7 Facts about Christmas

“Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. ”
Mary Ellen Chase

Take a peek at a list of fun facts about how the most important holiday of the year is a celebrated around the world! Did you know that...?

XMAS
In Greek, X means Christ; that is where the word “Xmas” comes from!

Christmas World Records
The world’s largest Christmas present was the Statue of Liberty. The French gave it to the US in 1886. It is 46.5 meters high and weights 225 tons!

“Green” Christmas
It can take up to 15 years to grow an average-sized tree of 6-7 feet or as little as 4 years, but the average growing time is 7!

Christmas Songs
Bing Crosby ‘s ‘White Christmas’ was released in 1942 and is considered to be the best-selling Christmas song of all time!

Christmas Statistics
1 in 10 – The number of the presents received that will be broken by the New Year
7 in 10 – The number of dogs that get Christmas gifts from their owners
33 – The average amount spent per person on last-minute purchases
25 – The percentage time spent in queues when Christmas shopping
832 – The number of homes Santa visits every second to deliver all his presents
5340 – Average number of times Visa Cards are used every minute during Christmas time

2010 Average Budget for Christmas Presents
SWITZERAND: 547 € - USA: 520 € – UK: 474 € – GERMANY: 270 € – ITALY: 325 € – FRANCE: 366 € – SPAIN: 383 € –  NETHERLANDS: 206 €

Traditional Christmas Sweets
SWITZERLAND: Tirgel (Honey biscuits), Brunsli (Chocolate biscuits), Zimtsternli (Cinnamon Stars)
FRANCE: Buche de Noel (a Génoise or other sponge cake, baked in a large Swiss roll pan)
USA: Pumpkin Cake (with cinnamon and ginger, frosted with cream cheese frosting)
SPAIN: Nougat (made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts)
HUNGARY: Beigli (roll of sweet yeast bread with a dense, rich, bittersweet filling)
ITALY: Panettone (is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan)
SWEDEN: Pepparkakor (heart-star and goat-shaped gingerbread biscuit)
UK: Christmas Pudding (steamed pudding, with dried fruit and nuts, usually made with suet)
PORTUGAL: Pain Perdu (French toast made with bread and eggs, milk, sugar and cinnamon)
GERMANY: Lebkuchen (large cookies made of honey)