Description: Christmas, a time of peace on Earth and goodwill towards all, is also a time of gift-buying craziness and rampant commercialism. How did we get from the birth of Jesus to department store Santas? Read about the traditions and superstitions surrounding one of our most important holidays, and learn how other cultures celebrate the season:
The U.S. Congress actually considered canceling Christmas in 1918
The word mistletoe is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning dung on a twig
Early Christmas trees were often hung upside-down from the ceiling
Christmas was first celebrated on December 25 in 336 AD as a holiday feast day established by the Roman Emperor Constantine
In Caracas, Venezuela, people roller skate to church on Christmas morning
The Greeks believe you must burn all your old shoes at Christmas to stamp out any possible bad luck in the coming year
A popular Christmas after-dinner delicacy in Greenland is mattak--a slice of whale skin with the blubber attached
If you actually got every gift named in The Twelve Days of Christmas, you'd have 364 gifts.
Discover all of these facts and so much more!
Brief description: LISA WOJNA is the co-author of 16 trivia books, as well as being the sole author of 18 other non-fiction titles. She has worked in the community newspaper industry as a writer and journalist and has traveled all over the world. Although writing and photography have been a central part of her life for as long as she can remember, it s the people behind the stories that are her motivation and give her the most fulfillment.