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Quiz about Santa Claus A Musical Biography
Quiz about Santa Claus A Musical Biography

Santa Claus: A Musical Biography Quiz


Santa Claus is famously cheerful and a generous giver to children - but how much do we really know about his life? Perhaps the many songs about him will give us some clues ...

A multiple-choice quiz by CellarDoor. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
CellarDoor
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
301,944
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
12130
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: Guest 108 (9/10), Guest 97 (9/10), Guest 172 (7/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. You have to respect a cheerful giver, and Santa Claus certainly qualifies. The song "Here Comes Santa Claus" tells us that he loves all children "just the same," regardless of their parents' status, and that the people respond by loving him: in fact, they've named a street after him! What is Father Christmas's namesake thoroughfare? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Traditionally, Santa Claus has specialized in toys and sweets for children: here a teddy bear, there a dolly, and everywhere fruits and candy canes. In "Santa Baby," however, Eartha Kitt seems to suggest that Santa Claus has branched out into luxury goods for grown-ups. Which of these things does she NOT ask Santa for? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. How does Santa Claus get into houses to deliver presents? He usually uses the chimney, but in "'Zat You, Santa Claus?," Louis Armstrong discovers that Santa has other ways of gaining entry. How does Santa arrive in the song? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Santa is renowned as the ultimate gift-giver - after all, he knows exactly what's on everyone's Christmas list. Yet sometimes even Santa comes up short. In which of these songs does the singer defiantly insist that "I don't need to hang my stocking ... Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas Day"? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The classic song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" gives us some insight into Santa's style as a manager. His flying workforce has a serious problem: poor Rudolph is being bullied by the other, more nasally normal reindeer. According to the lyrics, when does Santa first step in? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. We don't normally think of Santa Claus as a man of romance, but there's a popular Christmas song that argues otherwise. Written by Tommie Connor and originally released by thirteen-year-old Jimmy Boyd, this 1952 song takes the viewpoint of a young child who innocently witnesses Santa in love. How does the child describe this experience? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Christian children all over the world strive to behave in the month of December, knowing that Santa Claus is coming soon. In "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," we see that the pressure of deciding "who's naughty and nice" has turned our jolly friend into a bit of a stalker. Which of these is NOT given as an example of Santa's seasonal omniscience? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Santa may seem quite innocent, but he's been blamed for dark deeds. A 1979 song originally performed by Elmo and Patsy Shropshire alleges that something terrible has befallen Grandma after an encounter with Santa's sleigh. What is her fate (and the title of the song)? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What made Santa Claus flirt with the dark side? Some think this new behavior may have begun in 1977, when Santa himself was the victim of a crime. As chronicled in a song released that year, several boys accosted him outside a department store and demanded, "Father Christmas, give us some money / Don't mess around with those silly toys." What song tells the whole sad tale? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Is Santa Claus a threat to public health? After all, he may be single-handedly responsible for an epidemic of insomnia on Christmas Eve. According to "The Christmas Song," which of these groups "will find it hard to sleep tonight"? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 25 2024 : Guest 108: 9/10
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Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. You have to respect a cheerful giver, and Santa Claus certainly qualifies. The song "Here Comes Santa Claus" tells us that he loves all children "just the same," regardless of their parents' status, and that the people respond by loving him: in fact, they've named a street after him! What is Father Christmas's namesake thoroughfare?

Answer: Santa Claus Lane

Each verse of the song opens with a cheerful, "Here comes Santa Claus! Here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane!" Of course, his imminent arrival comes with a long to-do list: you've got to "hang your stockings and say your prayers ... jump in bed and cover your head ... fill your hearts with Christmas Cheer ..." and finally "give thanks to the Lord above." There's no mention of milk and cookies, here, but they seem unlikely to be forgotten.

Gene Autry (you'll see this name again later!) wrote this song with Oakley Haldeman and recorded it in 1947; its success inspired him to re-record it twice. It's been covered by artists as varied as Doris Day, Willie Nelson and Ludacris - truly a tune with a broad appeal!
2. Traditionally, Santa Claus has specialized in toys and sweets for children: here a teddy bear, there a dolly, and everywhere fruits and candy canes. In "Santa Baby," however, Eartha Kitt seems to suggest that Santa Claus has branched out into luxury goods for grown-ups. Which of these things does she NOT ask Santa for?

