Christmas Trivia

It’s that time of year again. No, not presents (though everybody likes those, too.) It’s the time of year to find out some more interesting facts about everyone’s favorite holiday.

Ready?  We thought so.

• Thor has nothing on Santa. Two of the reindeer are actually named after weather phenomenon: Donner, which means thunder in German, and Blitzen, which means lightning.
• Bah, humbug indeed! While Alabama was the first state to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1836, Oklahoma put off the declaration until 1907.
• Eggnog originated from the early medieval Britain “posset,” a hot, milky, ale-like drink. It wasn’t until the 1700’s that the drink became associated with the holidays.
• George Washington penned his own recipe for eggnog. In addition to the usual eggs and cream, George’s mixture called for one pint brandy, 1/2 pint rye whiskey, 1/2 pint Jamaica rum and 1/4 pint sherry and came with the instructions: “taste frequently.”
• Before turkey, the traditional English Christmas dinner included a pig’s head smothered in mustard. Yum!
• he first mall Santa was James Edgar, a department store owner in Brockton, Massachusetts. Edgar put on the suit in 1890, and the rest is history.
• The Canadian Post Office receives so many letter for Santa that they created a special zip code for ol’ Kris Kringle: H0H 0H.

And on that note: may visions of sugar plums dance through your head this yuletide season.

In other words, Happy Holidays.