Christmas Quiz 2016

Well here it is – the big one

same as ever some easy some not so easy and some……

to get the answers simply run the cursor over the space after the question

but only after you have tried the question

Happy Christmas

1. In what country, the world’s seventh largest by geographical area, is Christmas known as Bada Din (the big day)? India
2. Christmas Island, in the Indian Ocean, is a territory of which country? Australia
3. ‘Three Kings Day’ is known by what numerical name (that’s ‘name’, not ‘date’) in Britain?Twelfth Night
4. The North Pole, said to be Santa’s home, is located in which ocean? Arctic Ocean
5. ‘And all the bells on earth shall ring, on Christmas day in the morning…’ is from which Christmas carol? I Saw Three Ships
6. Marzipan is made (conventionally in the western world) mainly from sugar and the flour or meal of which nut? Almond
7. What is the technical name of Mistletoe plant genus, and also Latin for glutinous? Viscum(hence the words viscous and viscosity, referring to semi-solid/semi-liquid and thick sticky substances – derived from the sticky quality of mistletoe berries, and also an early word for birdlime, a sticky substance made from the berries, used to trap birds)
8. Peter Auty sang Walking In The Air in what film? The Snowman
9. Which Christmas condiment is made from fruit sometimes referred to as marshworts? Cranberry sauce
10. Which American-born English poet, having first names Thomas Stearns, wrote the poem The Cultivation Of Christmas Trees? T S Eliot
11. Which Christmas slogan was introduced by Clarissa Baldwin of Dogs Trust in 1978? A Dog Is For Life, Not Just For Christmas
12. Which British monarch (born 1865, died 1936) introduced the custom of giving thousands of Christmas puddings to staff? King George V
13. 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? Mince pie
14. The fortified wine drink Sherry is named after what town? Jerez (Spain – in Spanish, sherry is called Vino de Jerez)
15. In Coldplay’s 2010 Christmas single video, the Latin phrase Credo Elvem Etiam Vivere (seen above the stage) loosely means what (combining an ironic rock’n’roll myth, with a seasonal sentiment popularised by Greg Lakes’s 1975 Christmas hit – and for two bonus points: name the Greg Lake song, and the Coldplay 2010 Christmas single)? I Believe Elvis Lives (Greg Lake’s song – I Believe In Father Christmas; Coldplay’s 2010 Xmas single – Christmas Lights)
16. What is the surname of the family in the 1989 film ‘National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation’? Griswold
17. Who composed the music known as The Nutcracker Suite, for the Christmas themed ballet The Nutcracker, premiered in St Petersburg, 1892? Tchaikovsky
18. Which southern central US state, whose capital city has the same name, was the last to recognize Christmas as an official holiday? Oklahoma
19. 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? Ukraine
20. What day of the week was Christmas day in the year 2000 (in the conventional western calendar)? Monday
21. Charles Dickens is said to have considered the names Little Larry and Puny Pete for which character? (Bonus point: in which Dickens novel did the character appear?) Tiny Tim – A Christmas Carol
22. Under which Puritan leader did the English parliament pass a law banning Christmas in 1647? Oliver Cromwell
23. Name the two administrative and ex-colonial regions of China for whom Christmas day (as at 2010) remains a legal public holiday, whereas in the main country it is not? Hong Kong and Macau
24. In which European country is it said that malicious goblins called Kallikantzoroi (or Kallikantzari – singular Kallikantzoros) play troublesome pranks at Christmas? Greece (the name is thought to derive from kalos-kentauros, meaning ‘beautiful centaur’)
25. Very loosely related to Christmas, the predatory animal ‘uncia uncia’ is better known by what name? Snow Leopard
26. Which traditional Christmas plant was once so revered by early Britons that it had to be cut with a golden sickle? Mistletoe
27. In the song ‘The Twelve Days Of Christmas’, how many swans were a-swimming? Seven
28. What former Egyptian president was born on Christmas day in 1918? Anwar Sadat
29. Driving Home For Christmas was a 1988 hit single for which singer? Chris Rea
