MARY BRASWELL: Looking Back at all things Christmas

Each week, Albany Herald researcher Mary Braswell looks for interesting events, places and people from the past. You can contact her at (229) 888-9371 or [email protected]. Follow @ABH_MBraswell on Twitter.

The hustle and bustle has picked up speed as time races toward Christmas Day. Take a break and read this hodgepodge of “all things Christmas.”

—For the first time in the history of the U.S. Postal Service, there was no mail delivered on Christmas Day. The year was 1925.

— The first mass-produced artificial Christmas trees were made by Addis Brush Co., best known for making toilet brushes.

— It took Charles Dickens only six weeks to write “A Christmas Carol.” Before settling on Tiny Tim for the name of the little boy’s character, he considered Little Larry, Puny Pete and Small Sam.

— On average, an artificial tree for home use lasts six years. The same tree can last for centuries in the landfill.

— About 40 percent of shoppers report buying their first Christmas gifts before Halloween.

— The year was 1870 and the president was Ulysses S. Grant when Christmas was declared a federal holiday.

—Vincent Van Gogh spent at least part of Christmas Eve 1888 cutting off his left earlobe.

—The New York Sun first printed the “Yes, Virginia” editorial in 1897. The famous reply to Virginia O’Hanlon’s question, “Is there a Santa Claus?” was reprinted each Christmas until the paper closed in 1949.

— Ancient Druid priests cut mistletoe from oak trees with a golden sickle. The branches had to be caught before touching the ground. The sprigs were then distributed to the people to hang over the doors as protection from thunder, lightning and evil spirits.

— It was Franklin Pierce, the 14th president, who placed the first Christmas tree inside the White House.

— Church masses were broadcast live in Eastern Europe for the first time ever in 1989.

— The birth of the Christ child is described in two of the four gospels of the Bible, Matthew and Luke. The details of the wise men and the star over Bethlehem, birthplace of Jesus, are found only in Matthew.

— Frustrated at the lack of interest in his new toy invention, Charles Pajeau hired several midgets, dressed them in elf costumes and had them play with the toys in the front window of a Chicago department store. By the next Christmas (1915) over one million sets of Tinkertoys had been sold.

— If you received all the gifts from the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” they would total 364 presents.

— In 1963, the National Christmas Tree was not lit until Dec. 22 . This signified the end to a 30-day mourning period following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

— Two years after World War II ended, the people of Oslo, Norway, sent a tree to England as a token of appreciation for Great Britain’s support during the war. The tradition continues still.

— “Bah! Humbug!” The word “humbug” actually means a deception or fraud.

— It was 1962 when the first Christmas stamp was issued by the U.S. Postal Service.

— Coca-Cola was the first beverage company to use Santa Claus in advertisements. The illustrator was Haddon Sundblom.

— If an unmarried man finds a button in his plum pudding, he will remain a bachelor.

— The National Biscuit Company (now Nabisco) introduced animal crackers as an ornament for the Christmas tree in 1902. That is why the box had a string attached.

— Sears, Roebuck & Company offered its first artificial Christmas tree way back around 1883. A tree with 33 limbs cost 50-cents. One with 55 limbs cost $1.

— Ross Perot tried to airlift 28 tons of medicine and gifts to American POWs in North Vietnam over Christmas 1969. The mission failed, however, when officials refused to let the two rented jets land at the airport in Hanoi.

— In the Thomas Nast cartoon that first portrayed Santa Claus with a sleigh and reindeer, he was delivering gifts to soldiers at a Civil War camp. The publication was Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 3, 1863.

— Santa has to visit approximately 850 homes each second to complete his Christmas Eve deliveries. With allowances for time zones (and a rare potty break), it takes him less than 36 hours each year to complete his work.

— Contrary to what some people believe, the suicide rate during the Christmas season is lower than at other times of the year.

— Ringo Starr received his first set of drums as a Christmas gift in 1959.

— The white in a candy cane stands for purity.

— In 1776, George Washington spent the better part of Christmas Day crossing the Delaware River, knowing he just might catch the Hessian troops asleep after too much holiday revelry. He crossed the river in New Jersey and, just as he suspected, took them by surprise, thus winning the Battle of Trenton, a move that was considered a turning point in the Revolutionary War.

— In 1985, Teddy Ruxpin, a bear with a concealed microchip, was cutting edge technology. Manufactured by Worlds of Wonder, the intriguing toy talked and sang as cash registers rang up $93 million in sales.

— Jimmy Boyd was just 12 years and 11 months old when he recorded “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” in 1952. The song, at least for a while, was banned from many radio stations.

— The world’s first singing commercial (for Wheaties cereal) aired on the radio Christmas Eve, 1926. The Wheaties Quartet comprised of a bailiff, an undertaker, a printer and a businessman. The four performed the commercial for the next six years at $6 per singer per week.

QUIK QUIZ answer:

(d) About 100,000 ViewMasters and six million disks were commissioned by the military for training purposes from 1942-1945.