The seven virtues are prudence courage temperance justice faith hope and charity

The shortest verse in the Bible consists of two words: `Jesus wept` (John 11:35)

In 1643 the British Parliament officially abolished the celebration of Christmas

The seven archangels are Michael Gabriel Raphael Uriel Chamuel Jophiel and Zadkiel

For every real Christmas tree harvested two to three seedlings are planted in its place

Carol comes from the Greek word Choraulein which referred to a dance accompanied by a flute

The word Christmas comes from the English phrase Christes Masse literally meaning Christ s mass

Pope Benedict XVI born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger on 16 April 1927 is the 265th and the current Pope

26 December Boxing day was traditionally known as St Stephen s Day after the first Christian marty

Amish dolls are often made without faces to emphasize the fact that all are alike in the eyes of God

A Hindu temple dedicated to the rat goddess Karni Mata in Deshnoke India houses more than 20 000 rats

Jingle Bells was first written for Thanksgiving and then became one of the most popular Christmas songs

The Church of Scientology was founded in 1953 at Washington DC by US science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard

There are 1189 chapters in the Bible: 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 chapters in the New Testament

The first translation of the English Bible was initiated by John Wycliffe and completed by John Purvey in 1388