The useless bits of info to see if we can make a million posts thread

[cAstAgeAr]

A wreath with holly, red berries and other decorations began from at least the 17th century. Holly, with its sharply pointed leaves, symbolised the thorns in Christ's crown-of-thorns. Red berries symbolised the drops of Christ's blood. A wreath at Christmas signified a home that celebrated to birth of Christ.

[cAstAgeAr]

On Christmas morning since medieval times, church bells have been rung to announce to the world the coming of the saviour. It was customary from the 18th century to wear clothes and carry a small bell to signify the birth of Christ. The ringing of the bells was to signify the importance of the His Birth.

[cAstAgeAr]

Santa a thief? Sneaky bugger..
- Saint Nicholas of Myra, the original Santa Claus, was the patron saint of children, thieves and pawnbrokers.

[cAstAgeAr]

Just 17% huh:
- Based on previous surveys, 17 percent of you will embarrass yourselves in some way at your office Christmas party.

[cAstAgeAr]

A wild what?
- A Mongolian wild ass can run 8 mph faster than a reindeer.

[cAstAgeAr]

Oops:
- It's Donder, not Donner.

[cAstAgeAr]

Mmmmm.. Pudding..:
-Christmas pudding should be stirred from east to west.

[cAstAgeAr]

Shopping at Christmas:
- 56 percent of Americans sing holiday carols to their pets.
- 53 percent of Americans plan to "re-gift" this year.
- 1 in 3 men will wait until Christmas Eve to finish their shopping.
- 1 in 6 men would like to get rid of all the "gift-giving nonsense."

[cAstAgeAr]

Turkey at Christmas please:
- A traditional Christmas dinner in early England was the head of a pig prepared with mustard.

[cAstAgeAr]

We have vacancies:
- On Christmas Eve in 2001, the Bethlehem Hotel had 208 of its 210 rooms free.

[cAstAgeAr]

Oops sang it wrong again:
- It's "God rest ye merry, gentlemen," not "God rest ye, merry gentlemen."

[cAstAgeAr]

Lots of cavities at Christmas:
- There are 1.76 billion candy canes produced every year.

[cAstAgeAr]

Kris Kringel:
- Kris Kringel, a man in his 40s, lives in North Pole, Alaska, and delivers pizzas for a living. He drives a 1984 Ford Tempo.

[cAstAgeAr]

Speedy Santa on Christmas Eve:
- Based on a 1999 estimated population count of North America and Europe, on Christmas Eve of that year Santa Claus had to visit 42,466,666 homes in a 12-hour period -- that's 983 homes per second.

[cAstAgeAr]

Waste from christmas in the UK alone:
- One billion Christmas cards (17 for every man, woman and child) could end up in bins across the UK this year. One tree is needed to make about 3,000 cards.
- People will use an extra 500 million aluminium drinks cans over the festive period.
- Around 125,000 tonnes of plastic packaging will be thrown away (that's the equivalent weight of more than 50,000 polar bears!!)
- 8 million Christmas trees, most of which will be thrown away in January, generating over 12,000 tonnes of rubbish.
- About 83 km2 of Christmas wrapping paper.
- An extra 750 million glass bottles and jars over Christmas and the New Year.
- An extra 500 million aluminium drinks cans over the festive period.
- Nearly 3,000 tonnes of aluminium foil will be used to wrap Christmas turkeys.