With Christmas just round the corner, a lot of decorations are popping up in the city.
In Nepal too, a trend is on the rise of celebrating Christmas by having a get-together with friends and families, eating out in restaurants, going to the movies, exchanging gifts and greetings among other activities.
Meanwhile, here are some interesting facts about Christmas that might amaze you, if you, too, are planning to celebrate the coming of the Santa Claus.
1. 'Jingle Bell' is the first song to be played in space
The song 'Jingle Bells' made history by becoming the first song to be played in space during NASA’s Gemini 6A space flight on December 16, 1965.
2. A traditional Christmas dinner in Japan is going to KFC
When KFC launched their “Kentucky for Christmas” marketing campaign in 1974, it was an instant hit and now KFC is a popular choice for Christmas dinners in Japan.
3. The original purpose of the song 'We wish you a merry Christmas' was to issue threats
The song 'We wish...' was often sung by servants to demand alcohol from their masters during the festive period. The lyric 'We won’t go until we get some' was used to get their point across.
4. Children in the United States have good chance of getting reply from Santa Claus
In the United States, campaigns such as 'Operation Santa' have been running for decades with hundreds of volunteers around the country having the responsibility of replying to letters from children that are addressed to Santa Claus. This allows children who write to Santa to get a response from old Saint Nicholas!
5. Celebrating Christmas was illegal in US for 260 years
Oliver Cromwell banned the Pagan holiday of Christmas for 12 years from 1647 in the UK. The ban had been only lifted in Oklahoma USA in 1907. This means in some parts of the US, Christmas was banned for over 260 years!
6. Queen Victoria send the first offical Christmas card
Queen Victoria was the first official person to send a Christmas card, but the first commercial card came in 1843 when Sir Henry Cole produced 1000 and sold them for one shilling each. There are currently only 12 of these cards left in the world with one going up for auction a couple of years ago for £30,000.
