20 Facts You May or May Not Know About How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

This original animated cartoon, based on the popular holiday book of the same name by Dr. Seuss, is a popular tradition to watch every year around the holidays. There are some things that people may or may not know about it. According to Chris Morgan, a writer for the MSN.com page Yardbarker, here are 20 things you may or may not know about How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)

1. It's based on a book of the same name

-Written by famous children's author Dr.Seuss, his books might seem strange and always rhyme, but they were whimsical books for people of all ages. This character first appeared in a poem in the magazine Redbook called The Hoobub and The Grinch in 1955. In 1957, he decided to make The Grinch front and center in his own book, about how he hates Christmas so much he decides to try and steal it

2. The director of it is legendary for animation

-Chuck Jones co-produced and co-directed this cartoon. He is famous for his animation style. His best known work is with the animated Looney Tunes cartoons, which gave us iconic characters, such as Wile E. Coyote, The Roadrunner, Speedy Gonzales, Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and more. If you're familiar with the Looney Tunes and the animation style, and you watch the 1966 cartoon How The Grinch Stole Christmas, you'll recognize Jones' handiwork

Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny of Looney Tunes

3. Chuck Jones and Dr. Seuss have worked together previously

-Chuck Jones and Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) have worked together on other projects. They both worked together during WWII, creating the "Project Snafu" series of cartoons. These cartoons were designed as training modules. They were lighthearted and funny ways of training new soldiers

4. Dr. Seuss was unsure at first

-He wasn't sure about turning How the Grinch Stole Christmas in to a television special. He had a bad experience with The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. He swore never to write another film. He decided to take a chance and was signed on to work as a producer on this one and it paid off

5. A composer was brought in

-Dr. Seuss wrote all of the lyrics to the songs in the musical version of the book. But he was unable to create the music, nor was Chuck Jones. A composer was brought in to combine Dr. Seuss' lyrics with music. Albert Hague was the man for the job. He has a unique background. He was a German immigrant who had fled Nazi Germany as a child. Growing up, he worked on Broadway and even had a small acting career. He had a small part in the kids movie Space Jam as the psychiatrist

6. A legendary person provided narration and the voice of the Grinch

-Boris Karloff is a legendary name. He was best known for playing the Frankenstein Monster in addition to The Mummy. The narrator and the voice of the Grinch belong to this legend of the silver screen

7. It was not just Boris Karloff who lent his voice as well

-The person who voiced Cindy Lou Who was none other than June Foray. She is an actress best known for voicing Rocky the Flying Squirrel. She was said to be the female version of Mel Blanc, a male voiceover actor who provided many Looney Tunes cartoons with their voices

8. Boris Karloff was the only one credited for his work

-June Foray, Dal McKennon (Max the Dog) and Thurl Ravenscroft (singer of the song "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch) all went uncredited for this film

9. CBS was riding a wave of success

-At the time, CBS was airing another animated special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. With the success of the Peanuts gang celebrating the holidays, they had no issue bankrolling this Dr. Seuss classic. Chuck Jones and Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) received $315,000 to make the cartoon, more than what Bill Melendez received to make A Charlie Brown Christmas

10. To keep things unique, people got creative

-Chuck Jones wanted to step away from all the usual Christmas-y stuff. He took a lot of inspiration from the book. The director relied on what was called "Seussian Latin", a made-up language in the story. He suspected that real Latin was indecipherable to many people as their fictional language

11. The original sponsor of the cartoon was lost to time

-Back then, advertisements were the only way to get products and services into the consciousness of viewers. Today, we see less and less ads with people streaming television. Back in the past, TV shows were sponsored by a single advertisement. When How the Grinch Stole Christmas first aired on television on December 18, 1966, its sponsor was the Foundation for Full-Service Banks

12. This annual holiday special did do something special about The Grinch

-In the original book, the Grinch was white. But in the 1960s, with the introduction of color TV, everything was new, sparkly and innovative. When the cartoon aired on TV, he was made green, to take advantage of the new color TV option

13. The original story would have been only about 25 minutes

-There were action scenes added to pad out the story and make it run a little longer. Such as the sled chase scene from Mt. Crumpit down to Whoville

