‘Tis the season for Christmas fun facts

1 Bing Crosby’s version of White Christmas is the highest selling single of all-time, with over 50 million copies sold worldwide.

2 KFC on Christmas Day has been a Japanese tradition since the 1970s. The orders have to be placed several weeks in advance.

3 The busiest shopping days of the year are the two days just before Christmas.

4 The Beatles had Christmas number ones in 1963, 65 and 67 – giving them the record for the most Christmas number ones.

5 Rudolph the Reindeer was created as an advertising gimmick for the Montgomery Ward in 1939.

6 Jingle Bells was initially written for Thanksgiving in 1857. Further, it was the first song ever played in space, on December 16, 1965, by astronauts Walter Schirra Jr. and Thomas P. Stafford.

7 Kissing under the Mistletoe may date to at least the 1500s in Europe. One custom was, each time a couple kissed under a mistletoe sprig, they removed one of the white berries. When the berries were all gone, so was the sprig’s kissing power.

8 In Poland, spiders or spider webs are common Christmas tree decorations. According to Poland’s legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus.

9 Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime is widely regarded as the worst song he ever recorded, yet he earns US$ 400,000 a year for it.

10 The average 6-7 foot Christmas tree takes 8-10 years to grow.

11 The ‘X’ in Xmas is not just an abbreviation. Christianity was spelled ‘Xianity’ as far back as 1100. ‘X’ comes from the Greek letter Chi which is the first letter of Christós.

12 Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You has won 3 Guinness World Records