Queen Elizabeth prefers to say ‘Happy Christmas’ rather than ‘Merry Christmas’, because she associates the word ‘merry’ with alcoholic revelry.

The tradition of hanging tinsel on Christmas trees began in Germany and originally beaten strips of silver were used for this purpose.

In 1882 Edward Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison, became the first person to light up a Christmas tree, using 80 small bulbs.  The first string of ready-made lights were made in 1903 by the Ever-Ready Company.

By 1903 approximately 20% of all American households decorated their homes at Christmas time, compared to 85% by the end of the century.

In December 2010 the Emirates Palace Hotel in Dubai, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, decorated a Christmas tree using jewellery to the tune of $11 million.  The intention was not only to have the most expensive tree in the world, but also to demonstrate the high level of hotel security that would allow the tree to sit safely in the lobby.

America’s most popular flower over the Christmas period  is the poinsettia, making up 85% of all plants sold during that time. Joel Roberts Poinsett, a botanist, brought home the first plant from Mexico in 1828.  In Mexico they are called ‘Flowers of the Holy Night’.

The tradition of Carols by Candlelight was the brainchild of a Melbourne, Australia radio announcer way back in 1938 who organised a mass ‘carol concert’.  It was broadcast on Christmas Eve and soon gained popularity, becoming an annual tradition over much of the world.

The Greek transliteration of the word ‘Christ’ is ‘Xristos’.  The shortening of ‘Christmas’ to ‘Xmas’ became common in the sixteenth century, with the ‘X’ often symbolizing a cross.  More recently the ‘X’ has been associated with commercialism, leading to the saying ‘Put Christ back into Xmas’. (Source:  benbest.com) FJ