14. It was a staple of CBS for years

-For years, you could guarantee that CBS was going to air How the Grinch Stole Christmas around the holidays. People counted on it as part of their holiday traditions and celebrations. It ran on CBS until 1987 and after that, other channels, such as TNT, TBS, The WB, ABC started picking up this much loved animated special and airing it. Now NBC owns the rights on airing it

15. It's a much loved holiday classic and the numbers reflect that

-On Rotten Tomatoes, a site where movies, television and more are rated good, fair or bad, they give this holiday special a 100% perfect rating. Not only that, but TV Guide ranks it as the best holiday special of all time

16. It won a Grammy

-At the 1968 Grammy Awards, How the Grinch Stole Christmas took home the Grammy for "Best Children's Album." The award was given to Boris Karloff

17. There were a few follow ups

-1977 seen The Grinch switching it up from Christmas to Halloween. In the ABC special, Halloween is Grinch Night, it was a prequel about the Whos celebrating the spooky day of Halloween. It won an Emmy. Another follow up to win an Emmy was the 1982 cartoon The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat

18. Two movies have been made

-The year 2000 seen legendary director Ron Howard making his live action film How the Grinch Stole Christmas starring Jim Carrey as the iconic green recluse. This is often the most popular choice of film to watch around the holidays. 2018 seen another animated version of the classic come out. This time, British actor Benedict Cumberbatch voiced the iconic green Christmas hater, the Grinch

2000 adaptation with Jim Carrey

2018 adaptation with Benedict Cumberbatch

19. The 2018 film did pretty well

-Even though it only has a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it did pretty well at the box office. It made $511.8 million worldwide

20. The song is still popular

-In 2020, "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" popped up on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, taking the spot of number 32. This is good to know that, after all these years, this song is still popular and very much a part of the Christmas holidays

Home Alone (1990)

For most people, watching this 1990 classic is a holiday tradition

Summary

-A young boy, left home by mistake by his family, who were en route to Paris for the holidays, defends his home against two bumbling burglars during Christmas Eve

Cast

-Macaulay Culkin: Kevin

-John Heard: Peter

-Catherine O'Hara: Kate

-Joe Pesci: Harry

-Daniel Stern: Marv

-Roberts Blossom: Old Man Marley

-Angela Goethals: Linnie

-Devin Ratray: Buzz

-Hillary Wolf: Megan

-Gerry Banman: Uncle Frank

-John Candy: Gus Polinski

-Kristen Minter: Heather

-Kieran Culkin: Fuller

-Terrie Snell: Aunt Leslie

Did You Know?

-On set, Joe Pesci purposely avoided Macaulay Culkin because he wanted Culkin to think he was legitimately mean

-As of 2014, Macaulay Culkin still refers to Catherine O'Hara as "Mom"

-Both Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern felt different about how the movie would turn out. So they both did over the top performances during shooting, not believing the movie would turn out as successfully as it did

-During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Joe Pesci told them "Mac is not like a nine year old. He's an old man already." Everyone else on set was stunned by how professional and mature Macaulay Culkin was

-Despite insisting the lines in the script be delivered as written, John Hughes, the producer, allowed John Candy to improvise his lines

-The stunt double for Macaulay Culkin was a very short 30 year old man

-Roberts Blossom, who played Old Man Marley, considered this to be a high point of his career. People would stop him on the street and ask "Aren't you the guy..."

-When the original music composer stepped out, John Williams stepped in. Despite never meeting director Chris Columbus, Williams saw an early cut of the film and was amazed and happily offered his services

-During takes, Macaulay Culkin would sleep on the ground if he got tired

-As a kid, Chris Columbus feared burglars. As such, it's a part of why he wanted to make a movie involving burglars

-Because of child labor laws, Macaulay Culkin was only allowed to work five hours a day

-In order to get Macaulay Culkin to memorize the lines, Chris Columbus made him a promise to let him play with his Nintendo system and it worked

-The success of this movie and the following sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York provided Chris Columbus the opportunity to move on to other films, including the first two films of the massively successful Harry Potter series and Mrs. Doubtfire