30. Who composed the Lieutenant Kijé orchestral suite, for a 1934 film of the same name, including the Troika movement, commonly used as Christmas theme music, usually with prominent sleigh bells? Prokofiev (Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev)
31. In Mexico, it is said that wearing what colour underwear on New Year’s Eve ensures finding new love the following year? Red
32. The Latin word meaning ‘coming’ gave us what term which still refers to the coming Christmas period, and also to a particular tradition popular with children? Advent (as in advent calendars – the ‘coming’ basically refers to the birth of Christ)
33. In which country does Santa have his own personal postcode HOH OHO? Canada
34. In 2004, the post office of which country (international dialling code 49) gave away twenty million free scented stickers, to make Christmas cards smell like fir trees, cinammon, gingerbread or honey wax? Germany
35. ‘Nadolig Llawen’ means Merry Christmas in which western European language? Welsh
36. ‘Olive the Other… (what?)’, is a Christmas book by Vivian Walsh and J Otto Seibold? Reindeer
37. In which country, an archipelago of 6,852 islands, is it considered inappropriate to send red Christmas cards? Japan (because funeral notices are customarily printed in red)
38. 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? Yule (or Yule-tide)
39. What is the chemical formula of snow? H₂O
40. Which charity in 1949 was the first to produce a Christmas card? UNICEF (originally the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, now called United Nations Children’s Fund)
41. What red-blooming Christmas plant came originally from Mexico? Poinsettia (Euphorbia Pulcherrima)
42. Brandy is made from distilling what? Wine
43. What was Girls Aloud’s 2002 UK Christmas number one single? Sound of the Underground
44. Which famous comedy double-act partner made the first ever UK mobile phone call, New Year’s Day, 1985? Ernie Wise
45. White Christmas, a cake made of coconut, crisped rice and dried fruit, is popular in which country? Australia
46. Quaid-e-Azam’s Birthday is a 25th December celebration in which country? Pakistan (also known as Muhammad Ali Jinnah he is considered the country’s founder)
47. Who is the narrator in the 2000 film The Grinch Who Stole Christmas? Anthony Hopkins
48. What was the cyclone named that hit Darwin, Australia, in Christmas 1974? Tracy
49. Pine needles are said to be a good source of which vitamin? C
50. What drink invented by Francis Showering has a fawn mascot? Babycham
51. What creature, noted for feeding on its berries, is linked by name to the mistletoe plant? Mistle thrush
52. In which Christmas carol does this line feature: “Bring me flesh, and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither”? Good King Wenceslas
53. What is the birth sign of people born on 25 December? Capricorn
54. The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus on or around 1 January celebrates specifically what happening to the baby Jesus? Circumcision
55. Complete the famous rhyming line which follows: “At Christmas play and make good cheer, … ? For Christmas comes but once a year (from Thomas Tusser’s instructional poem A Hundred Good Points of Husbandry, The Farmer’s Daily Diet, written in 1557 – also the source of ‘A fool and his money are soon parted’)
56. ‘Full of Eastern Promise’ is an advertising slogan of what exotically positioned chocolate product? Fry’s Turkish Delight
57. Which poem written by Clement Moore was originally titled A Visit from Saint Nicholas? The Night Before Christmas
58. What was the title of the first Christmas TV special Peanuts cartoon? A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
59. What celebratory receptacle is falsely claimed to have been modeled on the breast of Marie Antoinette? Champage coupe (or champagne saucer, more loosely, champagne glass – the flat saucery one, not the long thin pointy one)
60. Which author and creator of Jekyll and Hyde, gave his birthday by formal deed to Anne Ide because she disliked her own birthday of December 25th? Robert Louis Stevenson
61. What animal is the Scandinavian Christmas Julbock symbol? Goat (precisely a Yule Goat)
62. Christmas Crackers was the first Christmas edition of which popular UK comedy series? Only Fools and Horses
63. What song topped the UK charts at Christmas in 1957 and in a medley version in 1978? Mary’s Boy Child (Harry Belafonte and Boney M, respectively)
