Reader Roy Cartwright, of Covingham, contacted the Adver with his list of 50 Christmas-related facts.

He says: "With Christmas fast approaching I remembered that my niece in America asked me some years ago what I knew about Christmas which I had to admit was very little, so I did a bit of research and came up with the following information below some of which I cannot guarantee is correct..."

We are bringing you 10 of Roy's facts a day...

11: The song Jingle Bells was first sung in 1857 and was written originally for Thanksgiving.

12: Before the Americans gave us turkey to eat at Christmas (no such bird existed in Europe) the traditional dinner would have been a pig's head with mustard and a goose.

13: There is no reference to Three Wise men in the Bible ( the nearest is in Mathew’s Gospel where he refers to merely Wise Men. )

14: Greeks celebrate Christmas on January 7 - the old Julian calendar - but children open their presents on New Year's Day.

15: In Scotland New Year's Eve (Hogmanay) is as important as Christmas Day and many children get presents on both days.

16: The holly wreath symbolises Christ’s crown of thorns with the berries being drops of his blood.

17: The first Christmas card was sent by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843 showing a family drinking wine (it sold some years ago at auction for over $17,000). 

18: Hanging presents on the tree came from the Druids, a pagan faith that believed the tree was the giver of all good things.

19: The largest Christmas cracker ever pulled was in 1991 in Australia and was 46 metres long.

20: Jingle Bells was the first song ever sung from space by Gemini 6 Astronauts in 1965.