A Guide to the Rumors You’re Sure to Hear This Christmas, True or False
The fact- checkers at Snopes have compiled the best and worst holiday rumors of the year, social media buzz, and questionable emails. Here’s a quick guide so you know how to react when they bump into your aunt’s Facebook feed this holiday season.
Claim : The same actor played Ralphie in A Christmas Story and Ming Elf in Elf.
Status : Correct . Both roles were played by Peter Billingsley, who seems to enjoy doing classic Christmas movies. Billingsley, by then already a successful producer, did not land a role in Elf .
Claim : Jingle Bells was written like a Christmas song.
Status : Wrong. This holiday standard was written in 1850 by James Pierpont, who did not mention Christmas in any of his texts. Some argue that Pierrepont wrote the tune for the Sunday School Thanksgiving competition, while others argue that his lyrics about courtship in a sleigh would be too spicy for a religious competition, and is probably just about getting to know girls in sleighs. Anyway: It’s not about Christmas.
Requirement: The US Postal Service is trying to deliver gifts to the children asking for Santa.
Status : Correct . Every year since Operation Santa began in 1912, the USPS has paired up needy children with friendly people to make their vacation dreams come true. It works like this: When the Postal Service receives a letter to Santa, they scan it, post it on a website, and invite good people to claim it and fulfill his requests. You can check the letters here , but keep in mind: kids don’t need toy trains anymore – they’re asking for PlayStation 5s and iPhones.
Claim : Christmas gifts were never delivered late while Trump was president.
Status : Wrong . This is one of those online rumors that makes me scrub my whiskey because even though it’s completely silly, millions of people believe it. The source is Rep. Jim Jordan’s October tweet, which says, “Christmas gifts never came late when President Trump was in power.” For the record, there have been delivery delays since the start of every holiday season, and delays were particularly severe in 2020, the final year of Trump’s presidency.
Claim: The US Postal Service did not issue new Christmas stamps this year, but new stamps are issued for Eid al-Fitr, Diwali, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.
Status : Wrong . This is one of those “War on Christmas” stuff, and it’s not true. This year, the USPS released a set of new Christmas stamps called St. Nick ‘s Visit , and stamps from Eid, Diwali, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa were released prior to this year. Arming Christmas with lies sucks.
Claim : The photograph shows the Menorah displayed in a window in Germany in 1932.
Status: Correct . The photograph of the Menorah in the window with Nazi flags on the street is genuine. It was made by Rachel Posner, wife of Rabbi Dr. Akiva Posner in Kiel, Germany. The inscription on the back reads:
“Death to Judas,” says the flag.
“Judas will live forever,” the light answers.
Claim : Darth Vader appeared at the Vatican’s nativity scene in 2020.
Status : Wrong . Unfortunately, the Pope hasn’t decided to celebrate Star Wars in 2020. The Vatican Nativity scene in question is composed of figures created by art school students and teachers in Castelli, Italy, between 1965 and 1975, Star Wars not being released until 1977. … The unconventional Nativity scene does feature an astronaut as a consolation prize, though.