Top 10 things you didn't know about CHRISTMAS

AS Christmas week begins, it’s time for some facts.

 

The top ten things you didn't know about Christmas

 

1. The earliest known reference to Christ’s birthday being on December 25 was in a Roman calendar compiled in AD354.

2. Why the date of December 25 was chosen is a bit of a mystery. Some say it was simply a continuation of the Roman feast of Saturnalia celebrating the winter solstice on that date...

3. ...others say it was simply nine months after the date given for Christ’s conception on March 25. 

 

Cole’s first Christmas card was designed by the painter John Callcott Horsley

 

4. The word Christmas comes from the Old English Christes Maesse (Christ’s Mass) which was first recorded in 1123.

The custom of sending Christmas cards was started in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole

 

5. The custom of sending Christmas cards was started in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole…

6. …Cole’s first Christmas card was designed by the painter John Callcott Horsley.

7. It was not until 1883 that such cards were referred to as Christmas cards...

 

The earliest reference to a Christmas tree was in 1835 and the Christmas pudding in 1858

 

8. ...and the earliest reference to a Christmas tree was in 1835 and the Christmas pudding in 1858. 

9. Love’s Labour’s Lost and The Taming Of The Shrew are the only Shakespeare plays that mention Christmas.

10. The first song broadcast from space was Jingle Bells on December 16, 1965. Jingle Bells was originally written in 1857 for Thanksgiving.