Mobile users:
For best results, view in Landscape mode.

---

  The Yule Log: 
 
The Yule Log was a symbol by
which all the men in the family
would carry a log large enough to burn
for 12 days into the house. They were
identifying with Christ and His Cross.

The fire was started with a fragment from
the previous years this refers to the
eternal existence of Christ before His birth
 log. It speaks of warmth, unity, joy
and the security of endless life.

---

  Mistletoe: 

Mistletoe symbolizes the love
we are able to offer to others
only because of Jesus who
“first loves us.”

Mistletoe was an ancient symbol
from the Roman times. It was under
Mistletoe that old enmities and
broken friendship were restored.
So Jesus was the One who took away
the enmity and gave us Peace with God.

The tradition of kissing under the
mistletoe, this practice began in
ancient Greece during the festival of
Saturnalia, and later moved into
in the marriage union because of the
plant’s association with fertility.
Under the Roman reign, enemies
at war would reconcile their
differences under the berried
plant as a symbol of peace.

---

  Poinsettias: 

In 1828, the American minister to Mexico,
Joel R. Poinsett, brought a
red and green plant from Mexico to
America. As its coloring seemed
perfect for the Christmas holiday, the
plants, which were called poinsettias
after Poinsett, began appearing in
greenhouses as early as 1830. In
1870, New York stores began
to sell them at Christmas.
By 1900, they were a universal
symbol of the holiday.

---

  Christmas Bells: 

Bells are associated with ringing
out news. Jesus is the good news.
According to early legend, bells
rang throughout the world
announcing the birth of Jesus.
Bells are also associated with happiness,
and people ring them on Christmas
in honor of the joyful holiday.

---

  Christmas Gifts: 

The Presents at Christmas is to symbolize
the gifts given to Jesus by
the three wise men.

---

  Christmas Fun Facts: 

“Noel” derives from the Latin
verb “nasci”, means to be born.

Christmas was declared a federal holiday
in the United States on June 26, 1870.

Gifts are shared during the
Christmas season to symbolize
the gifts given to Jesus by
the three wise men.

Each year more than 3 billion
Christmas cards are sent in America.

Did you know?
"Jingle Bells is actually a
Thanksgiving song.

Thomas Edison introduced the first
Christmas lights on December 22 1882.

In Massachusetts 1857, James Pierpont,
who wrote "Jingle Bells" was
intended to be sung on Thanksgiving,
instead of Christmas.
"Jingle Bells" was originally
copyrighted under the
name "One Horse Open Sleigh"
in September 1857.
The Statue of Liberty was gifted to
the US by the French on Christmas
day in 1886.

According to the Guinness world
records, the tallest Christmas tree ever cut
was a 221 ft Douglas fir that was
displayed in 1950 at the
Northgate Shopping Center
in Seattle, Washington.

Pryor to the 1930's, the colors of
Santa Claus were blue, white and green.
His traditional red suit came
from a 1930's ad by Coca Cola.
And the image of Santa Claus flying
in a sleigh started in 1819,
from a dream by Washington Irving
from New York,
the author of "The Headless Horseman".

The USPS issued the first
Christmas postage stamp in 1962.

In 1904, Einar Holboell, a Dane promoted
the first Christmas Seals.
Christmas Seals were first sold in the
U.S. in 1907 in Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1945, Carl Otis invented the Christmas
tree lights, called BubbleLights.
In the 1950's and 1960's the lights became
extremely popular.

In 1899, Katherine Lee Bates References
to "Mrs Santa Claus" began to appear.

In 1830, the first passenger railroad service
in the U.S. began service.

North American Aerospace Defense Command
( NORAD )
NORAD’s “Santa Tracker” was from a
misprint in the newspaper.
A 1955 Sears ad was supposed to
print the number of a store where
children could call and tell Santa what
they wanted for Christmas.
The number printed was to the hotline
of the Director of Operations for
the U.S. Continental Air Defense.
Colonel Shoup ordered his staff to
give the children updates on the
flight coordinates of Santa.
The Tradition continues to this day.

Each year, more than 1.75 billion
candy canes are produced worldwide.

Nearly 1,700 LEGO sets are sold every
minute during the Christmas season.

 In 1843, one thousand copies of the
first Christmas cards were sold. A civil
servant Sir Henry Cole in London is
credited with making the initial
sales of the cards.

The Montgomery Ward department store
created Rudolph the Reindeer as
a marketing gimmick to encourage
children to buy their Christmas
coloring books.
The original Rudolph did not have a
red nose. In that day and age, red noses
were seen as an indicator of chronic
alcoholism and Montgomery Ward didn’t
want him to look like a drunkard.
To complete the original picture,
he was almost named
Reginald or Rollo.

Each year, about 30 - 35 million real
Christmas trees are sold in the
United States alone.
There are 21,000 Christmas tree growers
in the United States, and trees
usually grow for about 15 years before
they are sold.

California, Oregon, Michigan,
Washington, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania,
and North Carolina are the top
Christmas tree producing states
in the U.S.

---