We have been trawling through the trivia, to find some fascinating facts.

Santa facts Boffins have worked out that Santa Claus would have 1,000th of a second to visit every home in the world -- but only if he was travelling at the speed of light! The man in red might be grateful when he reaches Holland because, according to custom, Black Peter drops the presents down the chimneys for him. Santa's little helper also puts bad children in a sack and carries them away to Spain.

According to Finnish folklore, Father Christmas dispenses with a sleigh and hitches a lift on the back of a straw goat named Ukko.

Santa Claus was inspired by Saint Nicholas, a rich man who helped out a poor family by dropping sacks of gold down their chimney. The sacks landed in stockings hung out to dry on the fireplace.

Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of Russia, sailors and children. He was born in 245 AD and lived in Turkey.

Song facts Bing Crosby's rendition of White Christmas, recorded in 1942, is the biggest-selling single of all time.

The hymn Silent Night was hastily put together and first performed on a guitar when an Austrian church organ was found to be rusty.

If you were to receive all the gifts promised in the song "The 12 Days Of Christmas'', you would get 354 presents.

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer was the brainchild of a Chicago advertising executive, who wrote a poem about Rudolph to be included in a free booklet given away to kids at Christmas.

Good King Wenceslas was actually a 10th Century Duke of Bohemia.

The New Year classic, "Auld Lang Syne'' actually means Old Long Ago.

Gift facts In Ancient Rome, people exchange gifts on New Year's Day as a means of welcoming in the year. When Christianity took hold in Europe, people exchanged gifts in imitation of the three wise men who visited Jesus as a baby.

In Guatemala, adults exchange gifts on New Year's Day, whilst children swap presents on Christmas Day itself.

Card facts Californian Werner Erhard sent 62,824 Christmas cards in 1975.

The first Christmas card was designed by John Callcott Horsley in 1843 for his friend Sir Henry Cole. It said 'A Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year'.

The first Christmas card was a depiction of a Christmas scene in three panels - in the centre panel a family raising glasses for a toast was depicted; on the left feeding the hungry and on the right clothing the naked.

English schoolboys used to send Christmas pieces to their parents before the first card to show off their writing skills.

Cracker facts The world's largest Christmas cracker was 150ft long and 10ft wide and made in Australia by Ray Price in 1991.

London pastry cook Tom Smith invented the first crackers in the mid-1840s after seeing the French custom of wrapping sweets in twists of coloured paper.

They only became popular when Smith put a snapper inside which made them go bang! Tree facts The modern Christmas tree tradition started in Germany, where merchants carried a fir tree decorated with paper through the streets on Christmas Eve.

It is said that Protestant-founder Martin Luther invented the idea for candles on a Christmas tree after a night-time walk under the stars which he attempted to recreate at his home.

One of the earliest mystery plays performed at Christmas time dealt with Adam and Eve. The Garden Of Eden was a represented by a fir tree hung with apples.

It stood for both the Tree Of Life and the Tree Of Discernment Of Good And Evil.

Legend has it that in the 8th Century an English missionary called Saint Boniface came upon some men about to cut down a huge oak as part of a pagan sacrifice.

Saint Boniface felled the mighty oak himself and a beautiful young fir tree sprang from its centre. He told the people that this was a holy tree and they should take the evergreen into their homes and surround it with gifts, symbols of their love and kindness.

In the US, over one million acres of land are used in the cultivation of Christmas trees, and the industry employs over 100,000 people.