Yule love these Festive Facts!

Christmas is such a merry time, families getting together, baking, festive feasts, little traditions like Christmas tree's and advent calendars – but how did these traditions start? We kiss under the mistletoe, give each other stockings and cannot manage without our mince pie's and Christmas pudding!

Here are 25 festive facts to get you in the mood for Christmas and chat about over Christmas dinner...

1. Robins on cards were a joke around 150 years ago when postmen wore red tunics and were named after them. 
2. The tradition of putting tangerines in stockings comes from 12th-century French nuns who left socks full of fruit and tangerines at the houses of the poor.
3. Stockings filled with festive treats come from the German custom of leaving shoes outside your door to be packed with food and small gifts from St Nicholas's.
4. The abbreviation Xmas is actually religious. The letter X is a Greek abbreviation for Christ.
5. Although now mostly vegetarian, in Victorian times, mince pies were made with beef and spices.
6. The chance of a white Christmas is just 1 in 10 for England and Wales, and 1 in 6 for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
7. A White Christmas is defined in England when snow falls on the weather station in London within the 24hours on the 25th of December.
8. 7 out of 10 dogs will receive a present this year at Christmas! 
9. James Pierpont's 1857 song Jingle Bells was first called One Horse Open Sleigh and was written for Thanksgiving.
10. US scientists calculated that Santa would have to visit 822 homes a second to deliver all the world's presents on Christmas Eve, travelling at 650 miles a second.
11. Before turkey, the traditional Christmas meal in England was a pig's head and mustard in the middle ages and prior to that was "black bird pie" as the boar had been hunted to extinction.
12. The world's tallest Christmas tree was 221ft high and was erected in a Washington shopping mall in 1950. 
13. In 1647, after the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas. The law wasn't lifted until 1660.
14. Many parts of the Christmas tree can actually be eaten, with the needles being a good source of Vitamin C.
15. The first commercial Christmas cards were created by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843. Featuring a family drinking wine, one sold for £8,469 in 2007.
16. In 1999, residents of Maine in America built the world's biggest ever snowman. He stood at 113ft tall!!
17. We kiss under the mistletoe because if I woman is not kissed she will not marry in the New Year. It was also seen as a fertility ritual – a berry was plucked from the Mistletoe each time a girl got a kiss and when the berries were gone, no more kissing.
18. 1.76 billion Candy Canes are made during the festive season.
19. The Song "Twelve Days of Christmas" features 364 gifts, one for each day of the year.
20. 34 – 36 million Christmas trees are used each year.
21. If you bought all the gifts from the song the "Twelve Days of Christmas", it would cost in excess of £59,000.
22. Carols began as an old English custom called wassailing, toasting neighbours to a long life.
23. A Mince Pie should be eaten every day between the 12th night and Christmas to bring good luck.
24. Father Christmas has many different names around the world, some of which include – Santa Claus in America, Brazil – Papai Noel (Christmas Dad), Finland refer to him as Yule Goat. In Germany they refer to Santa as ChristKind – an angel girl who delivers presents on the evening of the 24th of December. In Italy La Befana delievers the presents – she is a kind witch who rides around on her broom.
25. St Stephen's Day… I mean Boxing Day! St Stephens Day is held on the 26^th of December, however it is now more commonly known as "Boxing Day". This is because servants used to receive presents in boxes from lords and ladies in England.
 

Which fact did you enjoy the most or do you have any others to add to the blog? The festive season is definitely the time to look at your best and celebrate with friends. Why not visit Fairmont St Andrews and treat yourself to a relaxing spa treatment or festive pampering, fun filled party nights, mouth watering Christmas menu or a Hogmanay to remember. Just visit www.fairmont.com/standrews or call 01334 837000 and speak to our reservations team. We wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!