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1.
Which of these names does NOT belong to one of Santa's reindeer?
A) Comet
B) Prancer
C) Blitzen
D) Klaxon
2.
In Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker", who
is the nutcracker's main enemy?
A) A girl called Clara
B) The King of the Mice
C) Dr. Almond
D) Drosselmeyer the Magician
3.
Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in:
A) 1789
B) 1895
C) 1938
D) 1946
4.
Why is the day after Christmas traditionally named "Boxing
Day"?
A) The day the rich gave presents to the poor
B) The day people threw out all the Christmas boxes and
packaging
C) The day on which important boxing matches were held
D) The day everyone packed away their gift boxes to re-use
the next year
5.
Which pie originates from medieval Christmas time?
A)
Pigeon pie
B) Humble pie
C) Mince pie
D) Pumpkin pie
6.
In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk,
a small figure of a goat. Of what material is it usually
made?
A) Candy
B) Straw
C) Uranium
D) Fir wood
7.
Good King Wenceslas was king of which country?
A) Sweden
B) England
C) Poland
D) Bohemia
8.
America's official national Christmas tree is:
A) Displayed at the Rockefeller Center in New York
B) Erected in Washington D.C. each year
C) Located in King's Canyon National Park in California
D) A Scotch pine
9.
In the Ukraine, what does it mean if you find a spider web
in the house on Christmas morning?
A) Good luck
B) Misfortune will strike in the coming year
C) The winter will be unusually cold
D) Your house needs cleaning!
10.
Part of the fun of eating Christmas pudding is finding a
trinket that predicts your fortune for the coming year.
For instance, finding a coin means you will become wealthy.
What will you be if you find a button?
A) Poor
B) Famous
C) A bachelor
D) Called away on a trip
11.
One of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes takes place during
the Christmas season. Which of these does the tale hinge
upon?
A) A burglar disguised as Father Christmas
B) A blue diamond found in a goose
C) A cat trapped in an organ pipe
D) A poisoned flask of Napoleon brandy
12.
Where did the real St Nicholas live?
A) At the North Pole
B) In Turkey
C) In Holland
D) In Finland
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ANSWERS:
1.
Which of these names does NOT belong to one of Santa's reindeer?
D) Klaxon: A
klaxon is actually a powerful electric horn. Its name comes
from a German word meaning "shriek".
2.
In Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker", who
is the nutcracker's main enemy?
B) The King of the Mice: The King of the Mice, usually
represented with seven heads, leads his troops against the
nutcracker's toy soldiers. He loses the battle when Clara,
the heroine, stuns him with a shoe.
3.
Electric Christmas tree lights were first used in:
B) 1895: The idea for using electric Christmas lights
came from an American, Ralph E. Morris. The new lights proved
to be much safer than the candles which had traditionally
been used. Decorating Christmas trees originated in Germany,
but has been hugely popular in England since 1841, when
Prince Albert famously set up and adorned a tree for his
wife Queen Victoria in Windsor Castle.
4.
Why is the day after Christmas named Boxing Day?
B) It was the day the rich gave presents to the poor:
According to British tradition, Boxing Day was the day the
wealthy boxed up gifts for their servants. It was also the
day in which money collected in church boxes was distributed
to the poor. This practice was banned in the 14th century
as being offensive, but became widespread once again in
the 19th century. Today, traditionally people write their
thank-you letters to those who gave them gifts.
5.
Which pie originates from medieval Christmas time?
B) Humble pie: Humble or 'umble pie was made from
the 'humbles' of a deer (the heart, liver, brains and other
bits). Whilst the Lords and Ladies ate the choice cuts,
the servants baked the 'humbles' into a pie, thus making
the food go further. This is most probably the origin of
the phrase, 'to eat humble pie.'
6.
The Julbukk is a small figure of a goat. Of what
material is it usually made?
B) Straw: Scandinavian Christmas festivities feature
a variety of straw decorations in the form of stars, angels,
hearts and other shapes, as well as the Julbukk.
7.
Good King Wenceslas was king of which country?
D) Bohemia: 'Good King Wenceslas' is best known from
the popular carol, written in 1853 by John Mason Neale.
The actual historical figure, Wenceslas, was in fact the
Duke of Bohemia, not the King, and lived in the tenth century.
The song expresses his high moral character in describing
King Wenceslas braving a fierce storm in order to help feed
a poor neighbor.
8.
America's official national Christmas tree is:
C) Located in King's Canyon National Park in California:
The General Grant tree, the third largest tree in the
world, is 267 feet tall and 107.6 feet in circumference
at its base. The tree, believed to be about 3500 years old,
was designated the "Nation's Christmas Tree" in
1926, and a service is held at the tree on Christmas morning
every year.
9.
In the Ukraine, what does it mean if you find a spider web
in the house on Christmas morning?
A) Good Luck: There once lived a woman so poor, says
a Ukrainian folk tale, that she could not afford Christmas
decorations for her family. One Christmas morning, she awoke
to find that spiders had trimmed her children's tree with
their webs. When the morning sun shone on them, the webs
turned to silver and gold. An artificial spider and web
are often included in the decorations on Ukrainian Christmas
trees.
10.
What will you be if you find a button?
C) Bachelor: A ring means you will get married; while
a thimble predicts spinsterhood. The idea of hiding something
in the pudding comes from the tradition in the Middle Ages
of hiding a bean in a cake that was served on Twelfth Night.
Whoever found the bean became "king" for the rest
of the night.
11.
One of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes takes place during
the Christmas season. Which of these does the tale hinge
upon?
B) A blue diamond found in a goose: In "The
Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" Holmes manages to
recover the jewel but, in the spirit of the Christmas season,
allows the repentant thief to go free, on the condition
that he leave England forever.
12.
Where did the real St Nicholas live?
B) In Turkey: St Nicholas was born in 280 AD, in
Patara in what is now Turkey. He was a rich and generous
man, who travelled the country helping the poor with gifts
of money and presents. To keep his identity secret he'd
leave gifts late at night. A famous story about St Nicholas
concerns a poor man who had no money for his three daughters'
dowries. St Nicholas dropped bags of gold down the chimney
and they landed in the stockings the girls had hung up to
dry by the fire. Ever since, children have hung up stockings
on Christmas Eve hoping that they will be filled with presents
by Christmas morning!
Enter
Here for an "Expert Level" Holiday Quiz
at Family Games.com which
features ten of the more difficult
questions from the AHA! Christmas trivia collection.
~
From FamilyGames.com & Other Sites
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