QUESTIONS
- In the UK it is traditionally believed that eating a what each day of the twelve days of Christmas brings happiness the following year: Sausage; Mince pie; Carrot; or Turkey drumstick?
- In the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, how many pipers are there?
- Who are the four ghosts in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol?
- Which British monarch (born 1865, died 1936) introduced the custom of giving thousands of Christmas puddings to staff?
- Which Christmas carol includes the lyrics ‘…To save us all from Satan’s power, when we were gone astray..’?
- Pine needles are said to be a good source of which vitamin?
- What Paul McCartney hit song video featured the First World War Christmas Truce meeting of German and British soldiers in no-man’s land between the front line trenches?
- Christmas Crackers was the first Christmas edition of which popular UK comedy series?
- Charles Dickens is said to have considered the names Little Larry and Puny Pete for which character?
- Traditional in Germany at Christmas, what sort of food is stollen?
- In the song ‘The Twelve Days Of Christmas’, how many swans were a-swimming?
- In Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol, who was Scrooge’s dead business partner?
- What is the birth sign of people born on 25 December?
- In which city was the Salvation Army founded?
- Peter Auty sang Walking In The Air in what film?
- The early pagan religious winter festival celebrated by archaic Scandinavian and Germanic people, later absorbed into Christmas celebrations, is still referred to in what alternative word for the Christmas season?
- Who was said to have presented the baby Jesus with Frankincense?
- White Christmas, a cake made of coconut, crisped rice and dried fruit, is popular in which country?
- London’s Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is traditionally given by which country?
- How many courses are there traditionally in a Ukrainian Christmas Eve supper?
- Name the original eight reindeers?
- What was Queen’s 1984 Christmas single called?
- What is the English title of the carol written in 1818 by Austrian priest Josef Mohr originally called Stille Nacht?
- Very loosely related to Christmas, the predatory animal ‘uncia uncia’ is better known by what name?
- What is the popular name for little baked sausages wrapped in rashers of streaky bacon?
- American cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with creating the traditional image of which popular Christmas character?
- What is New Year’s Eve called in Scotland?
- The character Jack Skellington appears in which 1993 Tim Burton film?
- Which actress singer who charted with Santa Baby and starred as Catwoman died on Christmas day 2008?
- Born Christmas day 1908, by what name was gay icon author of The Naked Civil Servant popularly known?
- What is the title of biggest selling Christmas single, globally?
- How many gifts are given in total in the song The Twelve Days of Christmas?
- Which traditional Christmas plant was once so revered by early Britons that it had to be cut with a golden sickle?
- What drink invented by Francis Showering has a fawn mascot?
- What is the name of the cake traditionally eaten in Italy at Christmas?
- Yorkshireman William Strickland is believed to have brought the first what to Britain from North America in 1526?
- Who banned Christmas in England between 1647 and 1660?
- What Christmas item was invented by London baker and wedding-cake specialist Tom Smith in 1847?
- Which US President banned Christmas trees from the White House?
- Which famous comedy double-act partner made the first ever UK mobile phone call, New Year’s Day, 1985?
- Before the tradition of hanging stockings up at Christmas what did Dutch children hang by the fireside?
- The North Pole, said to be Santa’s home, is located in which ocean?
- Who composed the music known as The Nutcracker Suite, for the Christmas themed ballet The Nutcracker, premiered in St Petersburg, 1892?
- ‘Full of Eastern Promise’ is an advertising slogan of what exotically positioned chocolate product?
- What Christmas item takes its name from the old French word estincelle, meaning spark?
- Child star Jimmy Boyd sang which hugely popular 1950’s Christmas song, which was initially banned by the Catholic Church in Boston because it supposedly mixed sex and Christmas?
- On which date is Epiphany celebrated in the traditional Western calendar?
- From which country does the poinsettia plant originate?
- In Victorian England what people were popularly called robins because of their red uniforms?
- Which Christmas condiment is made from fruit sometimes referred to as marshworts?
- Which Christmas slogan was introduced by Clarissa Baldwin of Dogs Trust in 1978?
- Which poem written by Clement Moore was originally titled A Visit from Saint Nicholas?
- John Callcott Horsley designed what first commercial Christmas item in 1843?
- Which two states in the US have towns called Christmas?
- Who was the first British monarch to broadcast a Christmas message to the nation?
- After leaving Bethlehem, to which country did Joseph, Mary, and Jesus travel?
- ‘And all the bells on earth shall ring, on Christmas day in the morning…’ is from which Christmas carol?
