CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS USED TO BE ILLEGAL From 1659 through 1681, anyone seen celebrating in the colonies was subject to a fine. The day had become so unimportant by the Revolutionary War that Congress convened for the first time on December 25, 1789. Christmas wasn’t even declared a federal holiday until nearly a century later, demonstrating that the Grinch’s attitude toward the holiday was alive and strong long before he existed.
ASTRONAUTS BROADCAST “JINGLE BELLS” FROM SPACE Many of us have pulled a prank that bordered on the ridiculous. Two astronauts aboard the Gemini 6 told Mission Control nine days before Christmas in 1965 that they saw an “unidentified flying object” about to enter Earth’s atmosphere while traveling in polar orbit from north to south. They interrupted the broadcast with “Jingle Bells,” with Wally Schirra playing a small harmonica and Tom Stafford shaking a handful of small sleigh bells, just as things were getting serious.
THE TERM “XMAS” DATES BACK TO THE 1500S “Xmas” is not, contrary to popular belief, a trendy attempt to remove Christ from Christmas. “Christianity” was spelled “Xianity” as early as 1100, according to From Adam’s Apple to Xmas: An Essential Vocabulary Guide for the Politically Correct. The Greek first letter of “Christ,” X, or Chi, was used as a symbolic stand-in at the time. The celebration was first known as “Xtemmas” in 1551, and was then abbreviated to “Xmas.”
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EC Magazines | Christmas Edition 2021
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