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The Strange Origins of the Christmas Tradition. BuzzFeed has offered readers a list of fascinating facts about Christmas that many people may not know. 1. Pagan Christmas Ornaments, The Pagan tradition of "yule balls" or "witch balls" dates back to 17th century England. The ornaments were believed to capture evil spirits, protecting people from sickness and curses. 2. Wassailing, Similar to modern-day carolers, wassailers would knock on the doors of feudal lords, refusing to leave unless they were given a treat. If the lord denied the wassailers a treat, they would often start throwing rocks or potentially even break into the lord's home. 3. Saturnalia, Ornaments are not the only Pagan influence on Christmas. The date itself originated with the Pagan holiday Saturnalia, a widely popular celebration day in ancient Rome. The celebration honored the Roman god Saturn and lasted from December 17 to the winter solstice. Other shared Pagan and Christmas traditions include hanging wreaths, gift-giving, feasting and singing. 4. Outlaw Christmas, The celebration of Christmas was briefly illegal. In 1659, the Massachusetts Bay Colony's "Penalty for Keeping Christmas" law called it "great dishonor of God and offense of others". 5. The Christmas Spider, People in Ukraine still decorate their trees with jeweled spiders or spider webs in honor of a centuries-old legend. In the tale, an impoverished family cannot afford to decorate their tree, but a kind spider spins intricate webs of silver and gold all around it. Some say this is the origin of the tradition of hanging tinsel. THIS VIDEO MUST NOT BE EDITED FOR LENGTH TO COMBINE WITH OTHER CONTENT