A Flash Degree In Christmas

We thought that we'd share out a little holiday trivia to liven up your Christmas season. We're not working in any particular order, so bear with us.

The Big Man

- "Christmas" is a compound Middle English word for "Christ's Mass." "Christ" is a Greek translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah."

- Jesus can, depending on which Gospel you favor, trace his family tree back to Abraham or even Adam. Jesus shares ancestors with David Lee Roth, Bowser from Sha Na Na, Tom Cruise's agent and Adam Sandler, but not Hall of Famer Rod Carew (he converted).

- He had 4 brothers (Simon, James, Joseph and Judas) and an unknown amount of sisters, although this may have been a Brady Bunch family mixing situation with Joseph and Mary. Catholic families tend to be large.

- No one is sure what year Jesus was born in, nor are they sure of what time of year he was born in. Wikipedia kicks up 7 BC-2 BC. Very few scholars claim that there was no historical Jesus, but the only two events of Jesus' life that are universally accepted by historians are his baptism and his execution.

- The three wise men were Melichor, Balthazar and Caspar. M was Persian, C was from India, and B was from Arabia. They are variously referred to as kings and/or scholars, and are saints in Western Christianity. They brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.

- The New Testament doesn't offer much of a physical description of Jesus, didn't discuss race much in general, and rarely has physical descriptions of people mentioned in it. "First century Palestinian Jew" could look like anything, although Jesus would most likely look more like Yasir Arafat than Menachem Begin.

- I have, while researching this, seen Jesus estimated to be between 5'5"-5'7" and to have a sinewy appearance from all the walking people back then did. I even saw references to Jesus most likely being very suntanned. So, you basically have Anwar Sadat meets Moshe Dayan with a bit of George Hamilton sprinkled in, and Michael J. Fox height.

- Jesus is often referred to as a carpenter, or at least an artisan of some sort, and you did all of the work by hand back then... so paintings showing a buff Jesus may not be far off the mark. There are biblical tales of Jesus physically throwing people out of the Temple.

- Judaism denies Jesus as a divine figure, and especially denies him as the promised Messiah. Islam is very pro-Jesus. Denying Jesus is blasphemy in Islam. Islam views Jesus as a Muslim ("one who submits to God's will"), as a prophet/messenger of Allah, and note that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God.

The Big Day

- The first records of December 25th for Christmas start turning up in Rome by 354 AD. The Council of Tours established the 12 days of Christmas (12/25-1/6) in 567 AD. Christmas was celebrated in Constantinople by 379 AD.

- Even before Christmas, winter solstice festivals were the most popular festivals of the year among people of various cultures. Pagan Scandinavia had Yule festivals, Saturnalia and Sol Invictus festivals were popular in Rome, and elements of all were worked into the Christmas routine.

- Christmas became more prominent when Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day 800 AD as emperor of the Carolingian Empire.

- Elements of pagan celebrations such as gift-giving and caroling were brought into Christmas celebrations by the Middle Ages. "Misrule," which was binge-drinking, promiscuity and gambling, were also part of the show. Gift-giving was taken from Saturnalia.

- After the Protestant Reformation, the celebration of Christmas took a big hit. Puritans banned the celebration of Christmas in both England and America. Christmas was not a holiday in Scotland until 1958.

- Christmas was banned in Boston, Massachusetts from 1659 through 1681. Christmas was not widely celebrated in Massachusetts until the 18th Century. Longfellow wrote of the changing attitude towards Christmas among the former Puritans in 1856.

- Christmas became unpopular in the USA during and especially after the Revolution, as the Americans considered it to be an English custom. George Washington had little use for Christmas, and his attack on Trenton the day after Christmas was enabled because Old Dollar Bill Face knew that the Hessians would be celebrating Christmas (drinking), and that his troops wouldn't be.

- Even in England, Christmas was celebrated more by the rich than the poor. An apple was a good Christmas score for a working-class kid in, say, 1800.

- Christmas remained popular in America among German immigrants, and the first Christmas trees and nativity scenes in America were found in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

- The Soviet Union banned Christmas celebrations in 1917, and the ban lasted until 1991.

The Big Comeback

- Christmas made a big comeback in the 1800s, and has been large and in charge ever since. Anglo-Catholicism surged, and the celebration surged with it.

