All I Want for Christmas Are Some Anagrams Quiz

Answer: Christmas tree

According to Illinois University, the first decorated Christmas tree was in Riga, Latvia in 1510, but the first printed reference to Christmas trees was in 1531, in what is now Germany. In the past, hawthorns and cherry trees were used as Christmas trees as well the expected conifers. Edward Johnson, assistant to Thomas Edison, thought of creating electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882. Mass production of Christmas-tree lights began in 1890 and eventually replaced the candles that had been used since the 17th century.

Answer: fruitcake

Fruitcake dates back to Ancient Roman times (as I am pretty sure does the one that keeps appearing under our tree). When the Romans mixed barley mash, pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and honeyed wine, they called it 'satura'. Luckily (?) a well-made fruitcake can last a quarter of a century and still be eaten, or so says the 'Christian Science Monitor'.

The 'New York Times', however, went one step further and in 1974 claimed that columnist Russell Baker had in his possession a fruitcake that had originally been a gift for President George Washington. (They may have been joking.)

Answer: Saint Nicholas

Nicholas was born in Patara in 270 CE and served as Bishop of Myra, both seaport towns off modern-day Turkey's southern coast, where he lived all his life (and died on December 6, 343). Nicholas began his anonymous gift-giving in Patara when he threw three bags of gold into a poor family's window on three consecutive nights. This act of charity became an annual tradition that spread throughout Europe.

The Middle Dutch 'Sinter Niklaas' gave way to 'Sante Klaas' among the Dutch who settled in colonial America, which eventually became "Santa Claus" in American English. (In Modern Dutch he is 'Sint-Nicolaas' or 'Sinterklaas').

Answer: Nutcracker

When 'The Nutcracker' was originally performed in St. Petersburg in the nineteenth century, it was not a success; but Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker Suite', a 20-minute extract from the ballet, was! In the mid-20th century, the 85-minute ballet grew popular, and it has become an ubiquitous Christmas staple in North America.

Some popular dances include the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" and the "Coffee Dance", better known as the "Arabian Dance". The tinkly sound of the Sugar Plum Fairy dance comes from the celesta, an instrument proudly discovered by Tchaikovsky in Paris.

Answer: poinsettia

The poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) is named after J. R. Poinsett (1799-1851), U.S. minister to Mexico, who encountered the plant there in 1828. Poinsett brought this colorful plant back to his Greenville, S.C plantation, where he cultivated it. He gave poinsettias out as gifts to friends. Grown primarily in Mexico and in Central America, the poinsettia actually has yellow petals, but it also has ostentatious leaflike parts resembling petals called bracts that are the familiar and rich scarlet color that is associated with Christmas.

There is a Mexican legend of an impoverished little girl who had nothing to bring to church for Christmas, so she picked some plants by the side of the road. As she entered the church, the leaves at the tips of the branches turned into bright, brilliant red flowers -- poinsettias!

Answer: Christmas carols

A "carol" originally was a non-religious, outdoor circular dance, accompanied by singing. Eventually, the meaning flipped to a merry tune that one could dance to. The word "carol" acquired the specific meaning "Christmas song of joy" apparently in the 16th century. "To go carolling", meaning to go from place to place in a group singing Christmas carols, first came into usage in the 1870s, when it was said to be a revival of an old English custom.

Answer: wreath

Wreaths of evergreens hung as decoration in the Christmas season to represent eternal life have been around since the early days of Christianity. Some churches have a hanging-of-the-greens ceremony when they decorate for Christmas.

Some Christians have in their homes an Advent wreath, which sits horizontally on a table, usually with four candles (one pink and three violet), one lit for each of four Sundays of Advent (the liturgical period preceding Christmas). The Advent wreath originated among 16th-century German Lutherans, but Evangelical minister Johann Hinrich Wichern (1808-1881) established the modern form, which was eventually adopted by Catholics and other denominations in Germany in the 1920s. The custom reached the USA in the 1930s. In the UK, four red candles are commonly used instead of the pink and violet.

Answer: Hallelujah Chorus

The tradition of standing during the "Hallelujah Chorus" began with King George II of England, who was so moved when he first heard this portion of the 'Messiah' oratorio, composed by George Fredric Handel in 1741, that he rose to his feet. Or at least that is the legend; the evidence is that His Majesty never actually attended the London premiere of 'Messiah'. However, the oratorio was so popular that when it premiered in Dublin, ladies were asked to leave their hoopskirts at home so that more people could fit into the auditorium.

Answer: wrapping paper

The trouble with saving gift wrap is that it is manufactured with the intent of being used only once, and with each subsequent use it becomes more worn and difficult to save. Unfortunately, in the USA about 4 million tons (3.6 metric tonnes) of it ends up in the dump and accounts for about 4/5 of the extra waste during the Christmas season. Up until the early 1900s, brown paper was used by most people for wrapping presents, but then colorful wrapping paper called "gift dressing" started becoming the norm, usually red, white, or green tissue paper. (Of course, the wealthy had long before used decorative paper on their gifts.)

Answer: yule log

The yule log is a large log of wood traditionally used as the foundation of a fire in the hearth at Christmastime. (It has its roots in a Nordic custom that dates from antiquity and was brought to the British Isles by Vikings.)

The first televised yule log was created by Fred M. Thrower, president of WPIX-TV in New York City, and broadcast in 1966. It was filmed at Gracie Mansion, the residence of the mayor of New York City. When producers removed the fire grate to better capture the flame on camera, a stray spark damaged an antique rug! Many other local TV stations in the USA since then have televised their own yule log. In the 2010s, however, the practice began to grow less common. Ccustomers of cable-TV, however, could still easily get one as video-on-demand, and eventually streaming services like Netflix began offering videos of yule logs and other holiday ambient videos, too.

There is also a Christmas dessert called a yule log, essentially sponge cake covered with a creamy filling, and then rolled up and decorated to look like a real yule log. It's also called the bûche de Noël (French) and other names in various countries.