We all know the reason for the season and all of the fun traditions that take place while we celebrate the holiday season. However, here are a few things about the holidays you may not already know.
Did you know that every year about 15,000 Americans are hospitalized as a result of decorating for Christmas? As much joy as holiday decorations can bring, they also bring pain and suffering to many. Injuries range from cuts, burns, pulled muscles, and injuries sustained from falls.
Prince Albert is responsible for the tradition of the Christmas tree. While they existed before, once him and his wife adopted the tradition, it spread rapidly after a drawing of the couple in front of the tree appeared in a popular newspaper.
Did you know that “Jingle Bells” was originally a song written for Thanksgiving? In Medford Massachusetts in the 1800’s sleigh races were a popular pastime. James Pierpont originally wrote the song to be played on thanksgiving during the races.
Jingle bells was also the first song to be broadcasted in space. As a (bad) joke in 1965 just a few days before Christmas, two astronauts reported to mission control that they had seen an unidentified flying object heading for Earth. Their tense conversation with mission control was interrupted with the song Jingle Bells.
Jamestown settlers created the first round of American eggnog. It was mostly a rum drink at that point and probably didn’t resemble todays version of eggnog very much.
Over 15 billion pieces of mail are sent during the holidays. Between extra packages and purchases, along with Christmas cards and holiday invites, mail carriers all over the world are pulling double time to make sure your mail arrives before the holidays.
On average, Americans spend about $1,000 on Christmas. To some that may sound astounding, and many personal budgets are much lower, and some much higher, dragging the national average to a staggering thousand.
The Holiday season is break up season. Two weeks before Christmas is one of the most popular times of year to end a relationship. This may be due to the stress of the holidays or to save money on gifts, whatever the reason, breakups are a trend. On Christmas day, this paradigm shifts and minimal breakups occur.