-Originally, the role of mean Uncle Frank was written with actor Kelsey Grammer in mind

-The actor who played Kevin's cousin Fuller is actually Macaulay Culkin's real life brother Kieran Culkin, who made his acting debut in this movie

-The exterior shots of the McCallister house was filmed in front of a house in a suburb on the outskirts of Chicago. The interior shots of the home was built inside an old, abandoned high school

-The police station was actually an office in a high school

-Sandra Macat, who played the Santa's elf Kevin encounters, appeared in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, playing a flight attendant

-Harry Lyme, the character Joe Pesci played, got his name from the Orson Welles movie The Third Man (1949)

-The scene where Marv had the tarantula on his face was done in one take. The spider trainer told Daniel Stern that if he screamed, it would startle the spider and cause it to attack. Daniel Stern had to do the scene and do a silent scream while the scream audio was added in at a later time

-During the scene where Kevin is staging a Christmas party at his home, to fool the burglars into thinking his family is still there, he is wearing an orange speaker-like item around his neck. This is a laugh box, a 1970s-era novelty item that produces the laughter heard in the scene. While difficult to hear over the music, it's heard far better in the scene where the mannequin is spinning on the record player

-The flag on the wall above Kevin's bed is the flag for Chicago, where the movie was filmed. This flag is also featured on the uniforms of the Chicago Police Department

-Alan Rickman was one of the considered actors to play the role of Harry Lyme. He had worked with Bonnie Bedelia, who is Macaulay Culkin's aunt in the 1988 film Die Hard

-While Peter and Kate are trying to get a flight home to Chicago from a French AA ticket agent, an Eastern Air Lines Boeing 727 is seen in the background. Despite being done at Paris Orly Airport, it was actually filmed at a terminal of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. Eastern Air Lines never did any Europe-based flights or other international flights. Trans World Airlines (TWA) and Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) did more international flights in the 1980s

-Despite people thinking that this film seemed realistic in how police would treat a "home alone" situation, writers and producers actually worked with a real Chicago police officer named Jeff Jefferson. He had assisted the writers and producers and wrote the police scenes. Ironically, five years later, Jeff Jefferson himself would be arrested by police for child neglect after it was discovered he left his own children alone for the last six years

-The airport attendant taking the tickets for the McCallister family never asked why there was a person missing from their group. It was because Peter had mistakenly thrown away Kevin's ticket after cleaning up the spilled milk from the previous night. This led to the attendant counting as many people as she'd received tickets for

-The plumbing van Harry and Marv drive says Oh-Kay Plumbing with the slogan "Your flood control experts." It's ironic because they are known as the Wet Bandits, who flood houses with water running from faucets after running them

-The ornaments Marv steps on were made of sugar. He insisted on stepping on them barefoot and the screaming reaction was not real, just acting

-The reason there is a Michael Jordan cardboard cutout featured in this movie is because Michael Jordan is Macaulay Culkin's favorite basketball player

-In addition to home invasion and burglary, Harry Lyme commits another crime-impersonating a police officer

-The Funko POP! company released figures of Kevin McCallister and Harry Lyme

-31 years after this movie was released, on December 23, 2021, Devin Ratray, who played Buzz, was arrested by police after it discovered that he tried to strangle his girlfriend in a hotel room

-Michael Douglas, Kevin Costner, Charles Grodin, Jim Belushi, Christopher Lloyd, Rick Moranis, Alan Thicke, Jeff Daniels, John Ritter, Ed O'Neill, among many others, were considered for the role of Peter McCallister, Kevin's dad

-Diane Keaton, Holly Hunter, Glenn Close, Linda Hamilton, Helen Hunt, Laura Dern, Anjelica Huston, Annie Potts, Maureen McCormick, Mary Steenburgen, among many others, were considered for the role of Kate McCallister, Kevin's mom

-Joe Pesci is known for heavy profanity in his films. He had to work extra hard to avoid using any profanity in this film, since it was a family Christmas film

