1. The story behind standing when the Hallelujah Chorus is sung during a performance of The Messiah purports to be that the first time it was performed in London, King George II, upon hearing the words ‘King of Kings and Lord of Hosts’, stood, in deference to the only entity of higher rank than he was.
2. The original spelling of ‘past’ was ‘passed’.
3. The artichoke is a variety of thistle in the sunflower family.
4. The word ‘Christ’ derives from the Greek ‘Khristos’, meaning ‘anointed’.
5. Zoroastrians commemorate the death of the monotheistic prophet Zarathustra, or Zoroaster, on December 26.
