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Weird And True Facts.

I will try and post one weird but true fact each weekday. Perhaps on a Saturday when I have some free time, like now. 

In 2014, a missing woman on a vacation in Iceland was found when it was discovered that she was in the search party looking for herself. (Source is from bu.edu website)

Apparently she never considered herself lost. 

Have a blessed weekend, take care and GOD bless. 

MOHLovesAlaska
196 Replies

Good Thursday evening dear friend, and welcome to weird but true facts. Since we are nearing the Christmas Holiday I will try and post as many weird but true facts that are about Christmas. I hope you will find them just as interesting as I do.   

You can thank Prince Albert for your Christmas tree.

Brew a steaming cup of tea when trimming your tree this year to pay homage to its origins. When Prince Albert of Germany got a tree for his new wife, Queen Victoria of England, the tradition took off across the pond. A drawing of the couple in front of a Christmas tree first appeared in the Illustrated London News in 1848. After that, more and more folks started following suit. (Source comes from www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g2972/surprising-Christmas-facts)  Have a great evening, take care and GOD bless...

MOHLovesAlaska

AdamPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Very interesting! 🎄

Thanks for sharing, @MOHLovesAlaska


Adam | Community Moderator

Come join in on the fun: It's Spooky Season Let's make a playlist together! ‌
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Good Friday afternoon dear friend, and welcome to weird but true facts about Christmas.

The first Rockefeller Center Christmas tree was small. Construction workers placed the first small, undecorated tree at Rockefeller Center in 1931. These days, the famous tree features more than 50,000 multicolored LED lights that's nearly five miles of lights! 

Have a great weekend, take care and GOD bless...

MOHLovesAlaska

Good Saturday evening dear friend, welcome to weird but true facts about Christmas. 

When the Candy Cane was invented in Germany, it was made into a J for Jesus. The red stripes symbolize his blood. (Source comes from www.berries.com/blog/45-fun-christmas-facts) The Candy Cane was invented back in 1670 in Germany. The candy cane made its U.S. debut in 1847 in Wooster Ohio, according to Schildhaus, when August Imgard, a German-Swedish immigrant, decorated a small blue spruce with paper ornaments and candy canes.

Have a great evening, and a wonderful weekend, take care and GOD bless...

MOHLovesAlaska

AdamPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

@MOHLovesAlaska Wow! I guess I never thought of why it was shaped that way. 😧


Adam | Community Moderator

Come join in on the fun: It's Spooky Season Let's make a playlist together! ‌
New music alert!: Picks of the Week (11.4.24)


Good Tuesday afternoon dear friend, and welcome to another weird but true fact about Christmas. 

The tradition of Christmas trees goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Romans, who decorated with evergreens during the winter solstice to signify that spring would return. Evergreens reminded them of all the green plants that were to grow once the sun returned. (Source comes from www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g2972/surprising-Christmas-facts)

Have a great evening dear friend, take care, and GOD bless...

MOHLovesAlaska

Good Wednesday afternoon, or perhaps morning depending where you are. Here is another weird but true fact about Christmas. 

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in 1939 when the Montgomery Ward department store asked one of its copywriters to create a Christmas story for kids that the store could distribute as a promotion. In the first year alone 2.4 million copies were distributed and late in 1949 Gene Autry recorded the song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer". The adorable movie featuring the island of misfit toys and Herbie the elf hit the airwaves (and our hearts) in 1964.

Have a great day, take care and GOD bless...

MOHLovesAlaska

Good Thursday morning dear friend, and here is another weird but true fact about Christmas tradition.

What’s the deal with mistletoe?

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines mistletoe as “a European semiparasitic green shrub (Viscum album of the family Loranthaceae, the mistletoe family) with thick leaves, small yellowish flowers, and waxy-white glutinous berries.” So why are you supposed to hang this plant over doorways and kiss those who pass underneath (which sounds even weirder when you explain it)? Well, there’s no easy answer to that one.

The explanation for this charming Christmas tradition ranges from mistletoe’s use by Greeks and druids for medicinal and even fertility purposes to one that is associated with the arts. Cooper pegs the use of mistletoe as a romantic Christmas tradition to an 18th-century English play and its appearance in the 1843 publication of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, in which characters are depicted kissing under the mistletoe.

Have a great day dear friend, take care and GOD bless...

 

 

MOHLovesAlaska

AlyssaPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

I'm enjoying these facts about Christmas! Thanks for sharing, @MOHLovesAlaska. 🎄

Alyssa | Community Manager
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Good Friday morning dear friend, welcome to another weird but true fact about Christmas. This one will be a bit lengthy, and it's about good ole' Saint Nick himself, yes that's right Santa Claus. 

