Ho Ho Ho: Christmas Trivia Time!

Design and InstallationGarden Caregarden TriviaIndoor plantsLighting and IrrigationPlant Health Care
Written By Peter Morris

Grab a bottle of wine, turn the television off - It's Christmas Trivia Time !  

A beautifully decorated ( by Plant Specialists ) front of townhouse, Manhattan

How did red and green become Christmas colors?

We mostly have the holly plant and Coca-Cola to thank for the rise of red and green as Christmas colors. Holly, obviously, has bright red berries and dark green leaves. It was used long ago by the ancient Celts for winter solstice celebrations as a symbol of protection and good luck.

Holly screams Christmas !

Coca-Cola’s role in making the colors a widespread combo for the holiday began in 1931 with ads featuring Santa Claus in a red and white suit surrounded by a green background and accents.

Vintage Santa Claus

What’s the most successful Christmas movie ever?

With a whopping $286 million at box office, 1990’s Home Alone is the highest-grossing Christmas movie ever. Coming in second is How the Grinch Stole Christmas, released in 2000 with a box office of $260 million.

Plant Specialists interpretation of The Grinch Tree - in Window boxes in Manhattan

How many packages does the USPS deliver during the holidays?

In 2019, the USPS projected 800 million package deliveries between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day.

True or false: "Jingle Bells" was written to be a Christmas song

False! The song wasn’t intended to be attached to the holiday. Some say it was first performed at a Thanksgiving church service. In any case, the lyrics don’t mention any holiday at all.

When was the first tree put up at the Rockefeller Center?

Technically, the first Christmas tree was put up in 1931 when construction workers building the site decided to buy one to lift their spirits during the Great Depression. In 1933, it became a tradition with the first official lighting ceremony.

endless Christmas tree farm in Oregon

Has Christmas ever been illegal to celebrate?

Yes. The Massachusetts-Bay Colony ordinance of 1659 made Christmas illegal to celebrate in that specific colony. The law was finally repealed in 1681. Christmas didn’t become a state holiday in Massachusetts until 1856, though.

When was the term “Xmas” first used?

The term was first used in the mid-1950s. It comes from the Greek letter chi, the first letter in the word Χριστός, which means Christ.

What are two other names for Santa Claus?

Saint Nick and Kris Kringle.

How many Americans use artificial Christmas trees?

A survey conducted by Nielsen for the American Christmas Tree Association found that nearly 94 million U.S. households will display a Christmas tree this year. Of those, 85 percent are artificial.

This beautiful live tree was installed by The Plant Specialists team in Manhattan

What department store sold $50,000 chocolate advent calendars in 2007?

Harrods sold a 4 foot Christmas tree shaped advent calendar carved from wood that had compartments filled with organic chocolate.  The proceeds went to cocoa farmers in Belize.

Name the eight original reindeer.

Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen.

How much do Americans spend on holiday shopping?

The National Retail Federation reports that Americans spend an average of about $1,000 per year on holiday shopping.

True or false: People no longer send out Christmas cards.

Sad but true. Thee rate of sending any greeting card has gone down over the years.

Why is kissing under mistletoe a tradition?

The start of this tradition is up for debate.  Many ancient cultures believed mistletoe to have healing properties—from potentially protecting against poisons to restoring fertility.

There’s also a myth that mistletoe was used to kill the god Baldur, and his mother Frigg used its berries to bring him back to life. She then declared the plant a symbol of love and promised to kiss anyone who went underneath it.

mistletoe - Viscum album - is a parasitic plant that grows on trees !

Why are stockings hung?

The most popular legend tells of a poor man who was worried his three impoverished daughters wouldn’t have enough status to marry. St. Nicholas heard of his situation and wanted to help but knew the man wouldn’t take charity.

Instead of directly handing him money, St. Nicholas put gold coins in the daughters’ stockings that were drying by the fire and disappeared.

Christmas stockings hung by the fireplace !

For a Holiday colored garden - Call Plant Specialists TODAY !

Our Garden Care Team can help you make it festive !

Don't delay – the sooner the better !

GREENING NEW YORK FOR OVER 52 YEARS !

Article written by our Staff Horticulturist, Peter B Morris, BSc, MSc, MBA

All photographs used with permission from @SHUTTERSTOCK and our own customers gardens !   

Peter Morris

Peter was born and raised on a beautiful green island in the midst of a tropical rainforest. He was introduced into the world of plants at the age of six when his grandmother, an avid Spanish gardener herself, asked him to help her grow seeds for her pepper garden. He was hooked! By the time he was a teen, he had his own rose and orchid collection numbering in the hundreds. Botany was in his blood, and that is what he set out to study.

His passion brought him to NY in the late seventies to further his education. His tenacity allowed him to work full time at Plant Specialists while he completed a MS in Plant Biology. As a manager at the time he felt unsatisfied with his knowledge of business and business processes. Peter felt compelled to learn, so he then pursued and completed an MBA in Quality Management within a few short years.

Peter’s other passion is teaching. His natural ability is quickly consumed by our staff in all subjects in Botany, Horticulture, and Landscaping. He created an immense reference library of more than 3,500 plants providing an invaluable resource for our staff.

Peter’s breadth of knowledge and wisdom allows him to effectively diagnose the needs of plants. Sometimes just by walking into a garden he can create a prescription that fixes even the hardest issue. He is our Staff Botanist, Diagnostician, and all around Mentor. Recently, he has put his immense knowledge and skills into developing a new department that focuses on Plant Healthcare. As he puts it, “Magic through Science”. The PHC staff that surround him have avidly consumed his teachings. Substantially developing their own plant wisdom, many have taken on difficult plant health issues with spectacular results.

Plant Healthcare has been an instant success with customers! The proper treatment of insects and diseases including Organic methods has made pest control a necessity for every plant. Correcting hormonal imbalances caused by planting in containers or refurbishing soils leached of nutrients by irrigation systems are big challenges PHC has become quite comfortable addressing. The scientific approach to the complex demands of keeping plants healthy in our harsh city environment has made many a customer say WOW!

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