Things you didn’t know about Christmas!

Spiders/spider webs are common Christmas tree decorations in Poland. According to legend, a spider wove a blanket for Baby Jesus hence Polish people consider them to be symbols of goodness and prosperity.

Adolf Hitlers Nazi party tried to make Christmas a non-religious holiday celebrating the success of Hitler. Saint Nicholas was replaced by Odin the Solstice Man and swastikas featured atop Christmas trees during their time.

How we all love the Christmas song Santa Claus Is Coming to Town! The story behind this song is actually quite sad. The songwriter James Gillespie was unemployed and broke and his brother had just passed away when he was asked to pen down a Christmas song. Burdened with sorrow, the man found inspiration in his Christmas memories with his brother.

Rudolph the red nose reindeer was in fact brought to life by Montgomery Ward, a departmental store. They did so as part of a marketing gimmick to make children buy colouring books.

Earlier, Santa Claus was deemed to have dressed in blue, white and green. His now common red and white suit is all courtesy a Coca Cola commercial from the 1930s.

During the 1st World War, the troops along the Western front in Britain took a break from war and began singing carols to one another while on the battlefield. The next morning, German soldiers appeared from the ditches and approached them by saying "Merry Christmas" in English. British soldiers greeted and shook hands with them. This act was later pronounced as the Christmas Truce of 1914.

During 1659 to 1681, celebrating Christmas was deemed illegal. Showing holiday fervor could cost a person as much as five shillings at that time. In the US, Christmas was considered so unimportant, that after the Revolutionary War, the Congress held its first session on Christmas Day, 1789 instead of declaring it a holiday. A century later, they declared it a national holiday.

The name Santa Claus comes from St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop who lived in present-day Turkey in the 4th century AD. St. Nicholas had inherited immense wealth and gave it up all to help the needy.

The first ever Christmas trees appeared in Strasbourg, Germany in the 17th century. With the wedding of Queen Victoria to Germanys Prince Albert in 1840, the tradition made way to England. Eight years later, the first American newspaper showcased a picture of the royal Christmas tree, and the Americans followed suit.

25th December is typically celebrated as the birthday of Jesus Christ. But The Bible does not in fact state when Jesus was born. In the 4th century, the Catholic Church decided to recognize Jesus birth on 25th December with the Feast of the Nativity.

Hey all.. Christmas is just around the corner! So as we all gear up for the festivities, heres a heads up on the 10 cool facts you never knew about the festival. So read on and make merry!