10 Fascinating Facts About Christmas You Didn't Know

Did you know:
The British often say "Happy Christmas" instead of "Merry Christmas" because, in the 19th century, the word "merry" also meant "drunkenness."
Christmas was illegal in the US until 1836 because it was considered an ancient pagan holiday.
In Catalonia (Spain), a smiley-faced piece of wood called "The Poop Log" delivers Christmas presents.
In Japan, Christmas Eve is a time to eat strawberry shortcake and fried chicken.
New Zealand bans all Christmas TV advertising.
Every year since 1966, the town of Gavle, Sweden, has erected a giant Christmas straw goat, and almost every year vandals burn it down.
The biggest Christmas present ever received is the Statue of Liberty. The French gifted it to the Americans in 1886.
X-Mas—the most popular abbreviation—comes from Greek. The letter X, or Chi, is the first letter of the Greek word for Christ (Χριστός).
Santa's famous red suit was created by a cartoonist named Thomas Nast in 1860.
Red, green, and gold are considered traditional Christmas colors. Green symbolizes life and rebirth, red represents the blood of Christ, and gold signifies light and wealth. Tradition says these three colors should be present in the ornaments chosen to decorate the Christmas tree.

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