If you think you know all there is to know about Christmas then think again. Emma McFarnon takes a look at some of the stranger facts behind the festive season.

THE traditional Christmas dinner once consisted not of turkey, but of the head of a boar prepared with mustard.

The practice was based on an English, 15th century Boar’s Head carol that describes the ancient tradition of sacrificing a boar and presenting its head at a Yuletide feast. The tradition was likely to have been brought to Britain by the Anglo-Saxons.

Christmas as we know it today is a Victorian invention of the 1860s. Probably the most celebrated holiday in the world, our modern Christmas is a product of hundreds of years of both secular and religious traditions from around the globe.

Sweden
‘God Jul!’

Most people in Scandinavian countries honor St. Lucia (also known as St. Lucy) each year on December 13. The celebration of St. Lucia Day began in Sweden, but had spread to Denmark and Finland by the mid-19th century.