10 Interesting Facts About Christmas Day, Did You Know?

Illustration (Skyler Ewing/Pexels)

JAKARTA - Towards the end of the year, millions of people around the world are looking forward to sparkling decorations, colorful lights, delicious food, cheerful music, ridiculous jokes, and interesting prizes. Yes, because Christmas is coming soon! However, how much do you know about Christmas celebrations? It's time to find out in 10 facts about the Christmas holiday that VOI summarized from National Geographic Kids, Monday, December 23.

1) Christmas is a celebration for Christians celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, which Christians are believed to be the sons of God. For most people, this celebration takes place annually on December 25 the day chosen by the Roman Catholic Church to commemorate the birthday of Jesus. However, in reality, no one really knows the exact date of Jesus' birth.

2) Did you know that not all Christians celebrate Christmas on the same day? In countries with a large population of Orthodox Christians, such as Russia, Ukraine, and Romania, Christmas falls on January 7th. Some Greek Orthodox Christians also celebrated Christmas on January 7.

3) The name Christmas comes from the ancient English phrase Cristes maesse, which means for example Christ. However, what about Xmas? Many people think this is just an abbreviation of modern times. But actually this abbreviation has existed since the 16th century! X is said to symbolize the Greek letter Chi the first letter in the Greek word for Christ, Say (said Christos).

4) Towards Christmas, people around the world enjoy a variety of fun. Many traditions of celebrating in England today appear in the Victorian era, such as Christmas cards, gifts and firecrackers, as well as traditional foods such as cropped pies and roast turkeys. Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert, are actually big Christmas fans.

5) The Christmas tree also became popular in England in the Victorian era. However, this tree was first seen in Germany in the 16th century, where at Christmas, people graced cypress trees with fruit and nuts, then candy, paper shape, and candles. Amazingly, historians argue that the origin of this celebration tradition may have come from ancient Roman and Egyptian nations, who used green plants and wreaths as symbols of eternal life.

6) Norway sent a beautiful self-made Christmas tree to London, decorated with lights at Trafalgar Square. This 20-m towering tree is a gift to say thank you for the assistance Britain provided to Norway during World War II.

7) Christmas is incomplete without a large beard and cheerful red hat. Who else would this figure be if it weren't Santa Claus? However, have you ever wondered how he got the name Santa Claus? The name comes from Sinterklaas, which means Santo Nikolas in Dutch, Dutch. Santo Nikolas is a Christian bishop who lived in the 4th century. He was known as a kind and generous person, then became a child-protection congregation.

8) However, Santa Claus isn't the only Christmas character. There are many more around the world. In Italy, for example, a kind witch named La Befana is said to have flown around with a flying broom and gave toys to children. And in Iceland, children leave shoes under the window for 13 naughty trolls called Yule Lads. If the kid does well, they will find candy in their shoes, but if they do anything bad, Yule Lads will leave them rotten potatoes.

9) The chanting of the song Jingle Bells is always played every Christmas. But have you ever noticed that the song actually doesn't contain the word Christmas or Jesus or Santa Claus? That's because this song wasn't originally a Christmas song. In fact, the cheerful song was written in 1850, entitled One Horse Open Sleigh, for American holidays, Thanksgiving.

10) Now, imagine if there wasn't Christmas. It could feel strange or sad. Believe it or not, in 1644 Christmas celebrations were banned in England and then followed in America. At that time, members of the government felt that the religious meaning of Christmas had been forgotten and therefore prohibited the celebration of the holiday. However, some people are still celebrating it in secret, until Christmas returns to legal terms almost 20 years later.

Those are 10 interesting facts about the origin of Christmas celebrations. Make sure the Christmas spirit does not disappear inside you. And you can also celebrate it with a variety of exciting Christmas activities with friends, spouses, or family.