-When Kevin looks through Buzz's steamer trunk at the end of his bed, he finds a picture of Buzz's girlfriend. He proceeds to say "Buzz! Your girlfriend. Woof!" The picture is actually of art director Dan Webster's son, who was made up to look like a girl. Chris Columbus thought it would be too cruel to make fun of a girl like that

-The Playboy magazine Kevin finds had pages taped together so Macaulay Culkin wouldn't see any nudity. The issue was from July 1989

-The movie Kevin watches, Angels with Filthy Souls, was not a real movie. It was specially created. It was a play on words of the classic 1938 James Cagney film Angels with Dirty Faces

-While rehearsing the scene where Joe Pesci attempts to bite off Macaulay Culkin's finger, Joe Pesci actually bit Macaulay, leaving a small scar

-For any of the barefoot scenes, Daniel Stern wore rubber feet. Much the same way that Bruce Willis did as John McClane in 1988's Die Hard

-While filming, Macaulay Culkin came down with a cold. He was given time off to recover, except for one part. While attempting to buy a toothbrush, his voice is hoarse, he is pale and his eyes were red and puffy from watering so much

-To strongly promote that this was a Christmas movie, red and green are the prominent colors featured all throughout the movie

-When Kevin talks to "Santa", the car he is getting into was a 1980 Honda Civic hatchback. It did actually stall out as the actor was attempting to drive away

-Despite being a family movie, Daniel Stern accidentally swore. He said the "s" word when getting his boot through the dog door. It can be heard in this scene

-The rundown look for Harry and Marv was based on Fagin, the iconic thief in Charles Dickens' classic story Oliver Twist

-When leaving the house to go to the airport, Uncle Frank complains that the flight to Paris leaves in 45 minutes and that they would never make it. In reality, the journey from the house to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport would take only about 29 minutes. Since this was done before 9/11, security was much more relaxed and only consisted of belt-fed x-ray machines for luggage. Not only that, anyone could go all the way to the departure gates without so much as a boarding pass

-In an interview, when Devin Ratray, who played Buzz, was asked what happened to Buzz later in life, he replied that he probably went to prison. Ironically, Ratray was arrested in 2021 for domestic assault and battery against his then girlfriend and a few years later, a suspected rape

-Old Man Marley is a tribute to Jacob Marley, one of the old business partners of Ebenezer Scrooger in the classic Charles Dickens' story A Christmas Carol

-The inventions Kevin used to fend off the burglars were inspired by Chris Columbus' love of inventions. These types of inventions also appeared in 1984's Gremlins, 1985's The Goonies, 1985's Young Sherlock Holmes, which were produced by Steven Spielberg. Both Spielberg and Columbus are big fans of the James Bond films

-The item Kevin uses to heat up the front doorknob is an electric charcoal tool for barbecue grills

-When Kevin goes after Buzz for eating all of the cheese pizza, milk gets spilled and a plane ticket on the counter gets coated in milk. When Peter is cleaning up, he accidentally throws away a plane ticket, which happened to belong to Kevin. The ticket is seen with Kevin's name on it. The following morning, Kevin is left home alone because his cousin is doing a head count and counts the nosy neighbor kid, thinking it was Kevin

-The July 1989 Playboy issue Kevin finds in Buzz's steamer trunk featured actress Erika Eleniak for Miss July. This same issue was featured in 1992's Under Siege, which also featured Erika Eleniak

-Journalists had asked medical professionals if the Wet Bandits would have survived any of the injuries they sustained. The medical professionals stated these were life threatening injuries and that they would not likely survive the injuries

-When Kevin is banished to the attic, there is a pull out sofa bed. There is no visible insulation in the rafters, which would leave the attic, in Chicago temperatures, sub-zero cold. This would not be an ideal place to sleep

-Prior to eating the macaroni and cheese he prepared, Kevin crosses his chest after praying, suggesting that he and his family are either Catholic or Episcopal

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)

It's happened again. Kevin McCallister (Maculay Culkin) has, once again, been left behind by his family. In their haste to make a flight to Florida for the Christmas holidays, Kevin gets his father mixed up with another gentleman who has the same type of coat his father wears, not realizing this other gentleman is bound for New York City, the Big Apple. Kevin quickly finds out he's in the wrong city when looking at the skyline of New York.

