With Christmas being upon us once again, we thought we would share some interesting Christmas facts to get everyone in the Christmas spirit.
- 352 AD was the 1st definite date Christmas was celebrated on December 25th.
- On Christmas Day of 1990 the Internet i.e. World Wide Web, got its first test run.
- On Christmas Day of 1066 William the 1st was crowned the first Norman King of England. Also known as William the Conqueror was crowned king on Christmas Day. He was one of the most influential early kings of England.
- Sir Issac Newton was born on Christmas Day in 1642. Credited as being the first man to identify what gravity actually was. He was also a pioneering mathematician as well as a leading researcher in the field of optics.
- On Christmas Eve, 1968, the American manned space mission, Apollo 8, reached the moon’s orbit.
- On Christmas 1914 during World War 1, the German and British forces stopped fighting and called an unofficial truce where gifts were exchanged and games of football where played.
- Christmas is often spelled “Xmas” because the Greek letter “chi” (x) is used to abbreviate the name “Christ”
- If you received all of the gifts mentioned in the “twelve days of Christmas” you would receive 364 presents.
- In 1647 the English Parliament passed a law that made Christmas illegal.
- 1 in 3 men will wait until Christmas Eve to finish their Christmas shopping.
- Many retailers make 70% of their annual revenue in the month preceding Christmas.
- Based on polls and statistics, 45% of the world’s population celebrate Christmas.
- The 26th December referred to as Boxing Day was derived from when people used to put money and gifts in church boxes for the poor at Christmas to hand them to them the day after.
- In 1846 Christmas crackers were invented by a sweet maker, baker and pastry chef called Tom Smith from London.
- Shoppers are now spending on average 7 hours shopping online.
- Father Christmas would have to visit 842 million houses on Christmas Eve.
- 2 weeks before Christmas is the most popular time for couples to split, with Christmas day being the least popular.
- Rudolph the red nosed reindeer was created in 1939 for department store Montgomery Ward.
- To visit every child in the world Father Christmas would have to travel at 3000 times the speed of sound, visiting over 800 homes a second.
- And here is our favourite one: Back in 1955, a Sears ad printed the phone number of a Colorado Springs store so children could tell Santa Claus what they wanted for Christmas. The number was a misprint and instead sent children to the hotline for Colonel Harry Shoup, Director of Operations for the US Continental Air Defence. The calls poured in and instead of blocking the number, the kindly Colonel ordered his staff to give children updates on Santa's flight coordinates. The tradition has continued to this very day on the local news, the internet and with a special "NORAD Tracks Santa" iPhone app.
From all of the staff at Scorchsoft, we wish you a Merry Christmas 2013 and a happy new year 2014.
