[Christmas Trivia] Liven up with a quiz! Little-known fun facts you might not expect

Cold prevention

The cute, human-shaped cookies known as gingerbread men contain ginger. There is a theory that, in some regions, Christmas originally derived from winter solstice celebrations, during which ginger was used with hopes of preventing colds and ensuring the family’s good health, leading to the creation of ginger-based cookies.

Apple

As ornaments on a Christmas tree, we often hang red balls. Those red balls represent apples—specifically, not ordinary apples, but the apple that symbolizes the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden from the Old Testament story of Adam and Eve.

Stollen

Stollen is a traditional German Christmas cake— a sweet bread filled with dried fruits, nuts, and spices. It’s sliced thinly and eaten little by little each day until Christmas. As the days go by, its flavor deepens more and more.

female

The reindeer that pull Santa Claus’s sleigh are female. Male reindeer shed their antlers in winter. In contrast, females keep their antlers during the winter, so the ones pulling Santa’s sleigh are considered to be females with impressive antlers.

Coca-Cola

The red outfit is Santa Claus’s trademark, but it was actually Coca-Cola that popularized that image. It first appeared in their Christmas campaign in the 1930s, which helped spread the image of Santa Claus in that red costume.

120 people

Only those who pass the exam of the International Santa Claus Association in Greenland can become an “Official Santa Claus.” There are about 120 certified worldwide, and in all of Asia there is only one. And that one is Japanese! Official Santa Clauses work as helpers to the elder Santa Claus.

Black Santa

For good children, the familiar Santa Claus in red comes bringing presents, but for naughty children, a Black Santa dressed in black appears. Black Santa is said to have originated in Germany and is rumored to leave trash by children’s pillows or even abduct them.