- What is the surname of the family in the 1989 film ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’?
- What is a baby Turkey more correctly called, other than a chick?
- In which country is it a tradition to hide all brooms in the house on Christmas Eve?
- What did Dora Bryan want for Christmas in 1963?
- In which Decade did Bing Crosby’s ‘White Christmas’ first enter the UK Charts?
- What did John Lennon’s ‘Happy Christmas’ have in brackets in 1980?
- According to Adam Faith, what was in a Christmas Shop in 1960?
- Who said ‘Please come home for Christmas’ in 1994?
- Which ‘Christmas Rock’ has been a hit for Max Bygraves and Chubby Checker with Bobby Rydell?
- Who wished ‘It could be Christmas Every Day’ in 1973?
- What was Johnny Mathis’s 1976 Christmas Hit?
- What kind of Merry Christmas did a band of environmentalists wish us in 1974?
- Who said ‘All I want for Christmas is you’ in 1994?
- Which Snowman did the Cocteau Twins sing about in 1993?
- The winner of which show 2005-07 also had the UK Christmas #1?
- Which Christmas #1 from Dave Edmunds was his only ever #1 hit?
- Who covered The Carpenters’ “Santa Claus is comin’ to town” in 1985?
- “Sound of the Underground” was the first Christmas #1 for which group?
- Name the Westlife song which was the last Christmas #1 of the 20th Century?
- Where was Santa Claus according to Spitting Image in 1986?
- What did Bob the Builder ask if he could ‘fix’ in 2000?
- What were The Spice Girls saying with their 1998 Christmas #1?
- Who pleaded with Santa Baby in the 1990’s?
- Who sang with The Smurfs on ‘Christmas in Smurfland’ in 1978?
- Robbie Williams and Nicole Kidman covered whose #1 ‘Something Stupid’?
- Which Johnny Mathis classic was the 1976 Christmas #1 Hit?
- Whose ‘Christmas Alphabet’ went to #1 in 1955?
- Who had ‘White Christmas’ on the other side of ‘Too Risky’?
- Can you name the School Choir who topped the charts at Christmas 1980?
- Who had a ‘Wonderful Christmas Time’ in 1979?
- What were Mud ‘The Christmas’ in their 1974 Christmas #1 Hit?
- Which Comedian was “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” in 1987?
- What is the theme song from The Snowman?
- The North Pole, said to be Santa’s home, is located in which ocean?
- Marzipan is made mainly from sugar and the flour or meal of which nut?
- Which Christmas condiment is made from fruit sometimes referred to as marshworts?
- Which Christmas slogan was introduced by Clarissa Baldwin of Dogs Trust in 1978?
- In the UK it is traditionally believed that eating a what each day of the twelve days of Christmas brings happiness the following year?
- Who composed the music known as The Nutcracker Suite, for the Christmas themed ballet The Nutcracker, premiered in St Petersburg, 1892?
- In which country, the largest of its continent, is it said that finding a spider web on Christmas morning brings good luck, and so Christmas trees are decorated with artificial spider webs?
- Charles Dickens is said to have considered the names Little Larry and Puny Pete for which character?
- In Mexico, it is said that wearing what colour underwear on New Year’s Eve ensures finding new love the following year?
- In which country does Santa have his own personal postcode HOH OHO?
- What Christmas greenery has symbolic ties to Christ’s flight to Egypt to avoid Herod?
- What county of Britain is a major supplier of turkeys for Christmas Dinner?
- What sort of charms should be mixed into plum pudding?
- Who is generally regarded as the inventor of Christmas Cards?
- According to legend when did the custom of Christmas Trees come to Britain?
- Who invented the modern custom of kissing under the mistletoe at Christmastime?
- What Norse deity is associated with Yule Logs?
- What is the traditional time for mass on Christmas Day?
- What is often used to garnish a plum pudding?
- What were Christmas Crackers originally known as?
- Which way is the proper way to stir the filling for a minced pie?
- What Christmas greenery has symbolic ties with Christmas?
- What Springtime bird is often featured on Christmas Cards, particularly Victorian cards?
- In which Ocean is Christmas Island?
- This characters name is now a synonym for ‘greedy miser’. What is the name of the greedy miser in Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol?
- What is the birth stone colour for someone born on Christmas Day?
- Where was Saint Nicholas a Bishop?
- Finish the line from ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’. ‘Born the King of ________’?
- Originally a pagan symbol, what does holly symbolise in a Christian context?
