Where does the term Christmas come from and what does it mean?
Most of us would assume it originates from the word Christ, as the whole idea of Christmas is to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
To a point that is the case – the word is a shortened form of “Christ’s mass”, or “Cristes Maesse” as it was first recorded in 1038.
This was followed by the term Cristes-messe in 1131, according to The Catholic Encyclopedia.
The term “Christ” – or Crīst as it originally read – comes from the Greek word Khrīstos, a translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, which means “anointed”.
The second part of Christmas – messe – is a version of the Latin word missa, the celebration of the Eucharist tradition of eating bread and drinking wine in memory of Jesus.
This is also called Holy Communion and the Lord’s Supper.
What you need for a Christmas market trip
You may be planning a Christmas market trip in the next few days but there’s a few things you need to know beforehand.
These are some things you need to prepare before going on your festive day out:
- Check the weather forecast – you need to make sure you wrap up warm
- Plan your trip – take some time to decide what parts of the market you want to go to most
- Set a budget – many know that some things at Christmas markets are a bit pricey so it’s important to set a financial budget
Where is the Christmas truck today?
The truck is still in Gateshead at the MetroCentre, but you’ll need to be quick if you want to visit.
From November 30 to December 3, the Coca-Cola truck will move to RDS Simmons Court in Dublin.
It will be open from 2pm until 5pm, then 6pm until 9pm.
Take part in Coca-Cola’s Christmas quiz
Christmas time is here and with it, Coca-Cola is offering a host of activities to get you into the holiday spirit.
One of those is the company’s Christmas quiz, which you can play here.
The quiz is part of Coca-Cola’s Christmas ad campaign and lets you discover your “inner Santa.”
Why are Coca-Cola cans red?
There’s a fascinating reason behind the scarlet branding that defines the fizzy drink – and it’s all about taxes.
It’s not, as many believe, tied to the famous Coca-Cola ads which saw Santa sporting a red coat for the first time.
It goes back much further than that, to the mid 1890s, when the drink was served out of barrels in US drug stores.
At the time alcohol was taxed while soft drinks were not so the Coca-Cola Company began painting its barrels red so that customs officials and tax officials could tell them apart from barrels of booze.
The colour then became the company’s signature shade and the company even named its first magazine The Red Barrel, in 1924.
When did the Coca-Cola truck tour first begin?
The Coca-Cola Christmas truck was first seen in the brand’s hugely popular 1995 advert.
The truck began touring the US in 2001 but didn’t start visiting the UK until 2010.
It has travelled the UK every year since.
