Interesting Facts

In the 17th century, in Boston USA, the Puritan PTB banned Christmas for over two decades: from 1659 until 1681. (It was illegal to observe Christmas by taking the day off from work, feasting or celebrating in any other way, and anyone caught doing so was fined five shillings, which was a lot of money back then. The ban was finally lifted in 1681, but many Puritans continued to rally against the holiday, some would even march through the streets on Christmas Eve shouting, "No Christmas! No Christmas!"   In 1870, Ulysses S. Grant was the first president to declare Christmas a national holiday, but even then some schools stayed open on Christmas day until as late as 1870, with harsh punishments for any children who bunked off. I knew that Cromwell banned Christmas in the UK in the 1640s, but seemingly 8 countries have done so, and not just in the past. It is currently banned in 3 other countries, and "discouraged" in several others.  Suffice to say I...

According to a survey run by Hotel chain Travelodge, the average British family will have their first alcoholic drink on Christmas Day at 9:05am. (Grown ups start the day with a drink at 9:05am, followed by breakfast at 9:19am. Yes, booze before breakfast. Usually disguised as a Bucks Fizz. Well, we do say, "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may die.")

Don't let your kids read this... The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten announced the death of Santa in their obituary section. (Seemingly, Santa died  at the age of 227, on 3rd December in Nordkapp, Norways’s northernmost point. The funeral will be held at North Pole Chapel on 28th December. They have apologised for "an internal error", but I guess we will find out on Christmas morning.)

According to research by the UK communications regulator Ofcom, the fairy lights on your Christmas tree can slow down your WiFi. (The research also revealed that nearly 6 million homes and offices in the UK have underperforming Wi-Fi, and it's not just fairy lights that can affect speeds: other electronic devices, including lamps, speakers, TVs and monitors can, and I believe a wet dog walking through the room will also block the signal. I often get told that WiFi is fine for our online sessions, but now I feel justified in my statement to people, use a broadband cable.)

According to website LatestinBeauty.com, 1 in 3 three women are disappointed when they open the present from their partner on Christmas Day. (25% of men were branded “clueless” when it came to buying gifts, and 50% of women admitted they were unlikely to get their dream present as their partners had good intentions but were hopeless at getting it right. The worst gifts ever received were:- a Shewee (A reusable plastic contraption for those caught short while out and about.) a fishing rod cellulite cream intimate bodywash a windscreen wash kit (Spot who went to the all night garage.) a fossil a dustpan and brush a chainsaw weighing scales a high visibility jacket for dog walking a lurid green jumper with an embroidered alien In reality most women’s wish lists are fairly straightforward: a designer handbag, a romantic break or a watch were amongst the longed for items. Hubby gave me a Swiss Army knife once, but I asked him to.)

On the island of Foula, in the Shetlands, it is Christmas Day today. (Foula, located about sixteen miles from the west mainland of Shetland, is one of Great Britain’s most remote permanently inhabited islands. Way back, in 1752, they remained on the Julian calendar when the rest of the Kingdom of Great Britain adopted the Gregorian calendar. They even adhered to the Julian calendar by keeping 1800 as a leap year, but when they didn't observe a leap year in 1900, they ended up one day ahead of the Julian calendar and 12 days behind the Gregorian calendar. Confused?  You will be. This all means that they observe Christmas Day on 6th January, the day we all take down our decorations for 12th night (epiphany), and they celebrate New Year's Day on 13th January. Well, I guess it keeps Father Christmas busy.  Happy Christmas to the people of Foula. I will join in this evening with a glass of sherry, just to be polite.)

What is the true cost of Christmas. The Cost of Christmas from Lynne Hand

According to a survey conducted by lastminute.com, nearly half of us will fake gratitude when we receive unwanted gifts this Christmas. (In the UK adults receive around eight Christmas presents each, and hate two of them, which means about of £4.4 billion is wasted on 104 million unwanted gifts every year. In 2013 it took just minutes before unwanted presents arrived on Ebay on Christmas Day!) Maybe we should take our lead from these kids:-

According to a survey on Netmums, in the UK, parents spend an average of £312 per child on Christmas presents. (They need to, because the average child's Christmas list adds up to around £900! One third of children believe they'll get everything on it. Do they think Santa is made of money?)

