Soda Pop Santa & The Bride's Tree

Among my favorite reading material are books called Uncle John's Bathroom Readers. I think the title is self-explanatory. :-) The books are quite entertaining, and I have collected quite a few of them. They even have a Christmas Collection Bathroom Reader, which I have been reading lately. Here are some trivia you may or may not know:

One of the more interesting things I ran into, is why Santa Claus wears red. It wasn't always the case. As the United States picked up on the tradition of Santa Claus, he was always pictured wearing black & white, not red & white. That changed in 1931. Coca Cola wanted to run an ad featuring a Coca Cola drinking Santa, so they had the artist draw him in their colors: red & white. That stuck, and ever since, Santa has worn red and white, all because of the Coca Cola company. :-)

There are also some jokes in this book:

What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? Claustrophobic

Why is getting Christmas presents for your kids like a day at the office? You do all the work, and the fat guy in the suit gets all the credit

What happens if you eat the Christmas decorations? You get tinselitis

What happens to you at Christmas? Yule be happy!

OK, those were pretty bad. :-)

If you received all of the gifts mentioned in the 12 Days of Christmas, you would have 364 gifts.

An estimated 25-30 million live Christmas trees are sold every Christmas in the US.

Franklin Pierce was the first president to have a decorated Christmas tree in the White House. (and George W Bush will probably be the last...................)

Amusing quote: Santa has the right idea. Visit people once a year. (Victor Borge)

According to statistics, one in five people leave their Christmas shopping until the last week.

A disc jockey was fired for playing a Christmas song too many times in a row. The song was "Grandma Got Run Over by A Reindeer - 27 times. It wasn't his fault - each repeat was a request.

And lastly, the "Bride's Tree", a Bulgarian custom. According to the custom, there are 12 special molded ornaments that newlyweds need to hang on their tree. Each ornament reminds them of what is necessary for a successful relationship. They are:

1) Angel (God's guidance)
2) Bird (Joy)
3) Fish (Christ's Blessing)
4) Flower Basket: Good Wishes)
5) Fruit Basket (Generosity)
6) Heart (True Love)
7) House (Protection)
8) Pine Cone (Fruitfulness)
9) Rabbit (Hope)
10) Rose (Affection)
11) Santa (Good Will)
12) Teapot (Hospitality)