Christmas Eve
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring not even that louse…y brother-in-law.
Well that’s not quite how the story goes. And since it’s Christmas Eve – here are the real words to A Visit from Saint Nicholas by Clement Clark Moore.
A Visit from Saint Nicholas
Clement Clark Moore
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
Originally, the custom held that for each kiss under the mistletoe, one berry should be removed from the mistletoe branch. Once all the berries were removed, no more kissing was allowed! Couples avoid this prohibition today by dispensing with the berry removal tradition.
Christmas is the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and is a central part of the winter holiday season. Although traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas is widely celebrated worldwide by many non-Christians.
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 Friday December 24, Christmas Saturday December 25.
Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about Christmas Dec 22 : 03 days till Christmas
Did you know that the poinsettia, with its ruby-colored, star-shaped leaves, sees more than $200 million in sales each year, with most of them during the month of December?
Many believe the poinsettia’s star-shaped leaves symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem, which led the three wise men to the manger where the baby Jesus was born.
Another Christmas connection for the poinsettia is linked to the plant’s Mexican origin. Mexican legend tells of an impoverished girl, who had nothing to offer on the alter to Jesus at Christmas Eve other than weeds. Encouraged nonetheless by her priests to give of her spirit, she brought the weeds to her church. Once inside, the weeds miraculously blossomed into a beautiful poinsettia plant. In Mexico, the poinsettia plant is called Flores de Noche Buena, Spanish for “flowers of the holy night”.
Did you know that there is even a special day celebrating the Poinsettia?
Poinsettia Day is observed on December 12, the anniversary of the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, the American diplomat who first introduced the Central American plant to the United States.
Christmas is the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and is a central part of the winter holiday season. Although traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas is widely celebrated worldwide by many non-Christians.
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 Friday December 24, Christmas Saturday December 25.
Did You Know?
Facts, Figures &
Folklore about Christmas Dec 21 : 04 days till Christmas
Did you know that Rudolph and the rest of Santa’s reindeer are very much a modern addition to Christmas tradition?
The legend of Santa’s reindeer began in the famous poem, “The Night Before Christmas.” Written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822, it introduced the notion of Santa’s sleigh being magically pulled by eight mythical reindeer.
Did you know that there is no Rudolph, the most famous of all the reindeer, in Moore’s poem?
Rudolph wasn’t born until more than a century later. In 1939 the Montgomery Ward company wanted to give away a Christmas booklet as a promotional gimmick. The store tapped one of its best copywriters, Robert L. May, to author the booklet. His vision led him to Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, an underdog champion outcast for his glowing red nose. Printed in 1939, the booklet reached a distribution of more than 2.4 million copies through nationwide Montgomery Ward stores. By 1946, more than 6 million copies of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer had been given out.
In 1949, Gene Autry recorded the musical version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which went on to become the second best-selling song of all time (“White Christmas” is #1). And a special place for Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer in America’s Christmas culture was codified in 1964, when an animated version of the story was telecast for the first time. That beloved show has been aired every year since, making it one of the top Christmas shows of all time.
Christmas is the Christian festival celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, and is a central part of the winter holiday season. Although traditionally a Christian holiday, Christmas is widely celebrated worldwide by many non-Christians.
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 Friday December 24, Christmas Saturday December 25.
