Why are there oversized socks hanging on your mantel?
According to a very old tradition, the original Saint Nicholas (see below) left his very first gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their wedding dowries. The girls had hung their stockings by the fire to dry. See this page for a version of this story. Up until lately, it was traditional to receive small items like fruit, nuts and candy in your stocking, but these have been replaced in the last half-century by more expensive gifts in many homes.
According to this page the tradition of a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children comes from Italy.
What, exactly, are the 12 days of Christmas?
The 12 days of Chistmas are the 12 days that separate Christmas day on December 25 from Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. Depending on the church, January 6 may mark Christ's baptism (the Catholic tradition), or it may mark the day that the wise men visited the baby Jesus with their gifts.
In the past, there was a tradition of giving gifts throughout the 12 days, rather than stacking them all up on the morning of December 25. That tradition, as you might imagine, has never really caught on in America! We just aren't that patient. The song, however, demonstrates that some people once stretched out their gifts (and gave some fairly elaborate gifts...) over the full 12 days.
Drennon's Twelve Days of Christmas offers some interesting perspectives on the 12 days of Christmas and the song of that same title. This page also contains a thesis full of information!
Who is this one reindeer at the front named Rudolf, with the biological aberration of a red, glowing nose capable of penetrating thick fog?
The whole story of Rudolf appeared, out of nowhere, in 1939. Santas at Montgomery Ward stores gave away 2.4 million copies of a booklet entitled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May, and the booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was not Rudolf, according to the book Extraordinary Origins of Ordinary Things by Charles Panati. The original name was Rollo, but executives did not like that name, nor Reginald. The name Rudolf came from the author's young daughter! In 1949, Gene Autry sang a musical version of the poem and it was a run-away best-seller. The Rudolf song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity.
Why does everyone, even Floridians, dream of a white Christmas?
The song "(I'm Dreaming of a) White Christmas," written by Irving Berlin for the movie "Holiday Inn" (1942) and sung by Bing Crosby, is one of the best selling songs of all time.
Why is Christmas sometimes spelled Xmas? Especially when combined with the word "sale"?
According to the book "Did you ever Wonder..." by Jeff Rovin, the word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. The use of the shortened form Xmas became popular in Europe in the 1500s.
The word Xmas is so common in advertising most likely because "Xmas" and "sale" have the same number of letters, and "Xmas" is significantly shorter than Christmas.
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