10 interesting things about Christmas and December

December is known around the world as a family holiday that honors cultures, religions and traditions that have been with humanity for hundreds of years. We have gathered in the text below a mixture of wonderful and strange facts about this magical month!

1. December 25 was originally a pagan holiday, as it was not related to the birth of Jesus of Nazareth and was not celebrated for hundreds of years. On December 25, she was borrowed from pagan rituals related to the winter solstice.
2. Santa Claus has its origins in a newspaper ad. Far from being a strange medieval legend, it first appeared in a newspaper ad for toys and “gift books” in the mid-19th century.
3. The name of December comes from the Latin “decem”, which means “ten”, because December was the 10th month of the Roman calendar.
4. December 28 is considered by some to be the most unhappy day of the year.
5. The first artificial fir was made in Germany in the late 1800s, from goose feathers painted green.
6. The 3 traditional colors of Christmas tree decorations are red, green and gold. Red symbolizes the blood of Christ, green symbolizes life, and gold brings us to the thought of light, the idea of ​​royalty and wealth.
7. “Jingle Bells” was composed in 1857 not for Christmas, but for Thanksgiving.
8. In Poland, spiders symbolize prosperity and kindness at Christmas. Moreover, Poles use spider figurines and their canvases as Christmas tree decorations. According to legend, a spider wove a blanket to Jesus at birth to keep them warm.
9. An ancient legend states that forest animals can speak the language of humans on Christmas Eve.
10. The Japanese spend Christmas Eve in KFC restaurants, a tradition so popular in Japan that those who wish must book their meals 2 months in advance.

Source here.