Summary

-During a Christmas holiday vacation to Miami, Kevin accidentally boards a plane to New York and encounters the same burglars he met last Christmas. This time, they're planning on robbing a toy store on Christmas Eve

Cast

-Macaulay Culkin: Kevin

-John Heard: Peter

-Catherine O'Hara: Kate

-Joe Pesci: Harry

-Daniel Stern: Marv

-Devin Ratray: Buzz

-Hillary Wolf: Megan

-Maureen Elizabeth Shay: Linnie

-Michael C. Maronna: Jeff

-Gerry Banman: Uncle Frank

-Terrie Snell: Aunt Leslie

-Kieran Culkin: Fuller

-Tim Curry: Concierge

-Dana Ivey: Desk Clerk

-Rob Schneider: Bellboy

-Brenda Fricker: Pigeon Lady

Did You Know?

-Due to the cold temperatures in New York, several cameras literally froze during filming

-Director Chris Columbus stated that the production crew had spent considerable money on fake snow for Central Park. Then, New York had a blizzard with real snow

-The phone number given for the Plaza Hotel in the movie is the hotel's actual phone number

-This was the first film shot at the famous Carnegie Hall in 30 years

-After completing this movie, Chris Columbus wanted to start another film. His wish was granted when he received the script for what would become 1993's Mrs. Doubtfire

-When Harry and Marv are talking at the ice rink, the ice rink is Wollman Rink in Central Park

-The scenes that were supposed to be in Florida were actually shot in California

-At the time, Donald Trump owned the Plaza Hotel and insisted on being given a cameo in exchange for the crew film at the hotel. Director Chris Columbus considered editing out the cameo, but ran it against a test audience, who loved it

-The scene where Marv gets electrocuted with the sink made director Chris Columbus laugh so hard he couldn't yell "Cut!", even after Stern collapsed onto the floor

-The children who appeared in the toy store scene were allowed to take home a favorite toy as part of their pay

-The scene where Kevin goes to the pool was shot at the Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago, Illinois because the Plaza Hotel doesn't have a swimming pool

-The bird woman, played by Brenda Fricker, was inspired by the "old bird woman" from 1964's Mary Poppins

-Real medical professionals were asked for their advice on Harry and Marv's injuries. They stated that three to four bricks to the face would cause "at best, brain damage, at worst, death."

-While out sightseeing, Kevin visits the once iconic World Trade Center. When the movie aired after 9/11, his visit to the World Trade Center was removed out of respect for those who perished in the terrorist attack. In 2018, the scene where he visits this building was restored

-Duncan's Toy Chest was loosely based on the flagship store of iconic toy store F.A.O. Schwartz

-The key icons on the uniform for concierge Mr. Hector (Tim Curry) are for the Les Clefs d'Or USA. This organization is for professional hotel concierges and is considered extremely difficult to get membership to. Earning these gold keys is a respected privilege, given only to the true professional, one dedicated to providing the highest level of service to the guests and the hotel in which they are employed. There are other requirements as well, which can be found on their website

-The turtle dove figures were created by artist John Perry, who is known for his sculptures of sea life

-There was a theory going around that Robert De Niro was one of the officers arresting Harry and Marv in Central Park. It's not Robert De Niro. It's an actor named William Dambra who plays the officer who fires a shot to scare the pigeons away and arrest Harry and Marv

-In the scene where Harry and Marv are stealing money from the toy chest, Marv says "Happy Hanukkah" to himself. In real life, Daniel Stern is Jewish

-The gun Harry pulls out at the end is a police issue Colt Police Positive

-When Mr. Hector (Tim Curry) attempts to find Kevin in the hotel room, Kevin uses an inflatable Bozo the Clown to fool the concierge into thinking someone is in the shower. This spooks Mr. Hector into leaving. Ironically, it was Tim Curry who played Pennywise the Clown in the 1990 film adaptation of Stephen King's It

-The song "Cool Jerk" by The Capitols is the only non-Christmas song featured in this movie

