Did you know that?

Christmas Statistics

1 in 10 – The number of the presents received that will be broken by the New Year
7 in 10 – The number of dogs that get Christmas gifts from their owners
33 – The average amount spent per person on last-minute purchases
25 – The percentage time spent in queues when Christmas shopping
832 – The number of homes Santa visits every second to deliver all his presents
5340 – Average number of times Visa Cards are used every minute during Christmas


2010 Average Budget for Christmas Presents

USA: $753
UK: $687
SPAIN: $555
FRANCE: $530
ITALY: $471
GERMANY: $391
NETHERLANDS: $298
 

Traditional Christmas Sweets

FRANCE: Buche de Noel (a Génoise or other sponge cake, baked in a large Swiss roll pan)
USA: Pumpkin Cake (with cinnamon and ginger, frosted with cream cheese frosting)
SPAIN: Nougat (made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts)
HUNGARY: Beigli (roll of sweet yeast bread with a dense, rich, bittersweet filling)
ITALY: Panettone (is a type of sweet bread loaf originally from Milan)
SWEDEN: Pepparkakor (heart-star and goat-shaped gingerbread biscuit)
UK: Christmas Pudding (steamed pudding, with dried fruit and nuts, usually made with suet)
PORTUGAL: Pain Perdu (French toast made with bread and eggs, milk, sugar and cinnamon)
GERMANY: Lebkuchen (large cookies made of honey)
 

• Electric lights for trees were first used in 1895.
   
• The first Christmas cards were vintage and invented in 1843, the Victorian Era.
   
• “It’s a Wonderful Life” appears on TV more often than any other holiday movie.
   
• Rudolph” was actually created by Montgomery Ward in the late 1930′s for a
  holiday promotion. The rest is history.
   
• “Jingle Bells” was first written for Thanksgiving and then became one of the
  most popular Christmas songs.
   
• The first state to recognize the Christmas holiday officially was Alabama.
   
• Coca Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa for a winter promotion.
   
• More diamonds are sold around Christmas than any other time of the year.
   
• Animal Crackers are not really crackers, but cookies that were imported to the
  United States from England in the late 1800s. Barnum’s circus-like
  boxes were designed with a string handle so that they could be hung on a Christmas tree.
   
• The original Santa Claus, St. Nicholas, was born in Turkey in the 4th century.
   
• In 1822, Clement C. Moore composed his famous poem, “A Visit
  from St. Nick,” which was later published as “The Night Before Christmas.”
  Moore is credited with creating the modern image of Santa Claus as a jolly
  fat man in a red suit.