It's going to be 2017 soon so give these tall tales a rest please.
Christmas Eve is taking place tomorrow and you'll probably hear some tall tales going on around circles of kids about certain details about Christmas. While they make for good stories to tell the younger ones, it's always best to check whether the tall tale is real or not. Here are some Christmas stories you should stop sharing right now. Why? Because they're no better than telling your kids that Santa is a work of fiction.
1. Coca-Cola invented Santa Claus
Sure they share the same tastes in colour but popular soda brand did NOT create Santa. The reason why people are led to believe this is because the brand has been using Santa in their Christmas advertisements every year from 1933 up to today.
2. Jingle Bells is THE Christmas song
The popular Christmas song is originally an American Thanksgiving song written by James Pierpont in 1857. The entirety of the song is about Thanksgiving and winter and less about Christmas. It's original title was "One Horse Open Sleigh."
3. Good King who?
Good King Wenceslas is another popular song with too many problems in it. First, Wenceslas wasn't a king, he was a duke in Bohemia (Czech Republic today); second, his name wasn't Wenceslas but Vaclav instead. He only became known because he was romanticised as a ruler - especially because his successor, Boleslaus the Cruel really lived up to his name.
4. Kissing under the mistletoe was a Viking story
Norse mythology does mention mistletoe BUT there is no mention of kissing under it. The tradition as we know today originated in 1719 in England when Sir John Colebatch wrote a book about the plant and its associated customs.
5. Hark the Herald has the wrong lyrics
The original lyrics are: 'Hark how all the welkin rings' which was written by Charles Wesley. A certain George Whitfield picked up the hymn and changed the lyrics to what it is today.
6. Prince Albert invented the Christmas tree
The Prince and Queen Victoria only popularised it when it appeared in the Illustrated London News of 1848. The earliest Christmas tree recorded in England was in 1444.
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