CHRISTMAS TRIVIA

 

• Legendary actor Boris Karloff, star of "Frankenstein" and other horror classics, narrated the TV special "How the Grinch Stole Christmas
• Long before it was used as a "kiss encourager" during the Christmas season, mistletoe had long been considered to have magic powers by Celtic and Teutonic peoples. It was said to have the ability to heal wounds and increase fertility. Celts hung mistletoe in their homes in order to bring themselves good luck and ward off evil spirits.
• Mary and Joseph journeyed from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be enrolled in the imperial census - a journey 92.5 miles.
• Max was the dog that belonged to the Grinch in Dr. Seuss' book "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
• Mistletoe was chosen as Oklahoma's state flower in 1893 and later changed to the state floral emblem.
• Mistletoe, a traditional Christmas symbol, was once revered by the early Britons. It was so sacred that it had to be cut with a golden sickle.
• Mommy when she was kissing Santa Claus was underneath the mistletoe
• More diamonds are purchased at Christmas-time (31 percent) than during any other holiday or occasion during the year.
• More than three billion Christmas cards are sent annually in the United States.
• Most elves wear bells on the tips of their shoes
• Myrrh is an aromatic gum resin which oozes from gashes cut in the bark of a small desert tree known as Commifera Myrrha or the dindin tree. The myrrh hardens into tear-dropped shaped chunks and is then powdered or made into ointments or perfumes. This tree is about 5-15 feet tall and 1 foot in diameter. Legend says Caspar brought the gift of myrrh from Europe or Tarsus and placed it before the Christ Child. Myrrh was an extremely valuable commodity during biblical times and was imported from India and Arabia.
• New York ad writer Robert May make in 1939 wrote the lyrics Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as copy for a Montgomery Ward department store giveaway. In 1947 it was set to music, and recorded by Gene Autrey.
• New York City's Empire State Building's world famous tower lights are turned off every night at midnight with the exception of New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and St. Patrick's Day, when they are illuminated until 3 a.m.
• Norman Rockwell depicted Grandma Moses among the friends and family greeting a boy returning from college in "Christmas Homecoming," a 1948 Saturday Evening Post cover.
• On Christmas Day, 1989, Eastern Europe was permitted to celebrate Christmas freely and openly for the first time in decades. Church masses were broadcast live for the first time in history.