The Big Southern Cross Christmas Quiz

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

Which Gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus?

a) Mark

b) Matthew

c) Luke

By which English title do we know the Christmas carol “Adeste Fideles”?

a) Angels We Have Heard on High

b) Joy To The World

c) O Come All Ye Faithful

Which of these South African dioceses is not dedicated to Our Lady of the Flight Into Egypt?

a) Cape Town

b) Kimberley

c) Port Elizabeth

According to US scientists how many homes per second would Santa Claus have to visit to deliver all the world’s presents on Christmas Eve?

a) 266

b) 588

c) 822

In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Bob Cratchit’s son?

a) Barnaby

b) Pip

c) Tiny Tim

What happened in Greccio, Italy, at Christmas 1223?

a) St Francis invented the Nativity Scene

b) St Francis introduced the first vernacular Christmas hymn

c) St Francis spoke with the wolf

Which dictator put in place a policy to replace the celebration of Christmas with that of the Winter Solstice?

a) Hitler

b) Mussolini

c) Stalin

What colour was Elvis Presley’s Christmas?

a) Black

b) Blue

c) Pink

Which Church feast precedes Christmas by exactly nine months?

a) Annunciation

b) Immaculate Conception

c) Visitation

In which language do you say Merry Christmas by saying, “KrismasiNjema”?

a) Croatian

b) Malay

c) Swahili

From which carol is the line: “Why these songs of happy cheer? What great brightness did you see?”

a) Angels We Have Heard on High

b) It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

c) Joy To The World

Which US president banned Christmas trees in the White House, for ecological reasons?

a) Teddy Roosevelt

b) Jimmy Carter

c) Barack Obama

When was the first Christmas cracker made, in London?

a) 1847

b) 1877

c) 1907

What seven things did my true love give to me on the seventh day of Christmas?

a) 7 Geese a Laying

b) 7 Maids a Milking

c) 7 Swans a Swimming

Which Christmas hit was written during a heatwave, to cool the writers down?

a) Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

b) The Christmas Song

c) White Christmas

People of which profession were the first to hear the news of the birth of the Messiah?

a) Fishermen

b) Scribes

c) Shepherds

What animated Christmas movie was produced by Tom Hanks?

a) Frozen

b) How The Grinch Stole Christmas

c) The Polar Express

What is the name of the main square in Bethlehem, opposite the church of Jesus’ birthplace?

a) Holy Family Square

b) Manger Square

c) Nativity Square

What is the French name for Santa Claus?

a) Papa Réveillon

b) Père Noël

c) Saint-Nicolas

Where in Africa do Christians have parades after Christmas church services with large bamboo-and-paper boat-shaped lanterns called “fanals”?

a) Central Africa

b) East Africa

c) West Africa

What is the official title of the 1822 Christmas poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas”?

a) A Visit from St Nicholas

b) Happy Christmas To All

c) The Mystery Gift

In which country was the hymn “O Holy Night” originally written?

a) Austria

b) England

c) France

According to the classic movie of 1947 (remade in 1994), on which New York street was there a Christmas miracle?

a) 34th Street

b) 52nd Avenue

c) Broadway

Which fast food, by a multi-national giant, has become a traditional Christmas meal in Japan?

a) Cheeseburgers

b) Fried Chicken

c) Pizza

There are two places called Christmas Island in the world. In which ocean is there no such island?

a) Atlantic

b) Indian

c) Pacific

“Stollen” is a traditional Christmas cake in which country?

a) Belgium

b) Germany

c) Sweden

The Southern Cross has had guest editorialists in every Christmas issue but one since 2001. Who was the first guest editorialist?

a) Fr Ralph de Hahn

b) Archbishop Denis Hurley

c) Cardinal Wilfrid Napier

The 1962 Christmas song “Do You Hear What I Hear” was written in the USA as a protest against what?

a) Commercialisation of Christmas

b) Communism

c) Nuclear weapons

According to legend, which 7th-century missionary to Germany promoted the fir tree as a Christmas decoration because it points to heaven and its triangular shape symbolises the Holy Trinity?

a) St Blaise

b) St Bonaventure

c) St Boniface

In which region might you find silver spiders decorating a Christmas tree?

a) Australia

b) Central America

c) Eastern Europe

Which cartoon character is a staple on Swedish TV at Christmas?

