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The Montana Standard

Random Facts

By Linsay Carlson - 12/21/2007

n During the Christmas buying season, Visa cards alone are used an average of 5,340 times every minute in the United States.

  • Christmas has been celebrated in the White House since 1803 when Thomas Jefferson was president.

  • Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in 1895. The new lights proved safer than the traditional candles.

  • In 1895 President Grover Cleveland used electric lights on a Christmas tree in the White House.

  • Hallmark introduced its first Christmas cards in 1915.

  • The first record of a Christmas tree in the White House was in 1889 when President Harrison decorated a live tree with tinsel and popcorn.

  • In 1907, Oklahoma became the last U.S. state to declare Christmas a legal holiday.

  • In 1937, the first postage stamp to commemorate Christmas was issued in Austria.

  • More than 3 billion Christmas cards are sent annually in the United States.

  • Franklin Pierce was the first president to decorate an official White House Christmas tree for public viewing.

  • The first Christmas card was created in England on Dec. 9, 1842.

  • The movie “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000) features more than 52,000 Christmas lights, about 8,200 Christmas ornaments and nearly 2,000 candy canes.

  • In 1961, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy began the tradition of selecting a theme for the official White House Christmas tree.

  • According to Gale Research, the average American household wraps 30 Christmas gifts each year.

  • Christmas trees are edible. Many parts of pines, spruces and firs can be eaten. The needles are a good source of vitamin C.

  • For every real Christmas tree harvested, two to three seedlings are planted in its place.

    — Compiled by Linsay Carlson, The Montana Standard Sources: http://www.corsi-net.com/braincandy/xmastrivia.html, www.uselessknowledge.com, http://www.whitehousehistory.org/, http://www.whitehouse.gov/holiday/2007/index.html


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