-Originally the role of the Pigeon Lady was to go to Estelle Getty. Unfortunately, she couldn't do the role, as it would conflict with her schedule on The Golden Girls, playing Sophia Petrillo

-Near the beginning of the movie, Uncle Frank takes Fuller's cola and tells him the rubber sheets are packed. This indicates that Fuller is still suffering from bedwetting

18 Quirky British Christmas Traditions That Could Confuse Other People

Not surprisingly, Britain does have a very unique culture not found elsewhere. There are traditions that are practiced there that are held with the utmost respect. These traditions have been going on for years and they are very much a part of the Christmas holidays. According to MSN.com and writers Ann Schmidt and Erin McDowell, here are 18 quirky British Christmas traditions

Also, you might see put in my two cents on them. First and foremost, I wouldn't ever think them weird. Quirky, yes. But weird, no. I would most likely enjoy them very much. It's creating memories, laughs and good times to celebrate.

1. Pantomimes or "pantos" are performed around the Christmas holidays in the UK

-This is family entertainment. This is silly little plays or music played by someone, sometimes featuring men in drag. These little pantos are sometimes based on fairy tales or books, such as "Cinderella", "Peter Pan" or "The Wizard of Oz"

2. Yorkshire Puddings are great with gravy, but those from outside the UK may not be familiar

-In the UK, things are quite different around the holidays compared to those from the US. Yorkshire Pudding is a popular meal. They closely resemble what some Americans would call a popover because of the hole in the middle. While they are popular year round at Sunday dinners in the UK, they're eaten around the holidays as well. They will often be eaten with gravy, which might repulse a person or two

3. Santa Claus is the US name for the man who brings gifts while Father Christmas is like Santa's British cousin

-In the UK, "Father Christmas" is the British equivalent of Santa Claus. If you're in England or any part of the UK, make sure to refer to the man in the red suit as Father Christmas. It's his proper title there

4. Children in Britain hang their stockings on the end of their beds

-In America, it's tradition to hang stockings over the fireplace because that is where Santa Claus is believed to enter the house, to bring gifts and goodies for good kids and leave coal for bad kids. In Britain, however, it's believed Father Christmas fills the stockings of children while they sleep

5. Christmas Eve is the perfect school friend reunion time

-In Britain, it's not uncommon to nip off to the local bar or pub to meet up with friends from school on Christmas Eve. In the US, something similar is done, only it's done at Thanksgiving. So it's not surprising that if you were in the UK around Christmastime, most if not all of the pubs and bars will have a highly Christmas-y festive vibe and you'll hear plenty of laughs and memories being shared

6. Christmas Pudding is the popular choice of dessert during the holidays

-This popular and yet traditional British food is one of the most iconic traditions of the British Christmas season. It's made weeks or months in advance, it consists of a dense fruit cake soaked in alcohol that is poured into it. During Christmas, it's set alight and on top, one usually puts brandy butter, rum butter, lemon cream, ice cream, custard. It can also be sprinkled with powdered sugar. It's even been said that Queen Elizabeth II gifted many of her staff with a Christmas pudding from the local grocery chain Tesco

7. Another choice for dessert is Christmas cake, a fruit cake covered in icing and marzipan

-If Yorkshire Pudding or Christmas Pudding is not to your liking, then there is Christmas cake. Fruit cake in many parts of the world is considered an unwanted, uneaten gift. The Brits seem to have made it actually good by adding icing. There are sometimes even festive decorations added that make it so beautiful you almost don't want to eat it, for fear of ruining its beauty

8. Mince pies are another option. These miniature pies are filled with fruit and spices and consumed around the holidays

-According to the BBC, the first reported mince pie recipe dates back to the 1830s, from an English cookbook. Around the mid 17th century, people began equating these pies to the holiday season. At that time, they were traditionally made with pork or other meat, sage and other spices. Now, they are filled with fruit and powdered sugar

9. Desserts in the UK are often enjoyed with brandy butter

-Rum or brandy butter is, you guessed it, butter laced with rum or brandy. Most in the UK consider this a perfect complement to a perfect dessert. It's served cold, which is something people in the US might call "hard sauce"