- One of the main factors bringing the celebration to English speakers was when King George III took a German wife, Queen Charlotte. She introduced several Germanic Christmas customs to English nobility, and eventually to regular English folk.

- Charlotte introduced the Christmas tree to Britain, and eventually America. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert also helped popularize the Christmas tree via a widely circulated picture of their tree.

- By the end of the Civil War, the Christmas tree had become popular in America. German-American troops serving in the conflict helped socialize the tradition among non-celebrants.

- Another factor in the Christmas resurgence was the publication of two books between 1822 and 1843,  A Visit From St. Nicholas and  A Christmas Carol. These gave us or helped make popular the concepts of family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, and generosity. Dickens greatly sought to show Christmas as centered on the family, as opposed to the Church or the community.

- The phrase "Merry Christmas" comes from A Christmas Carol, as does "Scrooge" and "Bah Humbug."

- AVFSN, also known by the first line, "Twas the night before Christmas," popularized the giving of gifts. It is seen as the beginning of the holiday shopping season craze. It predates Scrooge by 21 years.

- 1843 also saw the publication of the first commercial Christmas cards. 668 million were sold in 2008 alone, the average American home gets 20 a year.

- The Christmas carol (singing, not the book) became popular in the mid-1800s. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman," "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," and "The First Noel" all came from this period, and are mentioned by Dickens in ACC.

- I closed the page and the spelling will be tough, but among the first Middle Ages carols were Good King Wenceslas and the Belichickian Personal Hoodie.

- 1885 saw Christmas established as a national holiday in the USA.

The Big Red Elf

- Saint Nicholas actually existed. He was a Greek Christian bishop in 4th Century Turkey, known for his generosity. His most famous act of giving was to bestow money upon 3 poor daughters for their dowries, so they would not have to become prostitutes. He is the patron saint of children, sailors, archers, pawnbrokers (no, I don't know how), Moscow and Amsterdam.

- The Reformation led to people being opposed to the veneration of saints, which made the people just shift St. Nicholas to Santa Claus or Sinterklasse.

- Santa also owes some debt to Odin, the Norse god. In particular, he is using Odin's winter festival, Odin's beard, and Odin's great hunt, where Odin rode a grey horse through the skies. Odin also entered homes through the chimney.

- Santa got huge right around when Christmas made a comeback, and Jesus definitely owes Santa a steak dinner for all the help. AVFSN made Santa into a rock star.

- The original AVFSN reindeer names were Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder and Blixem. Dunder and Blixem were Germanized into Donner and Blitzen, German words for thunder and lightning.

- Rudolph was added to the team later, in 1939 or so, during a blinding snowstorm or (less fun) the efforts of a Montgomery-Ward copywriter. Rudolph is clearly shown to be the son of Donner in his animated special. 1939 was a high period of US creativity, as 1939 was also the year Batman was created, as well as The Grapes Of Wrath and The Wizard Of Oz.

- AVFSN also establishes Santa landing sleighs on roofs, entering houses through the chimney, and having a huge bag of toys. It also permanently established him as an elf.

- An artist named Thomas Nast popularized Santa's look, as well as him living at the North Pole (many Europeans think Santa lives in Finland). Mrs. Claus turned up in 1889 or so. Coca-Cola did not invent Santa's suit in their colors. The army of toy-making elves came around in the early 20th Century.

- Santa is probably the world's most prominent smoker, followed closely by Frosty (who, I might add, was born on Christmas Day), Clint Eastwood and Jimmy Page.

- NATO paid a settlement to a Danish reindeer farmer after low-flying F-16s killed his reindeer farm stock via a series of heart failures.

- Brockton, MA was the location of Santa's first (1890) department store visit. In 1924, he made his debut in the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, which was when "Santa" was taken to Macy's to meet kids.

The Big Tree

- The decorated Christmas Tree goes back to 15th Century Germany. Martin Luther is often given credit for it. The evergreen tree symbolizes life. It moved beyond the Fatherland in the 1800s.

- "O Tannenbaum" means "Oh, Fir Tree." The German word for Christmas tree is Weihnachtsbaum (pronounced Weihnachtsbaum), which rolls right off the tongue.

- The first Rockefeller tree went up in 1933. It is almost always a Norway Spruce.

- Every year, Boston gets a tree from Nova Scotia, as thanks for her help in responding to a 1917 ship explosion in Halifax. Boston stopped calling it a Christmas Tree in 2005, choosing the non-denomenational Holiday Tree moniker instead.

