FANCY THAT!
Facts to make you go“WOW!”
IN 2016, BRITS SPENT AN AMAZING £77.56BN ON CHRISTMAS – UP 1.9% ON THE PREVIOUS YEAR AND ALMOST DOUBLE THE EUROPEAN AVERAGE.
◆ Around 12% of the Earth’s surface is permanently covered in snow and ice.
◆ A SINGLE SNOWSTORM CAN DROP 39 MILLION TONS OF SNOW. ◆ Sweden uses light therapy lamps in bus stops to combat depression during winter when 19 hours of the day are darkness. ◆ Mistletoe comes from the Anglo-Saxon word “misteltan” which means “little dung twig” because the plant spreads through bird droppings. ◆ THE WORD “CAROL” SIMPLY MEANS A DANCE OR SONG OF PRAISE AND JOY AND CAN BE SUNG IN ANY SEASON, ALTHOUGH THE CHRISTMAS TRADITION IS THE ONLY ONE TO SURVIVE.
◆ The first Winter Olympics was held in Charmonix, France in 1924. No country in the southern hemisphere has hosted them, or even applied to host.
◆ ACCORDING TO A 2016 SURVEY, 57% OF ADULTS WOULD GLADLY SACRIFICE SEEING RELATIVES ON CHRISTMAS DAY IF IT MEANT THEY COULD SPEND MORE TIME ON FACEBOOK! ◆ IN 1647, AFTER THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR, OLIVER CROMWELL BANNED CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES AS TOO FRIVOLOUS FOR SUCH A HOLY DAY. THE LAW WASN’T LIFTED UNTIL 1660.
◆ Singer Brenda Lee was only 13 years old when she recorded Rockin’Around TheChristmasTree. THE AVERAGE BRIT CONSUMES AROUND 7,000 CALORIES ON CHRISTMAS DAY!
◆ There is a town in Norway called Hell – and it freezes over almost every winter!
◆ THE AVERAGE SNOWFLAKE FALLS AT 3MPH. ◆ BOXING DAY GETS ITS NAME FROM THE CASH COLLECTED IN CHURCH ALMS-BOXES FOR THE POOR.
◆ At –70C, Siberia makes Russia the world’s coldest country. Canada, Mongolia, Finland and Iceland make up the top five.
◆ ACCORDING TO TRADITION YOU SHOULD EAT A MINCE PIE ON EACH OF THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS TO BRING GOOD LUCK IN THE COMING YEAR. ◆ The Christmas cracker was invented by a London sweet shop owner called Tom Smith in 1847. He marketed them as “Bangs of Expectation”, adding a little trinket gift along with the sweets.