10. Instead of "Merry Christmas", it's "Happy Christmas"

-If you've seen the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Philosopher's Stone in the UK and other parts of the world), there is a scene showing Harry waking up on Christmas morning and going to the Gryffindor common room to find his friend Ron opening presents. He looks up at Harry and says "Happy Christmas, Harry" and he replies "Happy Christmas, Ron.". In the UK, it's customary to say "Happy Christmas." It might sound strange to a person from the US, but it's not as strange as one would think. It's the British equivalent of a person in the US saying "Merry Christmas"

11. Christmas crackers are small tubes wrapped at both ends, in a cardboard tube, and two people pull at both ends to reveal a prize within

-Often done at the start of a meal, Christmas crackers often contain hats that are worn throughout the meal. Also contained within is a "banger", which often makes a loud pop when pulled, along with a joke and prize as well. The jokes are usually cheesy, dad-joke types, such as "Why did Santa's helper go to the doctor? Because he had low elf esteem!" If you plan on going to the UK for the holidays and have to travel there by airplane, don't pack them in your luggage. TSA will confiscate them. TSA knows that Christmas crackers are popular in the UK and they know these items contain bangers, which could set off panic if they go off

12. "Top of the Pops" is a highly popular music television program featuring the year's most popular songs

-Around the Christmas holidays, the BBC will have Top of the Pops running a holiday special. This program ran from 1964-2006, when it was cancelled and no longer aired. People became so enraged at this legendary show being cancelled that the BBC decided to keep airing the Christmas special, which airs late into the morning of December 25

13. Millions tune in for the King's televised Christmas Day speech each year

-Every year, millions of families in England gather around the television (telly in British English) to hear the Royal Family give their heartwarming and inspiring Christmas Day speech. It's known informally as the King's Speech or the Queen's Speech. A newspaper in England, The Telegraph, reported that the first Christmas Day speech was only 251 words long. Later on, when Queen Elizabeth II did her speeches, they averaged 656 words each time. It's one of the most heavily watched programs on TV on Christmas Day in the UK

I had to add the Queen. She was a lovely, inspirational person

14. Christmas commercials are very similar to Super Bowl commercials in the US

-In the UK, people talk about Christmas commercials with the same hype and excitement as those in the US talk about commercials for the Super Bowl. It's a common tradition to see the John Lewis ad (advert) and now supermarkets and clothing brands are trying their hand at getting a talked-about holiday commercial going

15. People in Britain also anticipate what the No. 1 Christmas single will be

-In Britain, the "Christmas No. 1" has been a long-held tradition for over half a century. Appearing in 1952, the number one song on the British singles chart had been a widely coveted spot every year around the holidays. Christmas No. 1 albums include The Beatles, Queen, Ed Sheeran and many more. While some have had the irony of being Christmas songs, they do not have to be Christmas-related

16. School nativity plays are a widely held tradition in UK primary schools

-While religious schools in the US may focus on nativity plays, this is far more popular and part of the Christmas holidays in Britain. It's not uncommon for most UK primary schools to put on a nativity play. They've even made it into pop culture. In the Christmas rom-com Love Actually, the characters featured even attend a nativity play

17. There are after-Christmas sales on Boxing Day

-In Britain, Boxing Day is the British equivalent to the American Black Friday, where shoppers can score massive deals and discounts on various items. There are some differences, however. Boxing Day is the day after Christmas and originated in the mid-1600s. It was to be a day off for servants. They would receive a "Christmas Box" or gift from their master. With these "Christmas Boxes" in tow, they would go home to spend the day with their families

18. It's considered bad luck to keep your Christmas decorations up for more than 12 days after Christmas in the UK

-A lot of people believe in leaving up the Christmas decorations for at least 12 days afterwards, for the Three Wise Men in the US. But in the UK, it's customary to remove your decorations 12 days after Christmas. The twelfth day is known as Twelfth Night, and the reason it's customary to remove the decorations is to avoid bad luck in the new year. In the Anglican faith, Twelfth Night is also known as Epiphany Eve. It's the day before Epiphany, celebrating the Magi (Three Wise Men, depending on the faith you follow) coming to see the baby Jesus and marking the end of the 12 days of Christmas