64. Which hugely popular actor was born on Christmas day 1899? Humphrey Bogart
65. What British spacecraft was lost on Mars at Christmas 2003? Beagle 2
66. What was Queen’s 1984 Christmas single called? Thank God it’s Christmas
67. American cartoonist Thomas Nast is credited with creating the traditional image of which popular Christmas character? Santa Claus (Father Christmas)
68. Jackie Wilson’s re-issued song Reet Petite became the 1986 UK Christmas number one after helping to advertise what brand? Levi’s (Levi Strauss & Co)
69. What is the name of Dorothy Gale’s dog in The Wizard of Oz? Toto
70. Born Christmas day 1908, by what name was gay icon author of The Naked Civil Servant popularly known? Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt)
71. What is a baby Turkey more correctly called, other than a chick? Poult
72. La Befana is the legendary character who delivers Christmas presents to children in which country? Italy (Befana loosely means a witch)
73. Who is the central businessman character in the film It’s a Wonderful Life? George Bailey(played by James Stewart)
74. In technical astronomical terms what is the duration of the winter solstice; an instant, a day, three months, or six months? An instant (in the northern hemisphere between 21-22 Dec each year; in the southern hemisphere between 21-22 June)
75. What Christmas-time song did James Pierpont compose in 1857? Jingle Bells (or, One Horse Open Sleigh)
76. What is the title of biggest selling Christmas single, globally? White Christmas (by Bing Crosby)
77. Gwyl San Steffan is the name for 26th December (St Stephen’s Day or Boxing Day) in which country? Wales
78. Which actress singer who charted with Santa Baby and starred as Catwoman died on Christmas day 2008? Eartha Kitt
79. What Christmas item takes its name from the old French word estincelle, meaning spark? Tinsel
80. Who is regarded as the first Christian martyr? St Stephen
81. Kiritimati, the first inhabited place to experience each New Year, is more commonly known as what? Christmas Island
82. 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? Pipes of Peace
83. Who was said to have presented the baby Jesus with Frankincense? Balthazar
84. In which city was the Salvation Army founded? London (1865, orginally the Christian Mission, by William Booth)
85. When the Julian calendar was switched to the Gregorian calendar how many days were dropped? Eleven
86. What drink advert launched the slogan ‘The Right One’ in 1970? Martini
87. What is Virgil Hilts’ nickname in the film The Great Escape? The Cooler King
88. Before the tradition of hanging stockings up at Christmas what did Dutch children hang by the fireside? Shoes
89. In which country is it a tradition to hide all brooms in the house on Christmas Eve? Norway(according to legend, witches would steal them otherwise
90. Who wrote the songs for the 1954 film White Christmas? Irving Berlin
91. Which US President banned Christmas trees from the White House? Theodore Roosevelt
92. How many courses are there traditionally in a Ukrainian Christmas Eve supper? Twelve (each one is dedicated to an apostle)
93. In the song The Twelve Days of Christmas, how many pipers are there? Eleven
94. From what does the month of December take its name? Ten (Latin, decem – it was the tenth month of the early Roman calendar)
95. What did Scottish students take from Westminster Abbey on Christmas day 1950? The Coronation Stone (or Stone of Scone, or Stone of Destiny)
96. The surname Chandler derives from the making or selling of what? Candles
97. Who are the four ghosts in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol? Christmas Past, Christmas Present, Christmas Yet to Come, and Jacob Marley (one point for each correctly named ghost, and a bonus point for all four)
98. What liqueur goes into making a ‘snowball’ cocktail? Advocaat (or advokatt, pronounced ‘advocar’ – normally a blend of brandy, egg yolks, vanilla and sometimes other ingredients – award yourself a bonus point if you dare order one next time you go to the bar.)
99. What is the English title of the carol written in 1818 by Austrian priest Josef Mohr originally called Stille Nacht? Silent Night
100. In Victorian England what people were popularly called robins because of their red uniforms? Postmen