This year the UK has a bumper crop of Brussels sprouts. (An unseasonably warm autumn (we are on track for it to be the warmest year ever since records began in 1910), and a (so far) mild winter means that they are not only bigger, and earlier, but there are plenty of them too. Despite their bad reputation for causing flatulence, the UK eats around 434 million Brussels just in December.  They are the Christmas staple veg. Added to that, Marks and Spencer have released a Brussels Sprout smoothie as part of their Christmas food range. Yummy!) !Note - I checked in my dictionary, it is definitely meant to be spelt Brussels sprout, not brussel sprout.

According to the British Retail Consortium, Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings is set to be cheaper than expected this year after food prices recorded a fall for the first time since 2006. (And there is even more seasonal cheer; November was the first month alcoholic beverages experienced deflation since the index began eight years ago. It's going to be a good Christmas, for everyone but the breweries, pubs and farmers.) More about Christmas food here.

According to card manufacturer Clintons, Father Christmas now appears on 5.6 per cent fewer cards than before. (Their research also found that the appearance of robins on festive cards has declined by 23.4 per cent in 10 years, but the snowman has increased in popularity by 17.1 per cent. Images of snowflakes also rose by 14.3 per cent and Christmas trees have become more common, appearing on 7.3 per cent more cards.  Glitter now appears on 34.7 per cent more cards than a decade ago. Despite the changes, traditional designs are still popular, such as Victorian street scenes, holly bushes, bells and stars. Personally I prefer hand made cards.)

According to card company Clintons, Santa Claus has lost over 2 stone in the last decade. (They analysed 20 years of archived cards and found that depictions of Father Christmas on Christmas cards had become slimmer. "He’s not as fat and round as he once was,” said a spokesperson, putting it down to increased health consciousness. I bet Rudolph and co. are pleased.  Some enterprising person is bound to bring out a mince pies and sherry diet book. )

What price friendship? Well £6,800 actually. (According to a survey by the Post Office UK adults have spent on average £158 on gifts for their closest friend in the last year. Around £62 is spent on Christmas presents and £47 on birthday gifts, which over a lifetime adds up to £6,800, and one in seven people will fork out more than £100 on a friend’s Christmas present. When a best friend has children, the costs become even higher, adding an additional £53 annually. The survey doesn't mention regifting. (Giving a present you've received to someone else. I always give people permission to do this.) ) 

According to a study conducted by the Royal Statistical Society, in the UK we are starting to think of Christmas as early as 19th August. (Internet searches for terms such as “Santa Claus”, “elf” and “presents” start clogging up bandwidth almost three months earlier than in 2007. We've all gone mad!)

Sorry to start wittering on about Christmas before Halloween is even over, but according to Sainsbury’s, British strawberries will be on supermarket shelves in December. (Thanks to  researchers who have been able to grow strawberries in mid-winter using a combination of blue and red LED lighting, we will be able to have strawberries with our Christmas puds. I'll bet they're not as tasty as sun-ripened ones. I'll wait until Wimbledon thanks.)

There are 142 days to Christmas, but Selfridges have opened their Christmas department. (Why have they opened so early?  To be the first of course.  Well sorry to disappoint you, but there's a Christmas shop in London that is open all year round. I will now go and sack myself.)

In every nativity play, there are three wise men, who pay homage to the little baby Jesus, but the Bible never gave a number. (Matthew's Gospel only refers to "wise men". So, more than one.)

Due to health and safety issues at a church putting on a nativity play in Neath, south Wales, has  meant that the child playing Mary will have to wear a hard hat when she saddles up for the donkey ride to Bethlehem. (Luckily she will be able to hide the head gear under her shawl. My favourite headline for this story, comes from the Metro - Yule never believe it!)

British pop group Slade earn £500,000.00 in royalties every year from their festive hit "Merry Xmas Everybody". (The top Christmas earners for 2013 were approximately:- Slade - Merry Xmas Everybody - £512,000 The Pogues - Fairytale of New York - £386,270 Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas - £347,615 Wham - Last Christmas - £301,620 Cliff Richard - Mistletoe & Wine - £98,400 Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas? - £78,030 Shakin Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone - £53,834 The Pretenders - 2000 Miles - £45,344 East 17 - Stay Another Day - £30,220 Jona Lewie - Stop The Cavalry - £13,260 I need a Christmas number 1!)