* During the Christmas buying season, Visa cards alone are used an average of 5,340 times every minute within the U.S.

* To solicit cash for a charity Christmas dinner in 1891, a large crabpot was set down on a San Francisco street—the first Salvation Army collection kettle.

* In France, Christmas is called Noel. This is derived from the French phrase les bonnes nouvelles, which means literally “the good news,” referring to the gospel.

* Postmen in Victorian England were popularly called “robins” because their uniforms were red. Christmas cards often showed a robin delivering Christmas mail.

* More than three billion Christmas cards are sent annually in the U.S. The average family will send out 28 cards each year.

* Puritans forbade the singing of Christmas carols.

* A Gallup poll shows that 29 percent of Americans find the Christmas holidays more stressful than enjoyable. Those with lowest incomes are most likely to find the season stressful, perhaps reflecting an unfortunate focus on the commercial, gift-giving aspects of the holiday in American culture.

* According to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy nearly 40 million real Christmas trees each year.

Source: www.coolquiz.com