The Big Southern Cross Christmas Quiz

25 questions to test your Christmas knowledge! Compiled by Günther Simmermacher

1.In which country may people wish you Merry Christmas by saying: “Mbotama Malamu!”

a) Congo b) Ghana c) Kenya

2. Which Gospel reports that there was no room for Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem?

a) Mark b) Matthew c) Luke

3.Who had a 1970s Christmas hit with “When A Child Is Born”?

a) Boney M b) Harry Belafonte

c) Johnny Mathis

4.Which popular Christmas carol features the lines “For Christ is born of Mary/And gathered all above/While mortals sleep, the angels keep/Their watch of wondering love.”

a) Christ Is Born In Bethlehem

b) Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem

c) Once In Royal David’s City

5.Where do people light candles on the graves of relatives on Christmas Eve?

a) Finland b) Panama c) Vietnam

6.On which date does the pope give his blessing urbi et orbi?

a) December 24

b) December 25

c) December 26

7.What does the frankincense which the magi brought the baby Jesus symbolise?

a) Burial b) Kingship

c) Priesthood

8.When was Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer invented?

a) 1889 b) 1914 c) 1939

9.What is the Spanish name for Father Christmas?

a) Feliz Navidad

b) Papá Noel

c) San Nicolás

10.In the carol “We Three Kings”, which way is the star of wonder and star of light leading the magi?

a) East b) South c) West

11.Which was the first country to issue a Christmas postage stamp?

a) Canada b) New Zealand

c) United Kingdom

12.In the classic movie Miracle On 34th Street, who played the girl who believed in Santa Claus?

a) Judy Garland b) Natalie Wood

c) Shirley Temple

13.The French word for Christmas is “Noël”. What was its original meaning?

a) Birth b) Incarnation c) Star

14.Which saint’s feast is on the day after Christmas Day?

a) Luke b) Joseph c) Stephen

15.What used to be a traditional English Christmas dinner?

a) Pig’s head coated with mustard

b) Sheep trotters in sherry glazing

c) Salmon stuffed with venison mince

16.On which date do Orthodox Ethiopians celebrate Christmas?

a) December 25 b) January 7

c) January 19

17.Which carol sent Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol into a fury?

a) God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen

b) The First Noel

c) We Wish You A Merry Christmas

18.Who was the Roman emperor when Jesus was born?

a) Augustus b) Caligula

c) Tiberius

19.Who had a hit in 1984 with “Thank God It’s Christmas”?

a) Cliff Richard b) Queen c) Slade

20.Which country does the Christmas bread “Stollen” come from?

a) Germany b) Netherlands

c) Poland

21.What did my true love give to me on the seventh day?

a) Drummers Drumming

b) Lords a-Leaping

c) Pipers Piping

22.Who is the first in line in the genealogy of Jesus according to the Gospel of St Matthew?

a) Abraham b) Adam

c) David

23.In Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, who sings the line, “But say a prayer, pray for the other ones”?

a) Bob Geldof

b) Bono

c) George Michael

24.Which Old Testament prophet anticipated the birth of Christ?

a) Amos b) Hosea

c) Isaiah

25.In Greece, which saint brings Christmas presents on January 1?

a) St Basil

b) St George

c) St Nicholas

 

a) Congo; 2. b) Luke; 3. c) Johnny Mathis; 4. b) Oh Little Town of Bethlehem; 5. a) Finland; 6. b) December 25; 7. c) Priesthood; 8. c) 1939 (Robert L May created Rudolph in a story-poem to attract customers to a department store); 9. c) San Nicolás; 10. c) West; 11. a) Canada; 12. b) Natalie Wood; 13. a) Birth (a corruption of the Latin Natalis); 14. c) St Stephen; 15. a) Pig’s head coated with mustard; 16. b) January 7; 17. a) God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen; 18. a) Augustus; 19. b) Queen; 20. a) Germany; 21. a) Drummers Drumming; 22. a) Abraham; 23. c) George Michael; 24. c) Isaiah; 25. a) St Basil.