Away in a Manger Trivia Quiz

Answer: holly

"...War(HOL LY)le..."

Holly is often used to decorate homes at Christmas time, often coupled with ivy. There's even a song about the pair! Their use dates to celebrations of the Winter Solstice even before Christ was born.

Answer: lowing

"...fol(LOW IN G)reat big..."

The reference here is to the line in "Away in a Manger" that goes "the cattle are lowing, the baby awakes...". Lowing in this case refers to the deep sound cows make when they moo.

Answer: dreidel

"... Sierra Ma(DRE I DEL)ivered...."

A dreidel is a four-sided spinning top, with Hebrew letters on each face, representing the sentiment "a great miracle has happened here". Playing with the dreidel is a traditional Hanukkah pastime.

Answer: reindeer

"...fi(RE IN DEER)field Beach..."

"Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer..." Oh, wait that's a different song! Anyway, Santa finally recognised his worth and let him help the other reindeer pull the sleigh full of toys on Christmas Eve.

Answer: Advent

"...Br(AD VENT) your..."

Advent is the season in the Christian year immediately preceding Christmas. Traditionally, advent calendars have doors to be opened one day at a time to reveal a small gift (or sometimes a quiz) for each day.

Answer: menorah

"....up (MEN OR A H)oliday..."

The Hanukkah menorah is the multi-branched holder which displays the candles lit for each day of The Festival of Lights.

Answer: shortbread

"...a ra(SH OR TB READ) your..."

Shortbread cookies are delicious, rich, melt-in-your-mouth butter cookies that originated in Scotland. They are associated not only with Christmas but with the Scottish celebration of the New Year, Hogmanay.

Answer: parade

"...up to (PAR A DE)ed horse..."

Santa Claus parades have become traditional in most North American towns and cities, and mark the beginning of the holiday season, sometimes well before the first of December. Floats and bands precede the arrival of Santa in his sleigh much to the delight of the kiddies who line the street in anticipation.

Answer: ornament

"...story, (OR NAME N.T.) parables..."

Apologies for the contrived sentence, with N.T. standing for New Testament.

Ornaments placed on the Christmas tree can be brightly coloured balls, stars, Santas, angels, tiny musical instruments or almost anything at all. Tinsel and garlands are also used, as well as strings of lights.

Answer: manger

"... or a (MAN GER)ald..."

See, I said you might find a manger! Normally used as a feeding trough for animals, the manger in "Away in a Manger" was pressed into service as a bed for Baby Jesus when he was born in Bethlehem.