1. The first recorded Christmas celebration in Massachusetts was in 1620, when the Pilgrims who had settled in Plymouth held a feast to celebrate their successful harvest.

2. In 1659, the Puritan government of Massachusetts Colony banned the celebration of Christmas, viewing it as a pagan holiday that had no biblical basis. The ban was only lifted in 1681 by the English governor of the colony.

3. During the American Revolution, George Washington and his troops crossed the Delaware River on December 25, 1776, to launch a surprise attack on the Hessian forces at Trenton, New Jersey. The victory boosted morale and helped turn the tide of the war.

4. The Boston Tea Party, one of the key events leading up to the American Revolution, took place on December 16, 1773. The East India Company's shipment of tea was destroyed by colonists who objected to British taxation policies.

5. One of the deadliest fires in U.S. history occurred in Boston on December 30, 1942, when a fire broke out at the Coconut Grove nightclub. The fire claimed the lives of 492 people and led to changes in fire safety regulations across the country.