a) Bugs Bunny

b) Donald Duck

c) Mr Magoo

Astronomers speculate that the Star Of Bethlehem, which guided the magi to Jesus, may have been a comet or which planet?

a) Saturn

b) Uranus

c) Venus

Which composer wrote “The Messiah”?

a) Johann Sebastian Bach

b) George Frederick Handel

c) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

In which country was a traditional Christmas dinner pig’s head smothered in mustard

a) England

b) Portugal

c) Romania

What marks the reputed spot of Jesus’ birth in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem?

a) Perennially burning candle

b) Silver star

c) Statue of Mary and child

Which 1980s action movie includes no Christmas storyline?

a) Beverley Hills Cop

b) Die Hard

b) Lethal Weapon

In which century did Puritans in England and in the US outlaw Christmas as a “decadent” feast?

a) 16th century

b) 17th century

c) 18th century

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

a) East

b) North

c) West

The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States on Christmas Day 1886—making it the biggest Christmas present ever. Which country presented it?

a) France

b) Great Britain

c) Italy

Which English glam rock band has had multiple hits with 1973’s “Merry Christmas Everybody”?

a) Mud

b) Slade

c) Wizzard

On which date do the Armenian Christians in the Holy Land celebrate their Christmas?

a) December 19

b) January 1

c) January 19

In which country do people light candles on the graves of relatives on Christmas Eve?

a) Finland

b) Ghana

c) Panama

Who of these celebrities was not born on Christmas Day?

a) Annie Lennox

b) Humphrey Bogart

c) Ricky Martin

Which Portuguese explorer in 1497 named the territory of KZN “Natal”, after the Portuguese name for the feast of the Nativity?

a) Bartolomeu Dias

b) Henry the Navigator

c) Vasco da Gama

In which year did warring British and German troops declare an unauthorised Christmas truce?

a) 1872

b) 1914

c) 1941

Which classic book was made possible after the author received funds to tide her over from her friends as a Christmas gift?

a) Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

b) To Kill A Mockingbird

c) White Teeth

Which Italian city holds what are said to be the bones of St Nicholas, the prototype for Santa Claus?

a) Avellino

b) Bari

c) Como

On the 1984 charity hit “Do They Know It’s Christmas?”, which English singer delivers the first line?

a) Bob Geldof

b) George Michael

c) Paul Young

What is frankincense, one of the three gifts the magi brought the baby Jesus?

a) Incense

b) Jewel

c) Oil

What is still technically illegal to do on Christmas Day in England?

a) Drink alcohol

b) Eat mince pies

c) Sing Christmas carols

 

Answers

1. b) Matthew; 2. c) O Come All Ye Faithful; 3. b) Kimberley; 4. c) 822; 5. c) Tiny Tim; 6. a) St Francis invented the Nativity Scene; 7. a) Hitler; 8. b) Blue (Christmas); 9. a) Annunciation; 10. c) Swahili; 11. a) Angels We Have Heard On High; 12. a) Teddy Roosevelt (in 1901); 13. a) 1847; 14. c) 7 Swans a Swimming; 15. b) The Christmas Song; 16. c) Shepherds; 17. c) The Polar Express; 18. b) Manger Square; 19. b) Père Noël; 20. c) West Africa; 21. a) A Visit from St Nicholas; 22. c) France; 23. a) 34th Street; 24. b) Fried chicken; 25. a) Atlantic; 26. b) Germany; 27. c) Cardinal Wilfrid Napier; 28. c) Nuclear weapons; 29. c) St Boniface; 30. c) Eastern Europe; 31. b) Donald Duck; 32. b) Uranus; 33. b) George Frederick Handel; 34. a) England; 35. b) Silver star; 36. a) Beverley Hills Cop; 37. b) 17th century; 38. c) West; 39. a) France ; 40. b) Slade; 41. c) January 19; 42. a) Finland; 43. c) Ricky Martin (the singer was born on December 24); 44. c) Vasco da Gama; 45. b) 1914; 46. b) To Kill A Mockingbird; 47. b) Bari; 48. c) Paul Young; 49. c) Essential oil; 50. b) Eat mince pies (in the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell banned Christmas pudding, mince pies and anything to do with gluttony. The law has never been rescinded.)

This quiz appeared in our Christmas 2017 Southern Cross newspaper.

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