The action film 'Die Hard' (1988) is set on Christmas Eve.
True False
True: 'Die Hard' starring Bruce Willis takes place during a Christmas Eve office party at Nakatomi Plaza, which is why many fans consider it a Christmas film. The film's entire plot unfolds on the evening of December 24th, with Christmas decorations, music and dialogue featuring throughout.
In Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol', a total of four ghosts visit Ebenezer Scrooge.
True False
True: The ghosts are Jacob Marley, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. Marley appears first to warn Scrooge, followed by the three Spirits of Christmas over the course of the night.
Christmas Day is recognised as an official public holiday in every country in the world.
True False
False: Many countries with non-Christian majorities do not observe Christmas Day as a public holiday. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, China, North Korea, Japan, Israel and Afghanistan do not treat December 25th as a statutory public holiday.
Reindeer can see ultraviolet light.
True False
True: Reindeer are one of the few mammals able to see into the ultraviolet range. UV vision helps reindeer spot lichen, predators and urine trails against the bright Arctic snow, where ordinary vision would struggle.
The traditional Christmas colours of red and green were officially chosen by Queen Victoria.
True False
False: Red and green were associated with Christmas long before the Victorian era. The pairing goes back to medieval uses of holly (red berries, green leaves) and was later cemented by 20th-century advertising - not by any royal decree.
In Dr. Seuss's 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!', the Grinch's heart grew four sizes on Christmas Day.
True False
False: In the original 1957 book by Dr. Seuss, the Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day, not four. The famous line from the book reads that the Grinch's small heart 'grew three sizes that day' - a detail the film adaptations have kept faithful.
Saint Nicholas, the original inspiration for Santa Claus, was a bishop in what is now modern-day Turkey.
True False
True: Saint Nicholas was the 4th-century Bishop of Myra, in the region of Lycia, part of present-day Turkey. Nicholas was renowned for secret gift-giving, which inspired the folklore figure that evolved through Sinterklaas into the modern Santa Claus.
In Iceland, 13 mischievous characters known as the 'Yule Lads' visit children in the nights leading up to Christmas.
True False
True: Starting on 12th December, one Yule Lad arrives each night, leaving small gifts for well-behaved children and rotten potatoes for the naughty. Each Lad has a distinctive name and habit, such as Spoon-Licker, Door-Slammer and Sausage-Swiper, reflecting old rural Icelandic folklore.
The famous First World War 'Christmas Truce', when British and German soldiers met in No Man's Land, took place in December 1915.
True False
False: The Christmas Truce took place in December 1914, during the first Christmas of the war. Soldiers on the Western Front spontaneously exchanged gifts, sang carols and, in some sectors, played football. High command discouraged any repeat the following year.
The abbreviation 'Xmas' was invented in the 20th century as a way to take Christ out of Christmas.
True False
False: 'Xmas' has been in use for centuries and is not a modern attempt to secularise the holiday. The X stands for the Greek letter Chi, the first letter of Christos (Christ). The abbreviation has appeared in Christian texts since at least the 16th century.
The Christmas tree erected each year in London's Trafalgar Square is a gift from the city of Oslo, Norway.
True False
True: Oslo has gifted a Norwegian spruce to London every year since 1947 as a thank-you for Britain's support during the Second World War. The tree is typically 20-25 metres tall and is lit in a ceremony in early December each year.
In Italy, children traditionally receive gifts from an old woman called La Befana on the eve of the Epiphany.
True False
True: La Befana flies on a broomstick on the night of 5th January, filling good children's stockings with sweets and leaving coal for the naughty. The tradition draws on the story of the Three Wise Men, whom La Befana is said to have missed meeting on their way to visit the baby Jesus.
The very first Christmas tree lit with electric lights was decorated in the United Kingdom.
True False
False: The first electrically lit Christmas tree was decorated in the United States, in 1882. Edward H. Johnson, a colleague of Thomas Edison, hand-wired 80 small red, white and blue bulbs onto a tree at his home in New York City.
The Christmas carol 'O Come, All Ye Faithful' was originally written in German.
True False
False: The carol was originally written in Latin, under the title 'Adeste Fideles'. The Latin original is generally attributed to John Francis Wade around 1743. It was translated into English by Frederick Oakeley in 1841.
Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, is credited with inventing the very first Christmas tree.
True False
False: Prince Albert popularised the Christmas tree in Britain, but he did not invent it. The decorated Christmas tree tradition originated in 16th-century Germany. Albert helped bring the custom to wider British attention after a famous 1848 illustration of the Royal Family around their tree.
The animated television special 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' first aired in 1975.
True False
False: 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' first aired on CBS in 1965. The Peanuts special was an immediate hit, watched by around half of American televisions on its first broadcast, and has been shown every Christmas since.
The charity single 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' by Band Aid was released in 1984.
True False
True: The single was released on 3rd December 1984 to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. Written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure, it became the UK's fastest-selling single at the time and held the Christmas Number One spot that year.
The modern tradition of setting up a Nativity scene is credited to Saint Francis of Assisi.
True False
True: Saint Francis is widely credited with creating the first live Nativity scene in the Italian village of Greccio in 1223. His tableau used real people and animals to help villagers visualise the story of Christ's birth, and the custom quickly spread across Christian Europe.
Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' was first released in 2004.
True False
False: The song was first released in 1994, on Mariah Carey's album 'Merry Christmas'. It has since become one of the best-selling Christmas singles of all time and regularly returns to the top of the UK and US charts each December.
The popular Christmas song 'Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!' does not actually mention Christmas anywhere in its lyrics.
True False
True: The song makes no reference to Christmas at all - it is a general winter song that simply became associated with the festive season. Written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne in 1945 during a California heatwave, the lyrics describe a romantic snowy evening indoors with no Christmas imagery.
