How well do you know Christmas?

Which country made the first artificial Christmas tree? Who invented the candy cane and why? Where was Jesus Christ raised and which was his first miracle?
We have compiled a list of Christmas-related factoids from both the Bible and popular culture. Don't forget to test yourself in our Christmas quiz and find out how you rate.

Vintage cards and goose feather trees...
Germany made the first artificial Christmas trees. They were made of goose feathers and dyed green. The first Christmas cards were vintage and invented in 1843 during the Victorian era.

Christmas and commercialization...
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was actually created by Montgomery Ward, a Chicago-based retail operator, in the late 1930s for a holiday promotion. The rest is history. The first department store to feature a visit with Santa was the J. W. Parkinson's store in Philadelphia in 1841. No other department stores copied this event until 1890 when a store in Boston repeated it. Before long, lines of children formed at stores across America to sit on Santa's lap and tell him their Christmas wish list.

O poinsettia plant!
The poinsettia plant was brought into the United States from Mexico by the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, in the early 1800s. While holly berries are poisonous, poinsettia plants are not.

Of jingles and carols!
"Jingle Bells" was actually first written in 1857 for Thanksgiving and then became one of the most popular Christmas songs. British author Charles Dickens wrote "A Christmas Carol" in just six weeks in 1843.
The most popular Christmas song of all time is Bing Crosby's version of "White Christmas." There are more than 500 versions in dozens of languages, making it the most recorded holiday song.
"Silent Night," arguably the most recognizable Christmas hymn, was written in 1818 by an Austrian pastor, Joseph Mohr. As Christmas Eve came that year, the organ in his church was broken, so together with his friend, Franz Gruber, he wrote this new tune for the service that night and played it on his guitar for his congregation.

Saying J for Jesus
In a small Indiana town, there was a candy maker who wanted to spread the name of Jesus around the world. He invented the Christmas candy cane, incorporating symbols for the birth, ministry and death of Jesus Christ.
He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy to symbolize the Virgin birth. The candy maker formed the stick into a "J" to represent the name of Jesus. It can also represent the staff of the "Good Shepherd."
He thought the candy was too plain so he stained it with a red stripe to symbolize the blood shed by Christ on the cross.

Happy Xmas!
The Christmas abbreviation "Xmas" is thought by some to be sacrilegious, but, in fact, the first letter of the Greek word for Christ is chi, which is X. Before the invention of the printing press, "Xmas" was often used, in print, to save time and ink.

Twelve days of Christmas?
Traditionally, it took the Three Kings 12 days to find the baby Jesus. Their arrival on the 12th day was celebrated in the form of the Feast of Epiphany in medieval France and later in other countries.

When Christmas became illegal!
In 1647, the English parliament passed a law making Christmas illegal. The Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell, who considered feasting and revelry on what was supposed to be a holy day to be immoral, banned the Christmas festivities. The ban was lifted only when Cromwell lost power in 1660.

How Christmas savvy are you?
Which movie appears on TV more often than any other holiday film?
A. "It's A Wonderful Life."
If you received all of the gifts in the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," you would received how many?
A. 364.
What color is Grinch?
A. Green
Counting Rudolph, how many reindeer are there?
A. Nine
Jesus was born during the reign of which ruler?
A. Herod The Great
Which town was Jesus raised in?
A. Nazareth
According to the Gospel of John, which was Jesus' first miracle?
A. Changing water into wine.

Sources: http://writerchick.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/weird-christmas-facts-fun/, http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Quiz?The_Life_of_Jesus&sc=5, www.christmas-celebrations.com/trivia.