'Twas the Night Before Christmas Quiz

Answer: Wassailing

Wassailing was associated with the harvest festival but it was also an old English tradition which dates back to the 12th century to help bring in the New Year. People would carry a wassailing bowl filled with a spicy mulled wine, and entertain people with carols such as "The Wassail Song".

Answer: Rosemary Clooney

"White Christmas" featured four entertainers played by Bing, Danny, Vera-Ellen and Rosemary. Together, they staged a show at the Pine Tree Ski Lodge in Vermont which was being run by a former commanding officer from World War II. The film featured the songs "Sisters", "Snow", and of course, "White Christmas".

Although famous for starring in this film, Rosemary Clooney came to prominence during the 1950s mainly as a singer, especially with her songs "Hey There" and "This Ole House", both of which reached number one in the US Billboard Hot 100.

Answer: Finland

Rovaniemi is a city in the province of Lapland in northern Finland, just 5km south of the Arctic Circle. It is an important location for tourism with Santa Claus Village and Santapark 8km north of the city attracting thousands of visitors each year. Amongst the entertainment at these attractions include a Santa post office, underground caves, gingerbread kitchen, elf school and sleigh rides. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Answer: Welcome to Earth

"The Runaway Bride" (2006) introduced us to Donna Noble who was played by Catherine Tate. In this episode, Donna helped the Doctor win his battle against robotic Santa's. "Voyage of the Damned" (2007) was aboard the space liner "Titanic" which was on collision with Earth on Christmas Day. Kylie Minogue took on the role of a waitress called Astrid Peth. "The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe" (2011) saw a mother try to frantically search for her two children who went into a "Narnia" type world, only to tell them that their father had been shot down in World War II. "Welcome to Earth" was the name of the Last of the Summer Wine 1993 Christmas Special.

Answer: Hercule Poirot

"The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding and a Selection of Entrées" was a book of short stories written by the mistress of sleuth, Agatha Christie. Published in 1960, "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (alternative name "The Theft of the Royal Ruby") saw Hercule Poirot join a house party at a country house during the festive period.

The story involved a stolen ruby, a blood covered body in the snow, drugged coffee and poisoned plum pudding.

Answer: Margaret O'Brien

The film saw Mr Smith announce that his family was to move from St Louis to New York. The news left his children devastated including young Tootie, played by Margaret O'Brien. She was not even cheered up when her elder sister, played by Judy Garland, sang to her "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". Margaret O'Brien was a well-known child actress during the 1940s, also starring in the 1949 film "Little Women" alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Janet Leigh and June Allyson.

Answer: The Nutcracker

The "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" is from the 1892 ballet "The Nutcracker" which featured music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Young Clara was given a nutcracker on Christmas Eve but it was broken by her brother. That same night while the rest of her family was asleep, Clara was amazed to see the nutcracker and various other toys come to life. Together they visited the Land of Sweets which was governed by the Sugar Plum Fairy. Tchaikovsky also composed the music for "Swan Lake" and "The Sleeping Beauty".

Answer: A Joni Mitchell CD

The film gave us a glimpse into the lives of a group of people, interweaving as one storyline merged with that of another person. Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson played middle aged couple Harry and Karen. Karen saw her husband buy an expensive necklace, believing it was for her, but was in fact purchased for his new and much younger secretary.

Their marriage started breaking up when Karen was given a Joni Mitchell CD instead, her heart in tatters as we listened to the strains of the "Both Sides, Now".

Answer: Widow Twankey

Widow Twankey is often seen on the British stage during pantomime season. It is normally a male dressed up in drag as a woman, with a big colourful wig, heavily made up face and a dress fit for a very, very buxom woman. Widow Twankey was first seen on stage in 1861. As the owner of a laundry in China, she had one son called Aladdin, who was in love with Princess Soshy, and another son called Wishy Washy. Slapstick comedy and jokes galore would entertain the audience for hours, leaving them in stitches and gagging for more. Do you want to hear a fun pantomime joke?

QUESTION: What kind of pet did Aladdin have?
ANSWER: A flying car-pet!

Answer: Clement Clarke Moore

Clement Clarke Moore was a nineteenth century professor from America and wrote the poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" for his children. Published in 1823, the poem was soon to become better known as "'Twas the night before Christmas". It brought together an image of how Santa looked, from his jolly red cheeks, his dimples, white beard and round belly.

The poem also introduced us for the first time to his reindeer helpers, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen!