Christmas Quiz #3

3rd Quiz

1) In Shakespeare's "Hamlet", one character describes a common belief
that in the Christmas season:
A) Dogs and cats refrain from fighting
B) Roosters crow all night long
C) Unpenned sheep will gather at the church
D) White horses should be ridden only by children

2) "Oidhche na ceapairi" is a term the Irish use for Christmas Eve. It
means:
A) Come to the dance
B) Day of Waiting
C) End of the fast
D) Night of cakes

3) Which well-known fantasy author also created a book called "The
Father Christmas Letters"?
A) Lewis Carroll
B) J.R.R. Tolkien
C) E. Nesbit
D) C.S. Lewis

4) Santa's reindeer are most closely related to which of the following
animals?
A) Caribou
B) Elk
C) Moose
D) White-tailed deer

5) In E. Nesbit's Christmas story "The Conscience Pudding", what is the
problem with the Christmas pudding?
A) It tastes of soap, and is undercooked
B) The family dog has eaten half of it
C) The children used peppercorns instead of dried currants
D) It has rolled behind the stove, and no one can get it out

6) "Oplatek" is an important part of a Polish Christmas. It is:
A) A decoration made from cherry boughs
B) An empty place left at the table during the Christmas meal
C) A special wafer shared by all who are present
D) The name of the traditional gift-bringer

7) Christmas is often associated with particular flowers (like the
poinsettia) and other members of the plant kingdom such as
"Schlumbergera bridgesii", more commonly known as:
A) The Christmas cactus
B) The holly tree
C) The mistletoe
D) The snowberry bush

8) On December 23 in Oaxaca, Mexico, the "Night of the Radishes"
festival is celebrated. On this night:
A) A spicy pudding of radishes and fenugreek is served
B) Red and white radishes are put up for Christmas decorations
C) Children hunt for hidden radishes
D) Radish carvings of Nativity scenes are displayed

9) Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer made his first appearance in 1939, in
a story that was written to:
A) Advertise a new brand of light-bulb
B) Be read on a Christmas radio broadcast
C) Entertain the author's sick daughter
D) Promote a department store

10) A colorful, musical Santa Claus parade marks the approach of
Christmas in many North American cities. The first one:
A) Was Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York City
B) Was held in Toronto, Ontario in 1905
C) Included cowboy singer Gene Autry and his horse Champion
D) Had to be postponed until Boxing Day

11) Many of us are quite familiar with the first verses of the
traditional Christmas carols, but how well do you know the rest of
the lyrics? For instance, what is the first line of the second
verse of "Angels from the Realms of Glory"?
A) "Christ by highest heav'n adored"
B) "Shepherds in the fields abiding"
C) "Shepherds why this jubilee?"
D) "Don we now our gay apparel"

12) The jolasveinar, or "yule lads", are a traditional part of an
Icelandic Christmas. The jolasveinar are:
A) A band of thirteen gift-giving goblins
B) In charge of Santa's reindeer
C) Woodcutters
D) The best male singers from each village

13) Near Christmas time, Scottish children may sometimes "cry up the
lum", meaning that they:
A) Weep, upon being given a lump of coal instead of a gift
B) Shout their Christmas wishes up the chimney
C) Sing carols outdoors
D) Moan from stomach ache after Christmas dinner

14) Which Christmas song contains the line "Susy wants a dolly; Nellie
wants a story book; she thinks dolls are folly"?
A) Up on the Housetop
B) All I Want for Christmas
C) Grandma's Christmas List
D) Jolly Old St. Nicholas

15) After Scrooge has reformed his life at the end of Charles Dickens'
"A Christmas Carol", he proposes getting together with Bob Cratchit
for some "smoking bishop", which was:
A) A fast variation of chess popular in Victorian London
B) A premium pipe tobacco
C) A hot spiced drink
D) A Christmas pudding, soaked in brandy and set alight

16) Tom Smith, an English confectioner, invented the Christmas cracker
in 1847, drawing his inspiration from packaged French sweets, or
"bon-bons". The original crackers were much like those of today,
but the name was different. Smith called his crackers by the French
word for:
A) Bangers
B) Hiccups
C) Goblins
D) Cossacks

17) The popular Christmas song, "Six White Boomers", tells of Santa
Claus making an extra delivery on Christmas Day in a vehicle drawn
by six:
A) Bears
B) Kangaroos
C) Moose
D) Swans

18) In Lithuania, if Kaledu Senelis, or Grandfather Christmas, appears
to the children on Christmas Eve to hand out presents, the
recipient must:
A) Find the gift while blindfolded
B) Guess what the gift is, or pay a forfeit
C) Kneel to receive the gift
D) Perform a song or poem before receiving the gift

19) Because holly remains green even in the depths of December, it has
been credited with many mysterious powers. In England, if prickly
holly is brought into the house before the smooth-leafed kind,
folklore holds that for the next year:
A) There will be many visitors to the house
B) Knives and needles will remain sharp
C) Illness will plague the family
D) The husband will rule the household

20) The custom of hanging out stockings or setting out shoes in the
hope of receiving Christmas gifts is said to have begun with:
A) A promotional campaign by the Cobblers' Guild
B) The traveler's practice of concealing valuable papers in
one's stocking
C) St. Nicholas supplying the gold for a dowry
D) A method of avoiding a Christmas tax

21) The ancient game of Snapdragon has been part of English Christmases
for over 300 years. Participants are egged on by a chant, part of
which goes, "Take care you don't take too much, Be not greedy in
your clutch, Snip, snap, dragon!" The dragon in this game is:
A) A costumed child
B) Flames of burning brandy
C) The oldest male in the room
D) A "snapper" made from fireplace tongs

22) In many households, 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. Finding
a button means that you will be:
A) Poor
B) Famous
C) A bachelor
D) Called away on a trip

23) February 2nd is Groundhog Day in North America, but it is also
Candlemas, which is celebrated by lighting many candles to chase
the winter away. Christmas seems long past, yet there is a
traditional connection. By this day:
A) The last Christmas cake must be eaten
B) Next year's Christmas goose must be chosen and separated
from the flock
C) Persons accused of petty crimes over Christmas must be
released
D) All Christmas greenery must be removed from the house

24) Most of us like to spend Christmas with our families, but sometimes
we must be far away. Even then, most of us get to stay on the
planet. Prior to the continuous occupation of the International
Space Station in 2001, how many people actually spent Christmas Day
in space?
A) None - mission planners have always worked around it
B) Just three - the Apollo-8 team
C) Twelve
D) Thirty-five

25) The idea of Christmas seals began in 1903 with Einar Holboell, a
postal clerk from Copenhagen. By 1904, with the King of Denmark
taking an interest, the first seals were printed and sold, raising
funds that were used to:
A) Help children with tuberculosis
B) Build a statue overlooking the harbor
C) Feed the poor and homeless
D) Throw a Christmas party for the city

26) Christmas tree decorations have changed considerably over the
years. Which of the following well-known products became popular
after being promoted as a Christmas tree "decoration"?
A) The yo-yo
B) Decorative nutcrackers
C) Animal Crackers
D) Doughnuts

27) Christmas is celebrated even at wizard school. On his first
Christmas morning at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
Harry Potter receives a number of Christmas gifts, including:
A) A pair of gloves and a pointed hat
B) A hairbrush and a wand of lightning
C) A hand-knit sweater and a cloak of invisibility
D) A pet frog and a magic broomstick

28) The Urn of Fate is part of the Christmas celebrations in many
Italian households. What is it?
A) A jar full of fortunes
B) A game in which players toss coins into a cup
C) An actual urn containing presents
D) A special decoration that recalls the fragility of life

29) In the isolated outports of Newfoundland and Labrador on the
eastern coast of Canada, unique Christmas customs evolved. In the
old days, one of these was called "blowing the pudding". This meant:
A) The pudding had to be eaten in a single sitting
B) Putting out the flames of brandy with the fireplace bellows
C) Boasting extravagantly that this year's pudding was the best
of all
D) A gun was fired as the pudding was lifted from the pot

30) Many movies on Christmas themes have been made for television and
the cinema over the years, including literally dozens of
adaptatations - albeit sometimes rather loose - of Charles Dickens'
"A Christmas Carol". One film that has NOT yet been made, however,
is:
A) "The Jetsons' Christmas Carol"
B) "Popeye's Christmas Carol"
C) "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol"
D) "Mickey's Christmas Carol"