Lacking In Christmas Spirit? Here are 10 Facts Yule Enjoy...

1)     Oh, I get it, Ho-Ho-Ho!

Christmas stockings allegedly evolved from three sisters who were too poor to afford a marriage dowry and were, therefore, doomed to a life of prostitution. They were saved, however, when the wealthy Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna (the precursor to Santa Claus) crept down their chimney and generously filled their stockings with gold coins.

2)   The Patron Saint of Butchery?!! Explains the Red Suit…

Santa Claus is based on a real person, St. Nikolas of Myra (also known as Nikolaos the Wonderworker, Bishop Saint Nicholas of Smyrna, and Nikolaos of Bari), who lived during the fourth century. Born in Patara (in modern-day Turkey), he is the world’s most popular non-Biblical saint, and artists have portrayed him more often than any other saint except Mary. He is the patron saint of banking, pawn broking, pirating, butchery, sailing, thievery, orphans, royalty, and New York City. 

3)    How Do You Want Your Santa, Mild or Hot?

According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), there are 2,106 million children under age 18 in the world. If there are on average 2.5 children per household, Santa would have to make 842 million stops on Christmas Eve, traveling 221 million miles. To reach all 842 million stops, Santa would need to travel between houses in 2/10,000 second, which means he would need to accelerate 12.19 million miles (20.5 billion meters) per second on each stop. The force of this acceleration would reduce Santa to “chunky salsa.”

4)   It’s the REAL Thing…

It’s an urban legend that Santa Claus was invented by The Coca-Cola Company or that Santa wears red and white because they are the colors used to promote the Coca-Cola brand. Historically, Coca-Cola was not the first soft drink company to utilize the modern image of Santa Claus in its advertising—White Rock Beverages had already used a red and white Santa to sell mineral water in 1915 and then in advertisements for its ginger ale in 1923. In fact, Santa Claus had already appeared in red and white on the cover of Puck magazine at the start of the century.

5)    I’ve heard of Hot Dog on a Stick...

Mistletoe (which translates to Dung on a stick) refers to partially parasitic plants that grow attached to and grow within the branches of a tree or shrub. They stem from bird droppings or beak scrapping of birds on a branch.  Mistletoe plants grow on a wide range of host trees, and commonly reduce their growth but can kill them with heavy infestation. All mistletoes are considered hemi-parasitic because their evergreen leaves do some photosynthesis (gain energy from the sun), while they get from the host tree water and mineral nutrients.

6)   On Blitzy, Karen, Sissy….

Most of Santa’s reindeer have male-sounding names, such as Blitzer, Comet, and Cupid. However, male reindeers shed their antlers around Christmas, so the reindeer pulling Santa’s sleigh are likely not male, but female or castrati.

7)    Won’t You Guide My Sales Tonight

In 1939, Montgomery Ward gave away promotional coloring books to try to get more shoppers in during the holiday season.  Up to this point they bought these books to give away, but in order to save on the cost of these freebies, they decided to try to make their own.  They had their own copywriter for Montgomery Ward in Chicago; write them a short Christmas story to be used for this promotional item.  May, being a small child that was often picked on, decided to make it an Ugly Duckling type of tale, which he wrote in the same verses as in "Twas the Night before Christmas". He named it "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer!"

8)   Five Golden Testaments

The “true love” mentioned in the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” does not refer to a romantic couple, but the Catholic Church’s code for God. The person who receives the gifts represents someone who has accepted that code. For example, the “partridge in a pear tree” represents Christ. The “two turtledoves” represent the Old and New Testaments.

9)   Thank Goodness He didn’t pick Feb 29^th!

Christmas has its roots in pagan festivals such as Saturnalia (December 17-December 23), the Kalends (January 1 -5, the precursor to the Twelve Days of Christmas), and Deus Sol Invictus or Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun (December 25). The Christians church heartily disapproved of such celebrations and co-opted the pagans by declaring December 25 as Christ’s day of birth, though there is no evidence Christ was born on that day.  In A.D. 320, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.

10) Oh Yah! See You Next Year!

According to data analyzed from Facebook posts, two weeks before Christmas is one of the two most popular times for couples to break up. However, Christmas Day is the least favorite day for breakups.  So, if you made it to Christmas Eve, you’ll get a present! SO THERE!

So “Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;” 

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About Rick Ricker 

An IT professional with over 20 years experience in Information Security, wireless broadband, network and Infrastructure design, development, and support.

for more information, contact Rick at (800) 333-8394 x 689