It’s the day before Christmas, which means it’s time to bring out the eggnog and celebrate with family and friends!
Here are 9 interesting facts about Christmas Eve
- It’s not always December 24: In many countries, Christmas falls on a different day each year due to the differences between their calendars and ours. For example, in some countries like Poland and Italy, Christmas is on January 6. In others like Japan, it’s on February 11. In Norway, it’s actually celebrated on December 13! The reason for this discrepancy comes from the fact that we use an older Julian calendar while most other countries use a newer Gregorian calendar. So when Pope Gregory XIII introduced his new calendar (named after him), he decided to make its starting point as October 4th instead of October 1st so that Easter would fall on the same day every year no matter what day it fell on during Easter Week. As a result, Christmas Eve moved forward 12 days from December 25th (the traditional date) to December 25th + 12 days = January 6th (the actual date).
- The first Christmas crackers were sold in 1846 by Tom Smith, who later went on to become Lord Mayor of London.
- The oldest known Christmas card is one from 1843 featuring two men dressed as medieval kings and queens sitting under a tree with presents around it – much like many modern ones still do today.
- In 1647, Puritan Oliver Cromwell banned all celebrations for Christmas due to his religious beliefs… but he let people gather for “Christmas Day” on December 25th so they could visit their imprisoned families.
- The tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve began in Germany in the Middle Ages when Christians were forbidden to celebrate Christmas Day because it was a holy day for pagans.
- It wasn’t until 1843 that the first Christmas cards were printed in England by Sir Henry Cole and his wife, Lady Jane Cole. Their card featured an illustration of their young daughter, dressed as an angel, kneeling before a tree with holly and ivy garlands on it. The card read “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You.” Queen Victoria liked these cards so much that she ordered some for herself, which started a trend among other members of high society as well.
- It is also known as Old Christmas Day or St. Stephen’s Day in Ireland, St. Thomas’ Day in England and Boxing Day in Scotland.
- The celebration of Christmas Eve has been going on for centuries but it was only officially recognized as a national holiday in Ireland in 2004.
- In Iceland, children have their own version of Santa Claus called Jólakötturinn (Christmas Cat). He rides through town on his horse Sleipnir carrying a sack full of presents for good children; those who feel they have been naughty can expect coal instead! The Jólakötturinn visits houses at dawn during December 25th and 26th wearing a costume made out of straw which makes him look like a giant cat (he also has whiskers!). Children leave milk outside their homes so that he can give them gifts instead of coal if they’ve been naughty.