12/24/25 - Christmas Eve! Traditions and Legends. Plus Powerball (again)

Wednesday 12/24/25

Celebrate:

Feast of Seven Fishes

Last Minute Shopper's Day

National Eggnog Day

Christmas Eve

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Once again, there was no winner in the Powerball Lottery drawing Monday night. It's now at $1.7 Billion (cash option $735,3 million). It could be a big Wednesday Christmas Eve win for someone. It will be the 4th-largest in US Lottery history So get those tickets, place them under the tree, and good luck!!!

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Holiday traditions that have mostly disappeared for whatever reason from

See the full article here.

Christmas stockings in the 1960s and early 1970s always contained oranges in the toe and mixed nuts in shells.

A Depression-era tradition that lingered for decades.

The orange represented exotic luxury when fresh fruit was rare in winter. Even prosperous 1960s families maintained this custom.

Nuts required crackers and picks, creating Christmas morning activities.

Traditional stockings also contained ribbon candy, chocolate coins, and candy canes. Small toys filled remaining space—jacks, marbles, yo-yos.

(My family has always done oranges in the toes of the stocking. Santa never lets us down with that, even today!)

Before plastic dominated, Christmas ornaments were hand-blown glass imported from Germany.

These were fragile, expensive, and treated as family heirlooms. Each ornament came wrapped in tissue paper.

Breaking one was a genuine tragedy. (broke one last year) The silvering inside gave them a distinctive look that modern ornaments can’t replicate.

Some featured mercury glass—now known to be toxic but creating unparalleled shine.

The ornaments came in shapes you don’t see anymore—pickles, mushrooms, Victorian Santa faces.

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Families attended Christmas Eve services that started at 11 p.m. and ended after midnight.

This was the big church event of the year—bigger than Easter, bigger than anything. Everyone wore their absolute best clothes.

Coming out at midnight to freshly falling snow created a magical transition into Christmas morning.

The timing was strategic. Exhausted kids were more likely to sleep, letting parents set up Christmas morning.

But here’s what made it universal: This was when everyone went. The 11 p.m. service wasn’t one option among many—it was the Christmas Eve service.

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Here are some Christmas legends and traditions.

(Why are they all scary??)

Legend says a giant, bloodthirsty cat roams the country on Christmas Eve and eats anyone who hasn't received new clothes to wear. (Iceland)

Iceland has 13 "Yule Lads"—troll-like brothers who visit children one by one for the 13 nights leading up to Christmas. Their mother, Grýla, is a giantess who cooks naughty children in a stew.

Not a monster, but a "Christmas Witch." Legend says she was too busy cleaning to join the Three Wise Men on their way to see baby Jesus. Now, she flies on her broom every January 5th (Epiphany Eve) to leave candy for good children and coal for the naughty. (Italy)

A folk custom involving a horse’s skull mounted on a pole and draped in white sheets. A group carries it from house to house, engaging in "rhyming battles" with homeowners to gain entry for food and drink. (Wales) (Isn't it easier to just carol?)

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It is traditional to use decorations that look like spider webs. It stems from a folktale about a poor widow who couldn't afford to decorate her tree, only for a spider to spin beautiful webs around it that turned to gold. (Ukraine)

Since the 1970s, it has been a massive tradition in Japan to eat Kentucky Fried Chicken on Christmas Day, with orders often placed weeks in advance.

Contrary to popular belief, this is largely an American tradition. Hiding a glass pickle in the tree—with the finder getting an extra gift—is often marketed as an "old German tradition," but most Germans have never heard of it.

Old folklore claimed witches and evil spirits came out on Christmas Eve, so families hid their brooms to prevent them from being stolen and used for flying. Even today, some people keep the tradition “just in case.” (Norway)

In Australia, with December falling in summer, Christmas often means BBQs, surfing, and Santa in board shorts. Instead of snowmen, think sandcastles and sunscreen. 

In Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, residents head to early morning church services on roller skates. The tradition is so popular that many city streets are closed to cars until 8:00 AM to allow the skaters to travel safely.

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Today's Useless Fact of the Day - The tradition of serving ham at Christmas comes from the Norse festival of Yule, where boar was sacrificed to honor the deity Freyr. Now, it's just a centerpiece on your holiday table, without the Viking sacrificial chanting.

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