Tis the season to be jolly here in Bethel Park, but did you know that Christmas wasn’t always Dec. 25?

In the late 1500s during the shift to the Georgian calendar by Pope Gregory XIII, he moved the great holiday from Jan. 6 to Dec. 25. However, some groups, including the Amish, continue to honor it on Jan. 6.

There’s so much more that not only Bethel Park but the whole world forgets about Christmas.

For instance, the tradition of putting up a Christmas originates back to Prince Albert of Germany, who got a tree for his new wife, Queen Victoria of England. The tradition took off across the surrounding areas. A drawing of the couple in front of a Christmas tree first appeared in the Illustrated London News in 1848. Following its appearance in the popular newsletter, sales skyrocketed.

Now it has grown to become a worldwide phenomenon and a must-have for Christmas each year. In 2022 alone, America sold 30 million trees for an average price of $80- $100.

You can’t forget the presents to fill those trees as the American average for money spent on presents in 2022 was $220. The most popular of those presents are clothes, gift cards, and toys.

There wouldn’t be any toys delivered each year without your man and that’s jolly ole Saint Nick, but did you know Santa Claus didn’t always don the red and white? The image of Santa we know today was actually created by Coca-Cola.

During their 1931 Christmas campaign, Coca-Cola hired Haddon Sundblom, the man behind the iconic picture of Santa Claus we’ve all grown to love.

Similarly to Santa, the infamous Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer was also created as a marketing ploy. Oddly, Rudolph wasn’t even the initial name for the iconic Christmas character.

Originally in 1939 during its creation, the name that Monotogmery Ward wanted was Rollo.

That’s not all, as throughout the years, there have been some reindeer lost in time. Flossie, Glossie, Racer, Pacer, Scratcher, Feckless, Ready, Steady, and Fireball have all been names of Santa’s reindeer at one point.

Weirdly enough, a normal person would think that flying reindeer would be the most dangerous part of Christmas. Little do most people know, that the most dangerous part of the holiday is decorating for it.

Just last year, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated that 14,700 visit hospital emergency rooms each November and December from holiday-related decorating accidents. This calculates to about 240 injuries per day. The most common accidents involve falling, lacerations, and back strains.

While being dangerous, most Americans view decorations as a must part of Christmas every year with 80% of people doing it per year. The average person in that 80% spends $269 yearly.

Americans, though, can’t forget that the most expensive part of the holiday is priceless: spending time with one another.

Merry Christmas, BPHS!