Answer: A home in the Hamptons

"Santa, baby, slip a sable under the tree / For me. / I've been an awfully good girl, Santa, baby / So hurry down the chimney tonight." The singer goes on to demand "a '54 convertible, too / Light blue" and specifies the "one thing I really do need / The deed / To a platinum mine." There's also a duplex, checks, decorations from Tiffany's, jewelry, and even a yacht - but no house in the Hamptons. There's at least some limit on what Santa can get down the chimney!

Written by Joan Javits, Philip Springer and Tony Springer, "Santa Baby" brought fame and success down the chimney for Eartha Kitt, the first artist to release it, in 1953. It seems this humorous Christmas list has a lot of appeal: it's been covered by many, many people, including Madonna, Macy Gray, and the inimitable Miss Piggy.
3. How does Santa Claus get into houses to deliver presents? He usually uses the chimney, but in "'Zat You, Santa Claus?," Louis Armstrong discovers that Santa has other ways of gaining entry. How does Santa arrive in the song?

Answer: He knocks at the door.

"Hangin' my stockin'," Armstrong recounts, "I can hear a knockin'. 'Zat you, Santa Claus?" The darkness of the night, the howling of the wind, and the vague possibility of goblins terrify the singer, who repeatedly asks his visitor to confirm whether or not he is, in fact, Santa Claus. (He also suggests that Kris Kringle could simply slip any gifts for him under the door.)

You will no doubt be relieved to know that the nighttime visitor is, in fact, Santa Claus ("That's him, all right!") - and that Louis Armstrong and the Commanders saw success with this 1953 piece written by Jack Fox.
4. Santa is renowned as the ultimate gift-giver - after all, he knows exactly what's on everyone's Christmas list. Yet sometimes even Santa comes up short. In which of these songs does the singer defiantly insist that "I don't need to hang my stocking ... Santa Claus won't make me happy with a toy on Christmas Day"?

Answer: All I Want for Christmas Is You

In "All I Want for Christmas Is You," written by Mariah Carey and Walter Afansieff and released by Carey in 1994, the singer doesn't want anything that can legally be wrapped up and placed under a tree. She wants her love to be hers forever: "I just want you for my own / More than you could ever know / Make my wish come true / Baby, all I want for Christmas is you!"

Of course, despite the fact that Santa Claus has never been known to engage in human trafficking, the singer eventually turns to his gift-giving prowess anyway: "Santa, won't you bring me the one I really need? Won't you please bring my baby to me?" Carey isn't the first to ask for a favor like this: the Wilsons' 1993 single "Hey Santa!" makes a similar request, asking "Hey Santa, Santa, bring my baby home tonight! ... I know your sleigh is full inside / But won't you stop and give my baby a ride?"
5. The classic song "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" gives us some insight into Santa's style as a manager. His flying workforce has a serious problem: poor Rudolph is being bullied by the other, more nasally normal reindeer. According to the lyrics, when does Santa first step in?

Answer: On Christmas Eve, to make Rudolph a job offer that makes him the envy of the reindeer who had been harrassing him.

The song shows that Santa's intervention was perhaps a bit belated: there was a substantial time period when "All of the other reindeer used to laugh and call him names / They never let poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games." And his involvement was spurred by the weather, rather than his reindeer resources problem: it was "one foggy Christmas Eve" that made him realize how useful Rudolph's nose could be in lighting the path of his sleigh. The job offer was an effective solution to Rudolph's problem, however: after seeing how useful his bright red nose was, "the reindeer loved him."

The character and story of Rudolph were developed in 1939 by a man named Robert L. May who was working for the Montgomery Ward department store. It wasn't set to music until a decade later; Gene Autry's 1949 version hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Best Sellers in Stores chart. Rudolph has gone down in history!
6. We don't normally think of Santa Claus as a man of romance, but there's a popular Christmas song that argues otherwise. Written by Tommie Connor and originally released by thirteen-year-old Jimmy Boyd, this 1952 song takes the viewpoint of a young child who innocently witnesses Santa in love. How does the child describe this experience?

