Yes, Alabama was the first U.S. state to recognize Christmas as a legal holiday back in 1836. The United States didn't officially recognize Christmas as a holiday until June 26, 1870, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill to make it an unpaid national holiday. Oklahoma was the last to officially recognize the holiday.

Other Christmas Trivia Facts Include:

• The original Santa Claus was actually St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop in the 4th century. He didn’t wear the red suit that’s so famous today, but he did give all of his inheritance to the poor and needy.
• Approximately 35 million living Christmas trees are sold each year in the U.S.; more than 45 million are planted.
• The beloved red nosed reindeer, Rudolph, was created by a copywriter for the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939. He wrote Rudolph into a children’s story that could be given out to promote the store. It was a huge hit, with more than 2.4 million copies distributed in its first year!
• "Jingle Bells" was originally for a different holiday. James Lord Pierpont wrote the song called "One Horse Open Sleigh" for his church's Thanksgiving concert in the mid-19th century. Then in 1857, the song was re-released under the title we all know and love and it's still among the most popular Christmas songs today.
• Candy canes originated in Germany. The National Confectioners Association says a choirmaster originally gave the red-and-white-striped candies to young children to keep them quiet during marathon church services back in 1670.
• President Teddy Roosevelt, an environmentalist, banned Christmas trees from the White House in 1901.
• The Christmas tree has an old history. Ancient Egyptians used to mark the winter solstice by decorating their homes with green palms, while the Romans celebrated Saturnalia with evergreen boughs. These green plants signified that the spring would return with new life. The first Christmas trees as we know them today started in Germany in the 16th century.
• Thank Coca-Cola for the depiction of Santa. He wasn’t always the jolly man in red. Older depictions of Santa from the early 1900s depicted him more sternly, and there wasn't a standardized "look" for his appearance. The classic image of a happy and plump Santa that we all know today came in part from Coca-Cola ads, drawn in 1931 by illustrator Haddon Sundblom.