By David Tepera, December 25, 2024
What a wonderful day for all of us. No matter the battles throughout the year, we made it to another Christmas. If you dig deep enough, you’ll find many things to be thankful for. You’re reading my article, so life is good today.
Now, here a few fun facts about Christmas you might not have known. There are actually-two towns in the United States named Christmas. One is in Florida and the other is in Michigan.
George Washington was the only President to have his own egg nogg recipe. One hundred and ninety-five countries around the world celebrate Christmas, while eighteen do not.
Ulysses Grant was the President that signed a bill into law in June 1870 establishing Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day as federal holidays.
Believe it or not, Japan celebrates Christmas by going the Kentucky Fried Chicken. I’m sure Colonel Sanders appreciates that.
Did you know, it takes seven years to grow a Christmas tree? Growing up, I loved the pine scent of a new tree each year. But today, I will admit, we have an imitation tree, but it is beautiful after Tina finishes the decorations.
Can you guess how many gifts are described in the song “12 days of Christmas”? Yes, it’s 78, but by the end of song, the total number is 364 gifts, where the final cost comes to $201,972.66.
Also, 1.76 billion candy canes are produced in the U.S. each year. In 2023, Americans spent over 500 billion dollars on Christmas gifts. This year is supposed to exceed that amount. Yep, we will be contributing our portion to that statistic.
Now, I don’t claim to be a Theologist, so I hope you don’t mind if I give a simple Christian’s man personal perspective on Christmas and Jesus.
Remember, Jesus came from God and Heaven, so His age cannot be calculated. But, we celebrate Jesus’s Earthly birth on December 25th. For us to understand the time table from the bible, Jesus is 2024 today.
Listen, it’s the holidays and people are scrambling to purchase gifts, traffic is horrific, and people are panicking. But, take today to slow down, be kind to strangers, smile to others and just be happy. I promise, you’ll make a difference in someone’s life with little gestures.