First Christmas Card Sent in 1843 and Other Fascinating Holiday Facts
December 16, 2011 12:00 PM 
Did you know that royalties from Bing Crosby’s recording of Silent Night and Adeste Fidelis all go to charities? Here are more interesting facts about Christmas you may not have known.
- The word “carol” comes from a Greek word meaning to dance and to play the flute.
- Alabama was the first state to grant legal recognition to Christmas in 1836. By 1890 all states and territories acknowledged the holiday.
- It was illegal to celebrate Christmas in the Massachusetts colony from 1659 until 1681.
- The first Christmas card as we know it was sent in 1843. The greeting: “A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you.”
- There are at least two towns in the U.S. named Santa Claus, located in Indiana and Idaho.
- The first “department store Santa Claus” in the nation was James Edgar of Brockton, MA. As the owner of the Edgar’s store in Boston in 1890, he donned the Santa costume himself to begin the tradition.
Who knew?
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