We’ve been looking into some festive facts and figures that you may wish to digest before getting stuck into a Christmas lunch today.

Yule (… get it!) probably be surprised to know that:

– The word Christmas comes from the Old English phrase ‘Cristes Maesse’ meaning ‘Christ’s Mass’

– Christmas was first celebrated in York in 521AD

– To visit every child yesterday, Father Christmas would have had to travel at 3,000 times the speed of sound, visiting more than 800 homes per second!

– Less than half of the world’s population celebrate Christmas (nearly 4 billion people)

– Using the letter ‘X’ as an abbreviation for Christmas is actually not at all irreligious as the letter ‘X’ is actually a Greek abbreviation for Christ

– Mexico City has been certified by Guinness World Records as having the world’s largest ever Christmas tree standing at 110.35 metres (362 feet)

– Whilst approximately 10 million are eaten in the UK at this time of year, Turkey hasn’t always been the traditional Christmas dinner enjoyed by millions of us – pig’s head and mustard, roast swan and pheasants were some of the preferred dishes going back in time

– Before those needles fall off the Christmas tree they can actually be used in tea and provide a good source of vitamin A and C!

– The first Christmas Stamps in the UK were issued in 1964 when Royal Mail ran a children’s competition to select the design

– Christmas Pudding was originally a soup made with raisins and wine before the silver sixpence became a vital ingredient

– Christmas crackers were created by Tom Smith in 1847 inspired by the design of sweet wrappers

– Nearly 60 million Christmas trees are grown each year in Europe