FESTIVE FACTS

FESTIVE FACT # 1

In 1979 the Christingle Service was for the first time introduced intoBarbados at the St Ambrose Church.

FESTIVE FACT # 2

St Francis of Assisi was the first to introduce Christmas Carols to formal church services.

FESTIVE FACT # 3

In Stuttgart, children dress up as Nikolaus and go from door to door asking for sweets similar to trick or treating at Halloween.

FESTIVE FACT # 4

It was in Germany in 1531 that the first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared.

FESTIVE FACT # 5

Many families in Finland visit cemeteries at Christmas time to place candles on the graves of friends and loved ones.

FESTIVE FACT # 6

It was Pope Julius I, In 320 AD, who selected 25th December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.
FESTIVE FACT # 7

Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome from 125 to 136 AD, declared that public Church services should be held to celebrate "The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour."

FESTIVE FACT # 8

The largest crèche in the world is an 1136 square-meter miniature of a Provencal village, located in the town of Grignan in the Drôme, 10 km west of Valréas.

FESTIVE FACT # 9

Rudolph, with the shiny red nose, was the ninth reindeer.
He was created in 1939 by an advertising writer for the Montgomery Ward agency.
The song of the classic children’s favorite wasn’t written until ten years later.

FESTIVE FACT # 10

The first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria in 1937.

FESTIVE FACT # 11

It is thought that the concoction we now know as eggnog started out as a mixture of Spanish Sherry and milk which The English used to call "Dry sack posset".

FESTIVE FACT # 12

The first President of the United States, George Washington, was a particular devotee of eggnog and concocted his own recipe which included rye whiskey, rum and sherry.

FESTIVE FACT # 13

Franklin Pierce was the fourteenth President of the United States (1853-1857) and in 1856 he was the first President to decorate the first White House Christmas tree.

FESTIVE FACT # 14

In 1649 the first American Christmas carol was written by a minister named John de Brebeur and was called "Jesus is born".

FESTIVE FACT # 15

Christkind is an angelic messenger from Jesus a beautiful fair haired girl with a shining crown of candles.

FESTIVE FACT # 16

In the largely Protestant areas of central and northern Germany, St. Nicholas later became better known as der Weinachtsmann.

FESTIVE FACT # 17

On Christmas day 1066 William the Conqueror was crowned King of England.

FESTIVE FACT # 18

At mid-day in Finland, the 'peace of Christmas' is broadcast on national radio and TV from the Finnish city of Turku.

FESTIVE FACT # 19

The first commercial Christmas card caused something of a controversy when they first appeared in 1846.
The cards featured a drawing depicting a group of family members happily toasting each other with glasses of wine.
This was considered to be a shockingly decadent portrait and was immediately condemned by temperance advocates.

FESTIVE FACT # 20

The "Twelve days of Christmas" are the 12 days that separate Christmas day, December 25, from Epiphany, on January 6.

FESTIVE FACT # 21

The biggest selling Christmas single of all time is Irving Berlin’s White Christmas sung by Bing Crosby's.

FESTIVE FACT # 22

The first church to be built in New York or New Amsterdam as it was at the time was built by the Dutch.
When it was completed the Dutch named it in honor of the gift giving Saint - St Nicholas.

FESTIVE FACT # 23

During the Reformation in Switzerland, all instrumental and choral music was banned from churches.

FESTIVE FACT # 24

In Germany, during the reformation carols were greatly disapproved of, so as a result many were converted into hymns.