Fun & Interesting Christmas Facts for Kids

And the countdown begins to one of the most festive times of the year – Christmas! It’s time to start planning your gifts, dusting off those favorite Christmas tree ornaments, and of course, to start shopping for the best kids’ fashion clothes from your favorite trendy children's clothing brand, thedatingmaven!

We all know the well-loved traditions around Christmas– decorating the house with lights, putting up stockings, and exchanging gifts. But did you know that in Sweden, a popular Christmas Eve activity is to watch Donald Duck cartoons every year?

There are myriad ways in which people celebrate this cherished holiday. Want to know about some of them? Here we bring to you an assortment of fun and interesting Christmas facts and traditions from all around the world.

Check out this fun video about the history behind Christmas:

WE LOVE SANTA CLAUS!

Who doesn’t adore Santa Claus, that jolly old gentleman who fills our stockings with cheer and presents? Read on to know more about St. Nick!

• Did you know Santa Claus has many names, like St. Nicholas, Grandfather Frost, and Father Christmas? His other lesser-known names are Le Befana in Italy, Pere Noel in French, Dueshka Moroz (“Father Frost”) in Russia, and Kriss Kringle in Germany.
• Every Christmas, approximately 1 million letters are addressed to Santa Claus at his own postal code: “Hoh oHo, North Pole, Canada.”
• It’s summer during Christmas in Brazil, so Santa wears a lighter suit and distributes presents using a ladder or a trampoline. Isn’t that a funny image?
• When Santa gets to Australia, he gives his reindeer a rest and uses kangaroos or 6 ‘white boomers.’ He also changes into a cooler outfit to suit the hot climate!

Your kids will love this fascinating video about how Santa Claus came to be:

TALES OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE

Christmas isn’t Christmas without that gorgeous, decked-up tree, right? But did you know that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has the largest floating Christmas tree in the world –over 270 feet tall! Here are some other interesting facts about the Christmas tree.

• Ever seen a pickle ornament on a Christmas tree? You would in Germany! The first child to find the pickle ornament gets an extra present.
• Want to hear something creepy? Instead of lights and tinsel, Ukrainians decorate their Christmas trees with spider webs, to remember a folktale about a poor widow and her children who found a Christmas tree decorated by a spider’s web that turned silver and gold.
• In Sweden, a goat ornament is popularly used in Christmas trees to commemorate an 11th-century story that a goat accompanied St Nicholas to ward off the devil.
• In London, England, the people of the city receive a tree for Trafalgar Square from the people of Oslo, Norway every Christmas to thank them for their assistance during World War II.

Have a dekko at some of the most fabulous Christmas trees all around the world:

AROUND THE WORLD

Christmas Day is when many people popularly attend mass with their families. Did you know that in Venezuela, people rollerblade to mass on Christmas morning? Here are some other fascinating Christmas traditions from all over the world.

• In France, they have a yummy, 100-year-old tradition of having 13 different Christmas desserts. This includes a variety of sweets, nuts and other items, symbolizing Jesus and his 12 apostles. Find out the delicious details here:

          https://thedatingmaven.com/thirteen-desserts-of-christmas/

• You know how we Americans have turkey for Thanksgiving? Well, for Christmas, people in Japan eat Kentucky Fried Chicken! The outlets are so packed on Christmas Day that reservations are required!
• Food fight? Not quite! In Slovakia, before dinner starts, the head of the family takes a spoonful of food and throws it at the ceiling. Usually, it’s Loksa, a traditional Christmas dish made from the poppy seed, bread and water. Find the recipe here:

• In Norway, people believe evil witches and spirits emerge on Christmas Eve and steal brooms for a joyride in the sky! To stop them, all brooms are hidden on Christmas Eve.
• In Iceland, books are exchanged as gifts on Christmas Eve, then people spend the rest of the night in bed reading them and eating chocolate!

No matter how Christmas is celebrated, we know that at the heart of it is family, feasting, love and giving. As we bring you the choicest kids clothing for boys and girls from thedatingmaven, we hope you enjoy learning about these weird and wonderful Christmas traditions as you start preparing for your own Christmas!

Sending love from Be Kind blogs. Happy reading.