Santa is probably taking a very well deserved nap after visiting all the boys and girls around the globe. Family, friends and most of all children tearing open gifts with abandon are the highlights of the day.

Tomorrow all those wonderful things you received will all be returned or exchanged for what you really wanted. Like it or not capitalism is alive and well in America. Extra jobs created, hours of overtime paid, and about 6,000 calories per kid consumed. Here are some more fun facts to share with friends and family this Christmas morning.

Fun Facts For Christmas Day

  • 77 million Christmas trees are planted each year in the United States. About 30 to 35 million Christmas Trees are harvested each year.
  • In 2009 Americans bought 28.2 million real trees and 11.7 million fake ones.
  • The Monopoly game was the top selling gift in 1936.
  • According to the Society of American Florists, Christmas and Chanukah combined are the No. 1 floral buying holiday each year.
  • Washington Irving was the first writer to describe Santa Claus as a pipe smoker.
  • Cabbage Patch Doll mania sent parents into a frenzy for Christmas back in 1983.
  • Mikhail S. Gorbachev announced his resignation as the 11th Leader of Communist Russia on Dec 25, 1991.
  • Pokémon was the big toy seller in 1999 selling 1.5 million units.
  • More diamonds are purchased during the Christmas season than any other time of year.
  • John Lloyd Wright, the son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, invented Lincoln Logs in 1916.
  • The temperature at the North Pole almost never rises above freezing.
  • Over 5 miles of lights are used to decorate the Rockefeller Christmas tree each year.
  • Bar Owners: In ancient times it was forbidden to fight in the presence of Mistletoe.
  • Britain’s Queen Elizabeth the First gave her guests gingerbread cookies in their likeness and the Gingerbread Man was born.
  • Valentine Davies won a Best Original Story Academy Award for “Miracle on 34th Street” in 1947.
  • Barnum’s Animal Cracker boxes were designed with a string handle so they could be hung from Christmas Trees.
  • An average American household will give and receive about 28 holiday cards each year.
  • The first mass production of Christmas lights began around 1890.
  • Woolworth’s five-and-dime is credited with originating the idea of giving employees a Christmas bonus.
  • Miracle on 34th Street was released in May, and not during Christmas, as a strategy to boost sales.
  • Villagers in Bavaria Germany wear traditional clothing and fire hand-held cannons to salute the holiday season.
  • In 1836, Alabama became the first state in the US to declare Christmas a legal holiday. In 1907, Oklahoma became the last US state to declare it a legal holiday.
  • The first mass production of Christmas lights began around 1890.
  • Crayola crayons come in 120 different colors but the labels are only made in 18 colors.
  • The Hess Toy Truck was created in 1964 so that families could buy an affordable holiday toy. It sold for just $1.29. ($9.72 in 2013 dollars.)
  • The first iron skates were used in Scandinavia in the year 200.
  • In Holland the gift bringer is an eight-legged horse.
  • A 24-year-old waiter in Seattle invented the popular game Pictionary in 1986.
  • Franklin Pierce was the first president to have Christmas Tree in the   White House
  • Barnum’s animal cracker boxes were designed with a string handle so they could be hung from the tree.
  • Santa wore a tan coat in early American images. His red coat came from Civil War Cartoonist Thomas Nast.
  • Christmas trees are useful in removing dust and pollen from the air.
  • In Germany Santa enters through the front door instead of the chimney.
  • Silent Night was first performed at St. Nicholas Church near Salzburg, Austria Dec. 24, 1818. It was originally written for guitar since the church organ was broken.

Some Final Thoughts

In spite of the obvious commercial aspects of Christmas the music and the true message of Christmas still shines through. While we are unwrapping the ugly tie or the garish holiday sweater in the back of our minds we do remember the reason for the season.

All the countries and cultures listed about celebrate the same idea just in different ways. So the thought does make it through the fog of sales and returns. I know it’s hard to find some private time on Christmas but take a moment to think about what happened 2013 years ago.

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