There is a deep connection between St Nicholas of Myra and Santa Claus, the red-suited long-bearded good old man that every child waits for on Christmas Eve. Here is the true story of Santa Claus. A story that began a long time ago in Europe, crossed the Atlantic and became popular in the United States. St. Nicholas is probably one of the most popular and beloved saints of the Christian tradition. Europeans arriving in the New World brought St. Nicholas’ worship, which testifies to his popularity back then. Nowadays, it is almost universally believed that back in the 17th century it was the Dutch colonials who brought St. Nicholas to New Amsterdam (today's New York). For a long time, the New Yorkers remembered with pride their Dutch roots. John Pintard, a patriot and founder of the New York Historical Society, even promoted St. Nicholas as the city's patron saint. Washington Irving joined the Historical Society in 1809 and on St. Nicholas Day of that same year, he published a satirical novel  "Knickerbocker's History of New York" It was called rich in references to a jolly old Saint Nicholas. Though the character created by Irving was more of an elfin Dutch burgher with a clay pipe, nonetheless it inspired most of New York's legends and traditions about St. Nicholas. The 19th century was a time of cultural transition in the United States. Many people wanted to adopt the Christmas holiday and celebrate it as a holy season. Until then, Christmas had nothing to do with what it is nowadays. All of it began when a new meaning of family life and new children’s needs emerged. St. Nicholas, too, changed to fit the changing times. In 1821, the first lithographed book was published in America. It was an anonymous poem about "Santa Claus" arriving from the North in a sleigh on a flying reindeer. Santa was a positive character, rewarding good behaviors with toys and punishing the bad ones. According to the poem, Santa Claus first appeared on Christmas Eve, rather than on December, 26th. The jolly elf image received another big boost in 1823 when Clement Clark Moore published a poem destined to become immensely popular "A Visit from St. Nicholas", better known as "The Night Before Christmas". "A Visit From St. Nicholas" introduced the custom of a cozy, domestic Christmas tradition across the United States.
It's been a long journey from the saint Bishop of Myra, celebrated in Europe, to the roly-poly Santa Claus. However, this story can help us restore the spiritual dimension of Christmas festivities. (Source comes from savellireligious.com/blogs/blog/saint-nicholas-and-the-true-story-of-santa-claus?)

Have a great Friday, and a wonderful weekend, take care and GOD bless...

 

MOHLovesAlaska

Good Wednesday afternoon dear friend, welcome to another weird but true fact about Christmas. 

It’s technically illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas Day in England. In the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas pudding, mince pies, and anything to do with gluttony. The law has never been rescinded. (Source comes from www.tomango.co.uk/blog/105-fun-facts-about-Christmas-to-impress-your-friends/)

 Can you imagine having an arrest record for eating a piece of mince pie on Christmas day?

Have a great day friend, take care and GOD bless...

 

 

MOHLovesAlaska

Good Thursday morning dear friend, welcome to weird but true facts, and yes this is another fact about Christmas. This one I remember as a little fella listening to adults complaining about Xmas and leaving out Christ, but here is the truth behind the X.

“Xmas” is sometimes used as an abbreviation for “Christmas,” with the “X” representing the Greek letter “Chi” which happens to be the first letter in the Greek word “Χριστός” (Christos), meaning “Christ.” (Source comes from www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/2023/12/06/xmas-vs-Christmas-why-offensive-origins-history-gre...

Have a great day friend, take care and GOD bless...

 

 

MOHLovesAlaska

Good Friday morning friend, and here is another weird but true fact about Christmas. 

The famous Christmas story, and movie A Christmas Carol starring Ebenezer Scrooge, and his famous line “Bah Humbug” almost never existed. Charles Dickens’ initial choice was “Bah Christmas”. (Source comes from www.tomango.co.uk/blog/105-fun-facts-about-Christmas-to-impress-your-friends/)

I am glad he changed it, how about you? 

Have a great Friday and a blessed weekend, take care and GOD bless...

 

MOHLovesAlaska

Good Monday morning dear friend, welcome to weird but true facts, and yes! I will be adding another one about Christmas. 

Not every country has Santa as the one who brings all the nice little kiddie's toys there are many more Christmas characters around the world! In Italy, for example, a kind witch called La Befana is said to fly around on a broomstick delivering toys to children! And in Iceland, children leave shoes under the window for 13 mischievous trolls called the Yule Lads. If the child has been good, they’ll find sweets in their shoe – but if they’ve been bad, the Yule lads will leave them a rotten potato!

Have a great day, take care and GOD bless...

MOHLovesAlaska

AdamPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

Wow I had no idea, @MOHLovesAlaska!

Thanks for sharing. 🌎🎄 


Adam | Community Moderator

Come join in on the fun: It's Spooky Season Let's make a playlist together! ‌
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Good Tuesday afternoon dear friend, here is a weird but true fact about another Christmas tradition. 

Instead of stockings, many countries including France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands will leave their actual shoes out to be filled with gifts and sweets. (Source comes from www.factinate.com/things/31-facts-weird-wonderful-Christmas-traditions/)

Hopefully, they use odor eaters before setting them out...

Have a great day, take care and GOD bless...

MOHLovesAlaska

AdamPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

@MOHLovesAlaska Yeah I agree - I'd probably put out a shoe I never really wore yet. 😅


Adam | Community Moderator

Come join in on the fun: It's Spooky Season Let's make a playlist together! ‌
New music alert!: Picks of the Week (11.4.24)


Good Thursday afternoon dear friend, here are three short facts about Christmas right here in our own country. I will list them in the order I read them.

1). Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.

2). Christmas wasn’t declared an official holiday in the United States until June 26, 1870.

3). Oklahoma was the last U.S. state to declare Christmas a legal holiday, in 1907. (Source comes from www.factretriever.com/christmas-facts)

Have a great day friend, take care and GOD bless...

 

 

 

MOHLovesAlaska

AdamPandora
Community Manager
Community Manager

@MOHLovesAlaska I am going to miss these Christmas facts once the holiday passes. 

Thanks again for sharing! 


Adam | Community Moderator

Come join in on the fun: It's Spooky Season Let's make a playlist together! ‌
New music alert!: Picks of the Week (11.4.24)


@AdamPandora Good Friday morning dear friend, and yes I agree there have been some pretty cool facts about the Christmas holiday. This has also given me an idea about posting weird but true facts for every holiday that comes our way...I thank you my friend for your great support as well as your very kind replies. Have a great Friday, and if I don't get the chance later or over the weekend, you have a very Merry Christmas, may it be filled with great joy, smiles, and laughter as well as a very memorable Christmas...

Take care and GOD bless...

 

MOHLovesAlaska