Answer: "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus underneath the mistletoe last night."

"...Then I saw Mommy tickle Santa Claus underneath his beard so snowy white / What a laugh it would have been / If Daddy had only seen / Mommy kissing Santa Claus last night." The joke is that the "Santa" the child recognized was not actually Santa Claus, but Daddy wearing a costume - but how can we really be sure?

"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" caused some controversy when it was first released, for mixing romance and scandal with a religious holiday. Since that time, however, it's become regarded as an innocent and sweet little ditty, and it's been covered repeatedly - by the Jackson Five and Jessica Simpson, among others.
7. Christian children all over the world strive to behave in the month of December, knowing that Santa Claus is coming soon. In "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," we see that the pressure of deciding "who's naughty and nice" has turned our jolly friend into a bit of a stalker. Which of these is NOT given as an example of Santa's seasonal omniscience?

Answer: "His elves are always watching you."

In this 1934 Christmas standard, written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie and sung by far too many artists to begin to name, Santa does all the legwork himself. He's the one who's "making a list"; he's the one who's "checking it twice"; and he's the reason "you better watch out / You better not cry / You better not pout." Most other Santa songs depict the right jolly old elf as a friend to children and an all-around nice and merciful guy; this is the rare song that underlines his role as an enforcer.
8. Santa may seem quite innocent, but he's been blamed for dark deeds. A 1979 song originally performed by Elmo and Patsy Shropshire alleges that something terrible has befallen Grandma after an encounter with Santa's sleigh. What is her fate (and the title of the song)?

Answer: Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

"Grandma got run over by a reindeer," begins this soulful novelty song written by Randy Brooks, "walking home from our house Christmas Eve." As the song continues, the dark details come out: she had drunk too much eggnog and gone home alone, and the next day investigators found "incriminatin' Claus marks on her back." The singer concludes, "You can say there's no such thing as Santa / But as for me and Grandpa, we believe."

The song inspired a 2000 television cartoon that set the record straight: Santa was framed by a greedy cousin, and Grandma turned out to be all right. Thank goodness - think what would happen if Santa had to cross himself off his list!
9. What made Santa Claus flirt with the dark side? Some think this new behavior may have begun in 1977, when Santa himself was the victim of a crime. As chronicled in a song released that year, several boys accosted him outside a department store and demanded, "Father Christmas, give us some money / Don't mess around with those silly toys." What song tells the whole sad tale?

Answer: "Father Christmas" by The Kinks

The youths continue, "We'll beat you up if you don't hand it over / We want your bread, so don't make us annoyed. / Give all the toys to the little rich boys." It goes on to explain that the kids' fathers don't have jobs, that they "got nothin'," and that, by the way, they'd like "a machine gun / So I can scare all the kids down the street." Although this may have been a department store Santa, rather than the genuine St. Nick, this must have shaken the real Santa Claus terribly.
10. Is Santa Claus a threat to public health? After all, he may be single-handedly responsible for an epidemic of insomnia on Christmas Eve. According to "The Christmas Song," which of these groups "will find it hard to sleep tonight"?

Answer: "Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow"

The second verse and the bridge tell us, "Tiny tots with their eyes all aglow / Will find it hard to sleep tonight. / They know that Santa's on his way / He's loaded lots of toys and goodies on his sleigh / And every mother's child is going to spy / To see if reindeer really know how to fly." It seems that Santa Claus inspires not only insomnia, but also an interest in espionage!

"The Christmas Song," often recognized by its opening reference to "chestnuts roasting on an open fire," was written in the summer of 1944 by Mel Tormé and Bob Wells, who were trying to beat the heat by thinking cold thoughts. The song has been recorded by dozens of artists since that time, but Nat King Cole's 1961 orchestra-backed recording (the fourth time he recorded the song) is probably the best known.
Source: Author CellarDoor

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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