until 1969, police also had the right to arrest anyone driving to church, as you had to go on foot.

The British tradition of a Christmas pantomime was originally an entertainment without words which featured men dressed as women and women dressed as men.

For the lively Scottish Hogmanay, it is a custom that the first person to enter the house in the New Year should not have a squint or have their eyebrows meet in the middle.

In Greek legend, the time around Christmas is when mischievous creatures called Kallikantzaroi play pranks. To get rid of them, you should burn salt or an old shoe - the stink drives them away! Or you could always hang a pig's jawbone on your door.

Christmas Island was named on December 25, 1643, by Captain William Mynors of the East India Ship Company - the day he and his ship landed.