Christmas is coming up. Christmas is the day celebrating the birth of Jesus. Therefore, Christmas represents a holy, blessed, happy day all around the world. Most people celebrate Christmas because of a variety of reasons like what senior Lucas Liu says: “Family meals, presents.”

Christmas is loved by many children for a variety of reasons. Santa is based on a real person and his name “Santa Claus” came from the Netherlands. He is known by many different names: Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply, Santa. He is a legendary character from the Western culture who brings presents to well behaved children and gives nothing or coals to naughty kids, but did you know that there are many people who think Santa is an anagram of satan? They say Christmas encourages greed, envy, and gluttony.

As a kid have you ever sent letters to Santa Claus? I’m sure many of you have at least once. All the letters sent to Santa Claus are sent to the same post office in Rovaniemi, Finland, also known as Santa Claus’ hometown. Also, France is known as the country that sends the most letters to Santa, around 1.7 million letters every year, with Canada coming second and then the United States of America. If you do not want to write a letter to Santa, you can call him! Santa can now be reached by phone by calling the Santa hotline. The number is ​​(605) 313-4000

There are many Christmas songs, like freshman Chase Sawyer’s favorite, “All I Want for Christmas” by Mariah Carey. Anyways, did you know that “White Christmas” by Irving Berlin is the most sold single in the world, with estimated sales of over 50 million copies. Paul McCartney, a Beatles member, also made a Christmas song but it is called the worst single by his audience. Ironically, that single alone is making over $500,000 every year. 

When you think of the best Christmas movie you probably will think of “Home Alone.” Many people around the world rewatch “Home Alone” when Christmas is coming up. However, in Sweden, families gather up and watch the cartoon “Donald Duck.”

In 1914, during World War I, there was a “truce” between the German army and the English army. It all started with a German soldier singing “Silent Night” by Franz Xaver Gruber. English soldiers heard the song and showed a great reaction. That night Christmas songs were playing all night and the next day a German soldier brought a Christmas tree to an English army camp. The English camp let them in and shared presents and played soccer games for a short period. People from Oslo, Norway, donate Christmas trees to the English every year to say thank you for protecting them during World War II.

The reason why Christmas is also written as x-mas is that x in Greek means chi which is an abbreviated version of the word Christ.

Japanese people tend to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken also known as KFC on Christmas night. Many people do this, so they need to register for a seat two months before. This tradition came from 40 years ago when KFC marketing was successful.

Sophomore Aniya Singh says, “Santa used to be a saint giving presents to the poor, but was commercialized.” As Singh said, many companies use Santa to promote their products, like Coca-Cola. Did you know that Santa has only worn red since his image was used on Coca-Cola? Santa originally had a wide range of colorful outfits over many years green, brown, blue, and tan. However, since 1931 he is known to wear primarily a red and white suit. It is all because the Coca-Cola company dressed him in the brand’s trademark colors. It has been that way ever since.

Surprisingly, Santa’s annual salary has been revealed! There was a debate going on a few years ago and surveys and the majority of people came up that he would earn around $1.8 billion annually.

Santa’s sleigh is the fastest vehicle ever! There are about 2.5 billion children in the world, so Santa’s sleigh has to move at a speed of around 1,800 miles per second at least. He also has nine reindeer to help him deliver presents; they are called Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph. Santa has an official pilot’s license. in 1827, the United States government officially issued Santa with a pilot license. In addition, Santa and his wife Mrs. Claus both have Canadian passports. In 2013, both received their Canadian passports from Canadian immigration minister Chris Alexander.

Christmas is a special day for many people. Whether you are Christian or not, people like Christmas for a variety of reasons. It could be a day off, pretty decorations, or presents. It is important to learn more about Christmas and Santa to have the best Christmas!