Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about Christmas
Dec 15 : 10 days till Christmas

Did you know that the word Advent comes from the Latin term “adventur”, meaning arrival?

The Advent Calendar begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas and counts down the 25 days until the holiday’s arrival. The tradition of counting down the days until Christmas began in the early 19th century in Holland, where families marked a chalk line on their front door each day before Christmas Eve.

BTW – Have you checked out our 2009 Advent Calendar? A new holiday video each day!

Christmas is the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and is a central part of the winter holiday season. In Christianity the holiday marks the beginning of the larger season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days. And although traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas is widely celebrated worldwide by many non-Christians.

Popular holiday customs include the playing of seasonal music, gift-giving, the exchange of greeting cards, observing special church celebrations and masses. The display of holiday decorations are common; including Christmas trees, indoor and outdoor lights, garlands, mistletoe, and nativity scenes.

Santa Claus, a popular mythological figure, is also an important part of the celebration and is associated with the bringing of gifts for children.

Join us for a new Did You Know holiday fact each day as we countdown to Christmas. This year Christmas Eve will be celebrated Thursday December 24, Christmas Friday December 25.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 12:20 am and is filed under Advent, Christian, Christmas, December, Did You Know?, General, US Federal Holidays, US Holidays, Winter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.