a department store. In 1939, the Chicago-based Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters to create a children's Christmas story that could be used as a promotional giveaway during the holiday shopping season. Inspired by The Ugly Duckling, he came up with the story of Rudolph, a reindeer who was teased for his glowing red nose, but ends up saving Christmas. The story evolved over the years into a song recorded by Gene Autry in 1949 and a 1964 TV special that has since become the longest-running holiday special in television history.

Abbreviating Christmas as Xmas doesn't really "take the Christ out of Christmas." The X in "Xmas" stands for the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter in Christos, the Greek word for "Christ," and a commonly used symbol to represent the name of Christ in religious writings.

The rumor that poinsettias are poisonous was started in 1919 when the 2-year-old child of an Army officer died, and ingestion of poinsettia leaves was assumed to be the cause. This was never proven, and no deaths from poinsettias have been reported since.A study by Ohio State University and the American Society of Florists fed rats high doses of pulverized poinsettia leaves, which failed to kill them or even cause any side effects. A 50-pound child would have to ingest more than 500 poinsettia leaves to exceed the doses given to the rats. Considering that the leaves have a bitter, unpleasant taste, it's unlikely a small child or pet would eat more than one bite. While it's still not a good idea to eat poinsettias--or any other houseplants, for that matter--the worst that could happen to your child or pet is an upset stomach.

It was once against the law to publicly celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts. The Puritans of New England followed a strict interpretation of the Bible, and since there is no mention of the exact date of the birth of Christ, they believed it was inappropriate to observe it on December 25. They also frowned upon the drinking, feasting, and other carousing associated with the holiday. In 1659 a law was passed making it a criminal offense, punishable by a 5-shilling fine, to publicly observe Christmas in Massachusetts. The law was revoked in 1681, but it wasn't until the mid-1800s that Christmas celebrations came back into favor. Learn more about the history of Christmas celebrations.

President Theodore Roosevelt was an ardent conservationist and did not approve of cutting down trees for Christmas. Hoping to set an example as president, he banned Christmas trees from the White House ... but his children smuggled one in anyway. Roosevelt asked Gifford Pinchot, head of the Division of Foresty (now the Forest Service), to explain to them why cutting down Christmas trees threatened the nation's forests. To his surprise, Pinchot said that if properly done, thinning the forests actually helped to maintain their health. After that, Roosevelt did allow a small tree in the White House.

Saint Nicholas was born around 280 AD near Myra in modern-day Turkey. He is said to have given away all of his wealth and devoted his life to helping the poor often by anonymously leaving small gifts for those in need. Admired for his kindness and piety, he became known as the patron saint of children and sailors (among many others). The legend of St. Nicholas spread, and by the Renaissance, he was the most popular saint in Europe. In Holland, where he was called "Sint Nikolaas" or "Sinter Klaas," he developed into a Christmas gift-giver. Dutch immigrants brought the tradition to America, where his name eventually became the familiar "Santa Claus."