Wah Chan Gold & Jewellery: 10 Things You May Not Know About Christmas

Jingle bells, jingle bells~ Christmas is coming to town! In Malaysia, Christmas is mostly about, holiday-going, feast-making and gift-giving. Of course we will have the heavily ornamented Christmas trees, dozens of empty and filled present boxes under the trees, automatic crowd-pleaser roast turkey, and most importantly a great time with family and friends.

At least, that’s what Christmas is to most of us. But seriously, we’re willing to bet there are more behind Christmas, and there might be at least a couple of things you didn’t know about Christmas – and you really should.

1. Upside Down Christmas Trees

Yes, we are not kidding, upside down Christmas trees do exist as early as the 7^th century. As time goes, upside down trees hanging from the ceilings were used in department stores to increase floor space, but people decided they like the idea and took it home with them.

A little twist on the traditional Christmas tree...
make it upside down!

2. Artificial Christmas tree

Ironically, the first artificial Christmas tree wasn’t a tree at all. It was created by the Germans out of goose feathers that were dyed.

An artificial feather tree looks as real as
a real evergreen Christmas tree.

3. Christmas colours

Always wondered why Santa is red and the Christmas tree is green with gold and silver ornaments? Well, that’s because red is always a bright colour, which means joy and love. Green is the vibrant colour of holly plants and mistletoe which symbolizes birth and life, while gold represents the art of giving.

That explains why we are ever happy to see Santa Claus.

4. Christmas gift

Who’d have thought… The world’s biggest Christmas gift is the Statue of Liberty! Given to the US by the French in 1886, the 152.5 feet tall and 225 tons weight Lady Liberty quickly becomes a symbol of freedom.

Statue of Liberty could be the most famous Christmas gift too!

5. Christmas carols

Caroling began from an Old English custom of “wassailing,” which originally means “to be of good health”. So when you sing Christmas carols, you’re wishing your neighbours good health in addition to Merry Christmas!

Caroling is one of the most favoured Christmas
traditions all around the world

6. Christmas card

The record holder for the most valuable card for now is the first greeting card created and illustrated by John Calcott Horsley, which was originally sent to his grandmother in 1843. It was sold at $28,000.

The first Christmas card is officially 172 years old this year!

7. Christmas song

According to Guinness World Records, the best selling Christmas song was sung by Bing Crosby in 1942 and it's called White Christmas. The song sold over 50 million copies around the world and is still a holiday favourite today!

8. Santa Claus

Santa received millions of letters from kids all around the world each year that the Canadian Post Office set up a special postal code for Santa. The postal code? H0H 0H0, of course.

The Santa Village where Santa resides. Meet Santa himself!

9. Christmas tree’s ornament

In Poland, spiders are considered as a symbol of goodness and prosperity at Christmas time. Therefore, it is common to see Christmas trees decorated with artificial spider or spider webs.

Spiders are a symbol of good luck, but not the
black spiders though

10. Mistletoe

Mistletoe is a beautiful plant symbolizing love at Christmas time because it remains green with delicate berries during the winter. Originated from the word misteltan, the name literally means “dung twig” as the plant seeds spread through bird droppings. That’s less romantic, huh?

Mistletoe... a Ho Ho Ho, or a No No No?

Now you know. At least there's something you can talk about this Christmas when you are running out of topic. But did you know, this year at Wah Chan, we are celebrating the gift giving tradition too with an exclusive Christmas pendant series. The gift is not as big as the Statue of Liberty, but the meaning is. Take for example some of our recommended choices: