#FunFactFriday – December

This is it, folks! We have officially entered into THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR! From holiday music, to presents, to charitable giving, December is definitely the month in which we are all living our best lives.
To celebrate this marvelous month, I’ve compiled a few fun facts about all of December’s holidays, some of which I dare say may surprise you!

1. The traditional Christmas plant we call a poinsettia isn’t attractive because of its flowers, but because of its leaves! The flowers themselves are the yellow clustered buds at the center. The leafy parts, called bracts, are the beautiful red, pink and white petals that we love decorating the house with.
2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was originally named Rollo by the poem’s composer, Robert May. His executives vetoed that name, along with Reginald—thank goodness!
3. Boxing Day, which is traditionally the day after Christmas, is also an offshoot of St. Stephen’s Day. Although none of us are quite sure when it started, it has turned into a shopping frenzy in Canada and England, not unlike America’s Black Friday.
4. One of my favorite traditions, kissing under the mistletoe, came from England. As part of its original custom, merrymakers were to pluck a single berry from the mistletoe with each kiss, only to stop smooching once all the berries were gone.
5. Santa Claus originated in a newspaper ad—how anticlimactic! The legend first appeared as a recognizable entity in a newspaper ad for toys in the mid-19^th
6. Believe it or not, there is quite a bit of gossip surrounding who actually wrote the poem, “The Night Before Christmas.” According to literary sleuth, Donald Foster, he thinks that Clement Clarke Moore was lying about having written it. In fact, he thinks the true author is Henry Livingston Jr. Moore didn’t claim ownership of the poem until 19 years after the poem’s anonymous appearance in a Troy, N.Y., newspaper. Moore actually wrote to the paper to inquire about who the author is. By this time, Livingston, whose style the poem reflects, was dead. The world may never know!
7. Did you know that Hanukkah, which is based on the Jewish calendar, is a wandering holiday? This year, it will be celebrated from Dec. 12 – 20. In 2018, it will be celebrated from Dec. 2 – 10 and in 2019, it will be celebrated from Dec. 22 – 30.
8. Around 17.5 million oily doughnuts (sufganiyot) are eaten in Israel during Hanukkah, commemorating the miracle of oil.
9. Spinning the dreidel was originally done by students illegally studying Torah. When Greek soldiers would make a surprise raid, students would whip out a dreidel, pretending to play a gambling game.
10. Kwanzaa was created in 1965 by Dr. Maulana Karenga with the intention of providing African Americans with a link to their ancestral heritage. Celebrated from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1 each year, this non-religious holiday is guided by seven principles, Nguzo Saba. A different principle is emphasized every day during Kwanzaa.

And if you didn’t know, hanging your Christmas Tree upside down is the hot new trend of 2017. Wondering where that “tradition” comes from? Check it out here.
If there are any other fun December holiday facts that you’re privy to, please share—‘tis the season, after all!
Happy Holidays!