- What Legendary Christmas Character did creator Robert Lewis May bring to life in 1939?
- What 2003 Christmas Film sees ‘Buddy’ transported to the North Pole as a toddler and raised to adulthood by Santa’s elves?
- Finish the title of this traditional British Folk Christmas carol, ‘The Holly and the ____’?
- What play is popular at Christmas and recounts the story of the birth of Jesus?
- A Chrismas Carol is a book by author Charles ______. Who?
- A popular Christmas Beverage made with ingredients including bourbon, milk and grated nutmeg?
- How is Three Kings Day better known?
- In New York City, which famous centre is transformed into a huge ice rink?
- In National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation movie, what creature did the Griswold family discover living in their Christmas Tree?
- Which Monty Python song was released by members of the Coronation Street cast for Christmas 1995?
- What would be your star sign if you were born on Christmas Day?
- Who were the two composers of Do They Know It’s Christmas?
- Armchairs Thefts have what festive connection?
- Who had the Christmas number one in 1963 with I Want to Hold Your Hand?
- In the Christmas carol, which line follows, “God rest ye merry, gentlemen”?
- Beneath which parasitic plant do people traditionally kiss at Christmas?
- In the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone what did Mrs Weasley make for Christmas for Harry Potter?
- Which 1990 film was about a young boy, inadvertently left behind at Christmas when his parents go on holiday?
- What was the letter “H” for in Dickie Valentine’s 1955 hit, Christmas Alphabet?
ANSWERS
- Mince pie
- Eleven
- Christmas Past, Christmas Present, Christmas Yet to Come, and Jacob Marley
- King George V
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- Vitamin C
- Pipes of Peace
- Only Fools and Horses
- Tiny Tim – A Christmas Carol
- Cake
- Seven
- Jacob Marley
- Capricorn
- London (1865, originally the Christian Mission, by William Booth)
- The Snowman
- Yule (or Yule-tide)
- Balthazar
- Australia
- Norway
- Twelve (each one is dedicated to an apostle)
- Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner, Blitzen
- Thank God it’s Christmas
- Silent Night
- Snow Leopard
- Pigs in blankets
- Santa Claus (Father Christmas)
- Hogmanay
- The Nightmare before Christmas
- Eartha Kitt
- Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt)
- White Christmas (by Bing Crosby)
- 364
- Mistletoe
- Babycham
- Panettone
- Turkey
- Oliver Cromwell
- Christmas cracker
- Theodore Roosevelt
- Ernie Wise
- Shoes
- Arctic Ocean
- Tchaikovsky
- Fry’s Turkish Delight
- Tinsel
- I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus
- 6th January
- Mexico
- Postmen
- Cranberry sauce
- A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas
- The Night Before Christmas
- Christmas card
- Arizona and Florida
- George V (in 1932)
- Egypt
- I Saw Three Ships
- Griswold
- Poult
- Norway (according to legend, witches would steal them otherwise)
- A Beatle
- 1970’s
- War is Over
- Lonely Pup
- Bon Jovi
- Jingle Bell Rock
- Wizzard
- When a Child is born
- Wombling Merry Christmas
- Mariah Carey
- Frosty
- X-Factor
- I Hear You Knockin’
- Bruce Springsteen
- Girls Aloud
- I Have A Dream / Seasons In The Sun
- On the Dole
- It
- Goodbye
- Madonna
- Father Abraham
- Frank and Nancy Sinatra
- When A Child Is Born
- Dickie Valentine
- Jim Davidson
- St Winifred’s
- Paul McCartney & Wings
- Lonely
- Mel Smith
- Walking In The Air
- Arctic Ocean
- Almond
- Cranberry Sauce
- A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas
- Mince Pie
- Tchaikovsky
- Ukraine
- Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)
- Red
- Canada
- Rosemary
- Norfolk
- Silver
- Sir Henry Cole
- 800s
- British
- Thor
- Midnight
- Holly
- Cossacks
- Clockwise
- Holly
- Robin
- Indian
- Scrooge
- Turquoise
- Myra
- Angels
- Strength
- Rudolph (the Red-Nosed Reindeer)
- Elf
- Ivy
- Nativity
- Dickens
- Eggnog
- Epiphany
- Rockefeller
- Squirrel
- Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
- Capricorn
- Bob Geldof and Midge Ure
- Father Christmas (Anagram)
- The Beatles
- “Let Nothing You Dismay”
- Mistletoe
- Jumper
- Home Alone
- “Happiness”