- Christmas trees were originally not set up until December 24th. It slowly got pushed back, with the dawn of Advent often being the put-up date. Ideally, you should have it down by January 6th, the 12th and last day (Epiphany) of Christmas.

- Early trees were lit by candles, which must have been fun. That's where the tree skirt came from, by the way.

- The first tree decorations included apples, flowers, and cookies cut into various shapes. The Germans also made the first glass ornaments.

- The angel on top of a Christmas tree is supposed to represent Gabriel, who was the guy who had to explain the whole Virgin Birth thing to Mary. The star is supposed to represent the Star of Bethlehem, which the Magi used to track down Baby Jesus. Tree-toppers came into popularity in Victorian England.

- Stringing popcorn on an outdoor tree was originally done as a treat to the winter birds. New Englanders used cranberries when they adopted Christmas celebration again.

- Popular trees for Christmas include many varieties of spruce, pine, and fir.

- Artificial trees came around in Germany in response to deforestation in the 1800s. The first ones used dyed goose feathers. We sold 17 million artificial trees in the USA last year, 20 million live ones. As you might imagine, artificial trees are more popular among urban types.

- The art of spraying fake snow on tree branches is called flocking.

The Big Feast

- Roast turkey is the most popular Christmas dinner in English-speaking countries. Ham, goose, pheasant, prime rib, roast beef and even a call to the Chinaman are alternative Christmas dinners.

- Turkey started showing up on English Christmas tables in the 1500s. They got the taste from the Middle East, who got it from Spanish traders. Henry VIII was the first English monarch to have turkey as a main course on Christmas.

- Scrooge sends Tiny Tim's family a turkey, not a goose. Poor families would save up all year for their Christmas goose, an early form of layaway. Scrooge sprung for the good ish.

- Richard II of England had a Christmas celebration in 1377 AD where 28 oxen and 300 sheep were eaten.

- Muslims have a Christmas feast, the main course in Lebanon is usually turkey.

- Swedes work herring into Christmas dinner. Slovakia favors carp. Italians often celebrate the Night Of The Seven Fishes on 12/24. Romanians prefer pork.

- Meatless dinners are served on Christmas in Poland. The Dutch often have everyone prepare their own meal, rather than having a host preparing for everyone. Southern Italians will eat eel on Christmas day. Austrians favor carp. Danes eat duck.

- Iceland's typical Christmas meal is, I'm sorry to say, reindeer.

The Big Sale

- Christmas is the absolute peak season for retailers all around the world. Christmas Day, however, is the slowest business day of the year.

- The average American spends $800 on Christmas, 73% in gifts.

- Department stores are expected to do $616 billion in sales for the 2014 US holiday season.

- There is a phenomena known as Christmas Creep, in which retailers are gradually extending the Christmas shopping season. It has extended presently to the day after Halloween.

- FDR set the official date of Thanksgiving specifically with extending the Christmas shopping season in mind. It is the date we still presently use.

- Despite the imposition of commercialism on Christmas, the Christmas shopping season is set via religious dates. Officially, Christmas season runs from the Advent (November 27) through the Epiphany (January 6th).

- Wal-Mart, Sears, JC Penney, Lowe's, and Sam's Club all put out Christmas stuff in October, via store policy. Halloween and Thanksgiving gear doesn't fill enough shelf-space once the summer merchandise is put away.

- The 20th Century generally saw Christmas music appear in radio programming by the second week of December. The turn of the century saw the onset of certain radio stations playing nothing but Christmas music from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas Day. Recently, some major-market stations turn to an All-Christmas format by November 1st, and Internet radio stations like AOL Radio offer Christmas music stations year-round.

- 40% of Americans start their Christmas shopping before Halloween, and a smaller % get a great deal of their shopping done during the after-Christmas sales.

- Black Friday is a mass shopping event, held the day after Thanksgiving. $50 billion was spent on the 4 day Thanksgiving weekend in 2014, down from $61 billion the year before. People have been killed in Black Friday shopping incidents. The term can be traced back to Philadelphia.

- Black Friday just recently (2003) passed Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas) as the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States.

- Grey Thursday is a shopping day based on post-dinner Thanksgiving.

- Cyber Monday, an online sales marketing ploy, churned up $2 billion in business in 2013.