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Where does the Yule log come from?
Burning one great log through Christmas is an old European custom. In parts of England, families kept a piece of this year's log to light next year's.
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What do Norwegians hide on Christmas Eve?
Their brooms. An old folk belief says witches and spirits come out on Christmas Eve looking for brooms to ride. Christmas in Norway
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When did the TV Yule log begin?
On Christmas Eve 1966, when New York's WPIX aired a fire filmed at Gracie Mansion, the mayor's home, with Christmas music and no commercials.
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What do Danes find in their Christmas rice pudding?
One whole almond. Whoever finds it in the risalamande wins a small prize, often a marzipan pig. Christmas in Denmark
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Where does the word Christmas come from?
From the Old English Cristes mæsse, Christ's Mass. It first shows up in writing in 1038.
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Who brings Italian children gifts in January?
La Befana, a kind old woman on a broom, who fills stockings on the night before Epiphany, January 6. Christmas in Italy
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When was "Silent Night" first sung?
On Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf, Austria. Father Joseph Mohr wrote the words and Franz Xaver Gruber the music, played that night on a guitar.
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What is inside a Christmas cracker?
Usually a paper crown, a small toy and a joke. A London sweet maker named Tom Smith created them in Victorian times. Christmas in Britain
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What is a bûche de Noël?
A French Christmas cake, rolled and frosted to look like a Yule log, often with little meringue mushrooms on top.
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What do many families in Japan eat at Christmas?
Fried chicken from KFC. A 1974 ad campaign started the custom, and families order their buckets weeks ahead.
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Who sent the first Christmas card?
Sir Henry Cole, in London in 1843. He had about a thousand printed, with a picture of a family raising a toast.
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Which country has the longest Christmas season?
The Philippines is a strong contender. Carols and star-shaped parol lanterns start in September, and the season runs into January.
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Why do we hang stockings?
A legend says St. Nicholas dropped gold coins down a chimney for three poor sisters, and the coins landed in stockings drying by the fire.
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What is Iceland's Christmas book flood?
Jólabókaflóð. Icelanders give one another books on Christmas Eve and spend the night reading.
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Who made the Christmas tree the fashion?
German families had trimmed trees for centuries. An 1848 drawing of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert's family around one made it the fashion in Britain and then America.
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What are las posadas?
Nine nights of candlelit processions in Mexico, from December 16 to 24, retelling Mary and Joseph's search for a place to stay.
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How did poinsettias become a Christmas flower?
They come from Mexico, where they are called flor de Nochebuena, Christmas Eve flower. Joel Roberts Poinsett brought them to the United States in the 1820s.
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Where did Christmas markets begin?
In Germany and Austria in the late Middle Ages. Dresden's Striezelmarkt has been held since 1434.
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Where did Rudolph come from?
Robert L. May wrote the story in 1939 as a free booklet for Montgomery Ward shoppers.
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Why is there a spider on some Christmas trees?
A Ukrainian legend tells of a poor widow whose bare tree was covered overnight in spider webs that shone silver and gold. Spider ornaments are said to bring luck.
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Was It's a Wonderful Life a hit?
Not at first. It lost money in 1946 and became a Christmas classic years later through TV reruns.
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What is Christmas like in Australia?
It is summer, so many families head to the beach, and Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight fills a park on Christmas Eve.