The Holiday (2006)

I just saw this film Friday night. It was funny and adorably sweet

Summary

-Amanda (Cameron Diaz) is a film editor who just left a bad relationship. Iris (Kate Winslet) is a newspaper journalist who is heartbroken when the man she loves gets engaged to another woman. To give themselves a break from love during the Christmas holidays, they decide to exchange houses, with love managing to find them none the less

Cast

-Cameron Diaz: Amanda

-Kate Winslet: Iris

-Jude Law: Graham

-Jack Black: Miles

-Eli Wallach: Arthur Abbott

-Edward Burns: Ethan

-Rufus Sewell: Jasper Bloom

-Miffy Englefield: Sophie

-Emma Pritchard: Olivia

-Sarah Parish: Hannah

-Shannyn Sossamon: Maggie

-Bill Macy: Ernie

-Shelley Berman: Norman

-Kathryn Hahn: Bristol

-John Krasinski: Ben

-Alex O'Loughlin: Kissing Couple

-Odette Yustman: Kissing Couple

Did You Know?

-This film was written with the intention of having Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Cameron Diaz and Jack Black star together

-The sound studio that Miles (Jack Black) works in, complete with the keyboard, monitors, sound modules and other technology was copied, bit by bit, from the studio in which composer Hans Zimmer works

-The website that Iris and Amanda use to exchange houses is an actual site. It's called homeexchange.com

-The house that was used for Arthur Abbott's house once belonged to comedic actress Phyllis Diller

-After this movie came out, the popularity of "house exchanging" became so popular that police officers in England had to issue various warnings about swapping homes with strangers due to the increased risk of fraud, murders and other crimes

-When Arthur (Eli Wallach) is talking to Iris, he references a "Meet Cute". This was used in the 1938 film Bluebeard's Eighth Wife. Claudette Colbert and Gary Cooper meet while out shopping. He buys the bottom part and she buys the top part of the same pair of pajamas

-Nancy Myers wrote the role of Miles with Jack Black in mind after seeing him in the 2003 film School of Rock

-The small cottage Iris (Kate Winslet) lives in is contrasted to the large L.A. home Amanda (Cameron Diaz) lives in. In reality, thanks in part to the rising property prices in the UK, a cottage in a quiet country village such as Iris' house would be worth, easily, £1 million, not far off of the $2 million price tag

-Cameron Diaz said, because of the massive amount of running she did, that this was her most physical film

-While on a date with Arthur, he asks Iris why a beautiful girl like her is out to dinner with an "old cocker" like him. This is a Yiddish phrase for "old man"

-The movie Iris is watching in Amanda's house is the 1940 film His Girl Friday

-When Miles comes to Amanda's house and hears what sounds like a party, Iris tells him that Amanda's next door neighbor Arthur and his friends are having a little Hanukkah party. The four men sitting at her table (Jack Black, Eli Wallach, Shelley Berman and Bill Macy) are all of Jewish descent

-While on the British Airways flight to England, Amanda has a stack of books on the table next to her. They are The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, Atonement by Ian McEwan, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Bob Dylan Chronicles by Bob Dylan, The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen, Runaway by Alice Munro, The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Journeys and Conversations by The Dalai Lama and Chan Victor

-While Iris is looking over the movies Amanda has, she comes across a film from 2001 called Enigma. Ironically, Kate Winslet starred in that film

-In real life, Jude Law, who plays Graham, has a daughter named Iris. In this film, his sister's name is Iris (Kate Winslet)

-Jude Law and Kate Winslet appeared in at least two other films together: 2006's All the King's Men and 2011's Contagion

-The car Cameron Diaz drives while in England is a 2006 Mini Cooper. While in Los Angeles, the car Kate Winslet drives is a Lexus RX 400h. Graham (Jude Law) drives a 2006 Range Rover. Jack Black drives a convertible Audi A4

-While on the flight to England, one of the books Amanda brings is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Ironically, years later, Jude Law would appear in a 2018 film considered a prequel to the Harry Potter series, called Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. In that film, he plays Albus Dumbledore