Facts 1

The common abbreviation for Christmas to Xmas is derived from the Greek alphabet. X is letter Chi, which is the first letter of Christs name in the Greek alphabet.Oliver Cromwell, in England banned Christmas Carols between 1649 and 1660. Cromwell thought that Christmas should be a very solemn day so he banned carols and parties. The only celebration was by a sermon and a prayer service.In 1643, the British Parliament officially abolishes the celebration of Christmas.The Puritans in America tried to make Thanksgiving Day the most important annual festival instead of Christmas.

Silent Night was written in 1818, by an Austrian priest Joseph Mohr. He was told the day before Christmas that the church organ was broken and would not be prepared in time for Christmas Eve. He was saddened by this and could not think of Christmas without music, so he wanted to write a carol that could be sung by choir to guitar music. He sat down and wrote three stanzas. Later that night the people in the little Austrian Church sang Stille Nacht for the first time.St Francis of Assisi introduced Christmas Carols to formal church services.

Telesphorus, the second Bishop of Rome (125 136 AD) declared that public Church services should be held to celebrate The Nativity of our Lord and Saviour. In 320 AD, Pope Julius I and other religious leaders specified 25 December as the official date of the birth of Jesus Christ.26 December was traditionally known as St Stephens Day, but is more commonly known as Boxing Day. This expression came about because money was collected in alms boxes placed in churches during the festive season. This money was then distributed during to the poor and needy after Christmas.

Melbourne, Australia has a sporting Boxing Day tradition. The Melbourne Cricket Ground hosts a Cricket test match. Sometimes this attracts 90, 000 spectators. Cricket is Australias premier Summer sport.The first printed reference to Christmas trees appeared in Germany in 1531