Wiekes weetjes: 10 facts you didn't know about Christmas
To be completely honest, I don't really care much for Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love the whole concept of eating and drinking until you drop, but I often find it a bit over the top. It might also be because those days are so bizarrely short and my winter depression is already at its peak by the end of December. But what do I actually know about Christmas? Yes, we celebrate that Jesus was born and we celebrate that with kilos of food and way too much wine. If your knowledge doesn't go beyond that, I have some fun facts for you.
1. Christmas was not always celebrated on December 25th
Eh, what? But what about the whole birthday of Jesus Christ? It turns out that the actual birth date of the best man has been lost somewhere in history. December 25th is not mentioned anywhere in the Bible and historians say that Jesus was actually born in the spring. Hmm.
2. And those Christmas trees have very little to do with Jesus
The decorating of Christmas trees during winter apparently started in Roman times, to show that spring would return (thank goodness). So it has very little to do with that little child who was born on earth.
3. Leaving snacks for Santa? That comes from us
Yesss, because we used to leave a carrot and water for Sinterklaas. The Americans thought this was a nice idea, and that's why they often leave cookies and milk for Santa now. Thanks to us.
4. Rudolph, that reindeer with the red nose? That's just a marketing trick
We first saw him in 1939, at the Montgomery Ward store. They had asked their copywriters to come up with a Christmas story for children that they could use for promotion. So said, so done.
5. Black Friday is not the busiest shopping day ever
No, that would be the Friday and Saturday before Christmas worldwide. So at least you know you need to have everything stocked up before those days.
6. ‘Jingle Bells’ was actually not a Christmas song
What. The. F... All my Christmas experiences seem to be one big lie. Because ‘Jingle Bells’ is actually a song for Thanksgiving, and was initially called ‘One Horse Open Sleigh’. In 1857 they decided to re-release the song and turn it into a Christmas song.
7. Silent Night/Stille Nacht is indeed a Christmas song, and how
It is the most recorded song of all time. It has more than 733 versions and has been copyrighted since 1978.
8. This is why we call it Xmas
Actually quite illogical, right? And as hip as it sounds, it dates back to the 1500s. In the past, ‘Christianity’ was written as ‘Xianity’ (a long time ago, in 1100). This is because the letter X, also known as Chi, is the first Greek letter of ‘Christ’, and at that time that letter was enough to refer to this person. Then in 1551 it became ‘Xtemmas’ and eventually it became the ‘Xmas’ we know.
9. In Ukraine, you mainly find spiders in the tree
Not real ones – at least I hope so. In Ukraine, spiders during Christmas symbolize luck, which is why they hang many of them in the trees.
10. The largest Christmas gift ever is the Statue of Liberty
Yes, you might know that France gave it to the United States, but did you know that it was seen as a holiday gift at the time? A great Christmas gift, I must say. I'm going to let my parents read this.
Image: @photography.alexa_
