1. Christmas purchases account for 1/6 of all retail sales in the U.S.
  2. Each year more than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent in the U.S. alone.
  3. Santa Claus comes from St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop living in (what is now) Turkey in the fourth century AD. St. Nicholas had inherited a great deal of wealth and was known for giving it away to help the needy. When sainted, he became the protector of children.
  4. The letter X in Xmas is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
  5. The world’s biggest snowman was 113 feet tall and was built in Maine.
  6. In 1950 the world’s largest Christmas tree was placed in a Washington Mall. It was 221 feet high.
  7. The first evidence of a Christmas tree is from a pamphlet that dates back to 1570.
  8. Santa Claus has worn blue and white and green in the past, his traditional red suit came from a 1930s ad by Coca Cola.
  9. Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.
  10. President Teddy Roosevelt, an environmentalist, banned Christmas trees from the White House in 1901.
  11. In Germany, Heiligabend, or Christmas Eve, is said to be a magical time when the pure in heart can hear animals talking.
  12. Christmas trees usually grow for about 15 years before they are sold.
  13. “Silent Night” is the most recorded Christmas song in history, with over 733 different versions copyrighted since 1978.
  14. The best-selling Christmas song ever is White Christmas by Bing Crosby. It has sold more than 100 million copies around the world.
  15. “Jingle Bells” was originally supposed to be a Thanksgiving song.