When my editor, Mark Gentili, asked me to write a Christmas story, I really had no idea what to write. For the first time in a long time, I was out of ideas, but I figured the best way to whip up a story would be to play the role of Santa Claus and spread some knowledge with a few Christmas facts coming straight from Santa's workshop (a.k.a. Google).
Everyone loves a beautiful Christmas tree, but they weren’t always what they are today. The first Christmas tree was created out of goose feathers that had been dyed green. Pastbook.com says the first artificial Christmas trees were created in Germany in the 19th century, with the feather trees becoming more popular overtime. The feather trees became largely popular in the early 20th century and eventually reached the U.S.
Jolly old St. Nicholas has seen many changes throughout his history. According to a National Geographic article, the original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Greece around the year 280 CE. He became the bishop of a small Roman town in Turkey called Myra and was known for being a fiery, wiry, and defiant defender of church doctrine during the Great Persecution in 303. Nicholas's fame lived on after his death on Dec. 6, 343 as he had become associated with many miracles, and Dec. 6 became his feast day. He rose among the saints as he became known as a patron of children and a magical gift bringer. Today's version of Santa comes from the revival of St. Nicholas and the efforts of poets and writers to make Christmas into a family holiday. In the early 19th century, poems such as "The Children's Friend" and "A Visit From St. Nicholas" shaping the mould for the modern-day Santa. In the late 19th century, the image of Santa became standardized in North America (thank you Coca-Cola) with the image of Santa Claus we all know and love today.
Although St. Nicklaus has been around for more than 1,000 years, the first mention of Mrs. Claus wasn't until 1849 in the short story "A Christmas Legend." This MentalFloss.com article states that over the next few decades the story of Mrs. Claus took shape in various short stories and poems, where she was depicted as sweet and helpful, but feisty with a take-charge attitude. Over the years, Mrs. Claus's depiction has changed and she's no longer the fireball she once was. Today, she is recognized as a plump, cheerful spouse, who fills Santa’s thermos with cocoa and waves goodbye when he leaves in his sleigh to deliver holiday cheer to families around the world.
The Christmas season may be about spending time with your family and friends, but the two weeks leading up to Christmas are apparently one of the two highest breakup periods of the year. London-based journalists David McCandless and Lee Byron analyzed Facebook posts and statuses for a book entitled “The Visual Miscellaneum,” finding the most common times for breakups are the two weeks leading up to Christmas. Although those two weeks are responsible for the highest percentage of relationship breakups, Christmas day is one of the least popular days throughout the year for breakups.
North America certainly has its own Christmas traditions, but those traditions take on some odd qualities in countries for which the holiday is relatively new. For instance, turkey or ham for Christmas dinner is a tradition in many western Christian nations. But in Japan, a unique and popular Christmas tradition is a KFC dinner, at least according to a BBC.com article. Thanks in part to a successful "Kentucky for Christmas" campaign in December, 1974 as a way to connect the people of Japan to the Christian holiday (and make some cash). The Christmas dinner special offers cake, wine, and the Colonel’s classic fried chicken. KFC for Christmas is so popular in Japan, orders have to be placed weeks in advance if you don't want to risk waiting in line for hours, as an estimated 3.6 million people will eat KFC for Christmas dinner.
Christmas is known for going big, but these Guinness World Records may just surprise more than learning the Japanese love KFC for Christmas. The world's largest Christmas tree was a 221-foot Douglas fir, with the record set in 1950 in Seattle Washington. How about the world's largest artificial Christmas tree? That plastic monstrosity measured 236 feet and was raised in Sri Lanka on Christmas Eve in 2016. Although that is a big tree, India also holds the record for the world's largest human Christmas tree. Weird as it may seem, in December, 2015, 4,030 people (mostly school children from the village of Chengannur), came together to form the record tree.
Although Christmas trees have big records, so does Santa. The world's largest gathering of Santa Clauses was 18,112 in 2014 in India. Santa's elves weren’t left out either. The largest gathering of Santa's helpers was 1,762 in 2014 in Thailand.
This Christmas season be sure to spend some time with your family and friends, spread a little Christmas cheer, and enjoy your favourite Christmas traditions. Who knows, maybe you can even fill your family in on a few Christmas facts at the dinner table. From all of us at Sudbury.com have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Ryan Marcotte is a co-operative education student from Lasalle Secondary.
