5 obscure Christmas facts
Yo ho ho! Merry Christmas! There aren’t many more exciting times of the year, and here at Winzum we’re making sure the festivities start early. Because, let’s be honest, if there has ever been a year to start the Christmas celebrations early it’s 2020 – we all need some Christmas cheer, don’t we?
By now you must know what we’re like over at Winzum. Running online competitions is our main passion, but we’re also in love with spreading as much useful information to you lovely lot as possible.
And what information is better than obscure facts? You might remember our helpful guide to some of the most obscure quiz questions [obscure quiz question answers to remember], and now to get into the Christmas spirit we’re delving into some obscure Christmas facts!
Father Christmas was originally GREEN
Oh yes, Father Christmas is one of the most iconic symbols of Christmas, however what many people might not realise is that his original traditional colours were green, purple, or blue – not red!
And guess who turned the classic Father Christmas colours in the red we all know today? Coca-cola… One slightly bothersome example of the commercialisation of Christmas, but it could be worse.
Christmas trees date back to Ancient Egypt
Whilst the use of modern Christmas trees during the festive period started in 1500s Germany, evergreen trees were being used thousands of years before, as they were commonplace in the Ancient Egyptian civilization also responsible for building the pyramids.
Obviously these weren’t decorated with the baubles used today, however it’s interesting to see how this Christmas tradition stretches back through history.
The Statue of Liberty was a Christmas present
The Statue of Liberty is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist destinations in America, however the story behind it isn’t nearly as well known as the monolithic sculpture itself.
As it turns out the Statue of Liberty was actually a Christmas present from France bestowed to the US in 1886!
Dutch Father Christmas arrives from Spain
Father Christmas is generally accepted to take up residence at the North Pole when he’s not out delivering presents, however in the Netherlands he has an interesting alternative address – Spain.
That’s right, for one reason or another the Dutch Santa Claus, or Sinterklass as he is known there, arrives each year from Spain. A shorter trip if anything else!
In Japan KFC is a traditional Christmas meal
Yeah, you read that right. Bizarrely, in Japan one of the strongest Christmas traditions is to eat at KFC, which is downright hilarious for anybody living in most western countries.
It all stems back to a highly successful KFC marketing campaign in 1947, which brought in so many customers that the Kentucky fried chicken chain kept on doing it.