I don't think there is probably other
annual event that influences our lives as much as the Christmas does. No doubt, Christmas
is the most celebrated annual festival. But, tell me how much do you know about
it really? You think you know some of the most bizarre sides of Christmas? This
list is prepared to describe briefly about top 10 most interesting Christmas
facts quite possibly you didn't know about. If not all, we bet you that you
will find at least a couple of things you definitely didn't know about the Eve of Christmas. Now, here
goes the list of some of the weirdest facts HOTLIST10 brought to you, the most
interesting Christmas facts to ponder.
10. About Incest, Baby Jesus, and Embalmed Corpses
According to Bible, the Magi brought
myrrh as a gift to the infant Jesus. The magi were brought along with gold and frankincense.
But only few people know that fact according to Ovid's Metamorphoses that the
reason behind the origin of myrrh trees is because of lust Myrrha had for
Cinyras, the father or her own. Myrrha repeatedly had sexual intercourse with her father
Cinyras with the involvement of her nursemaid. Later on, as Cinyras realized
that he had been bonking his own daughter and he even tried to kill her but
Myrrha was able to escape. And it is believed that the God turned her into a
myrrh tree to release her from the shame. And this way, myrrh tree became the
first unwanted Christmas present ever.
9. Mistletoe
Mistletoe literally means the 'dung
twig' and it is so named because it tends to spring out of bird droppings on
trees once the seeds have passed through the digestive track of birds. Besides,
Mistletoe can be very parasitic that often require a host tree to sustain
itself. Therefore, when you kiss someone beneath the mistletoe, make sure if
you are standing just beneath a parasitic poop twig. In fact, the kissing power of
mistletoe is believed to come from the Greek Mythology.
8. Three Dead Kids
You must be familiar with "Rub-a-hub-dub,
Three Dead Kids in a Tub!" yeah! According to the popular mythology, Saint Nicholas is regarded as the patron saint of kids. He brought back life to those three children after they were murdered and pickled in saltwater. As per
the popular myth, Saint Nicholas happened along the house of a butcher where
three children were killed. When he came to know about those kids, he miraculously
reanimated them.
7. About the Date
Actually, the Holy Bible doesn't
actually mention a specific date for the birth of Jesus. However, most
historians believe that he was probably born in the Spring. But if we trace
back to 4th century, Pope Julius I of Catholic Church chose 25th
of December as the official birthday of Jesus. December 25th is then
decided as the date for Feast of the Nativity. There were controversies about
this date and Christmas was banned in many countries for the same reason.
6. Christmas Cat
Do you know about Christmas Cat? Well,
according to the old Icelandic tradition, it is believed that everyone must get one
new piece of clothing for the Christmas eve. Those who did not get the new one were in
danger of being eaten by the Christmas Cat. According to the mythology,
Christmas cat is a large vicious black feline that belongs to the trolls. But
it's also been rumored that Wal-Mart is considering suggesting that Christmas
Cat has kitties who emigrated around the world. And as per the rumor, it's just
an attempt to increase the clothing sales for the next Christmas.
5. Breakup Season
Studies from Facebook show that, about
two weeks prior to Christmas is found to be the most popular time of the year for
the couples who break up. However, Christmas itself is one of the least likely
days for a breakup. Make sure if you are in a problematic relationship and are
looking for the right time to break up, maybe the study from Facebook could
help you out. However, nobody is completely sure why but we guess, it's a lot easier
to open gifts than to purchase them. Having said this, we are definitely
not encouraging anyone to breakup during holiday season.
4. Traditional Christmas Colors do not include WHITE
Many people are totally unaware of
the fact that, three traditional colors of Christmas are: Red, Green, and Gold.
But many people believe that White is the Christmas color. The reason behind
this misconception can be the whole snow things. But the reality is, White is
not even one among three traditional colors of Christmas.
Notably, all three Christmas colors
have special meaning. Red represents the blood of Jesus as well as the apples
on the tree that Eve ate in Eden. Green strongly symbolizes the Christmas tree
and it represents the life and rebirth. And the Gold represents the bright and
spiritual light that Jesus brings upon his birth and resurrection.
3. Nativity
As ubiquitous as it is today, there was no such thing as a nativity scene before 1224. When St. Francis of Assisi returned
from Israel, he was inspired to recreate the birth of Jesus with live animals
and actors. The manger was also used as an altar for Christmas Mass when he was
presenting his first display. Since then, the nativity caught on like wildfire.
Now, it can be any person or Santa Claus so long as they are in the act of
stooling.
2. Statue of Liberty
Maybe very few people are aware of
the fact that the Statue of Liberty is the largest Christmas presents ever presented.
In 1886, France presented the Statue of Liberty as the Christmas Gift to United
States. Let me remind you that the Statue of Liberty weighs 225 tons with the
height of 46.5 meters.
1. Red Nose of Rudolph
Yes, we all do know Rudolph as the red-nosed Reindeer and is the most famous among all the helpers of Santa Claus. But only few would know the reason behind why Rudolph has red nose? Some have tried to give the scientific answer to this as well. According to The British Medical Journal, as they took the samples of mucus from the noses of five humans to two reindeer living in the cold places like Rudolph, the reason why the Rudolph-nose was red is due to the extremely low temperature and extreme fatigue during Christmas season. Interestingly, other eight reindeers had the black noses. Maybe they just have better immunity systems than Rudolph or chances are they were much lazier than Rudolph.
