A Place Called Christmas Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada

Arguably the least exotic of the places with this name, Christmas Island, NS is a tiny community on Cape Breton Island near Bras d'Or Lake. Its post office receives many cards during the Christmas season to be stamped "Christmas Island" and sent on. The Gaelic festival reflects the heritage of the region's settlers, and includes lessons in the language.

The place got its name not from the season, but from a First Nations resident named Christmas.

Answer: In the Indian Ocean

Flying Fish Cove is the name of the capital, where about one-third of the island's population lives, but it is often known simply as "The Settlement", even appearing that way on some maps. The island was given its name by the captain of a ship of the East India Company, because it was sighted as they sailed by on Christmas Day 1643.

Answer: The one near Tasmania, Australia

As well as Christmas Island this group includes the larger King Island, and all actually form part of Tasmania extending into the Great Australian Bight. Christmas Island is part of the King Island Important Bird Area, and home to little penguins, sooty oystercatchers and many other bird species.

Answer: In the Pacific Ocean

Kiritimati is part of the country Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) in the central Pacific Ocean. Because the letters "ti" are pronounced as "s" in Gilbertese, this spelling approximates the local pronunciation of "Christmas". It is a coral atoll in the Line Island group, and though once subjected to nuclear testing in the vicinity has been a wildlife sanctuary since 1960.

Answer: South Africa

Vasco da Gama was the Portuguese explorer who gave Natal its name. At one time meaning only the coast spotted by this explorer, the name was later applied to a republic, a colony, then a province of South Africa and later still as part of the name of the province KwaZulu-Natal. Pietermaritzburg is the capital, while Durban is the largest city.

Answer: Chile

Spanish for Christmas, Navidad is the name given to an area on the coast of Chile through which runs the Rapel River. Various stories attribute the naming of the municipality to either Franciscan monks who celebrated Christmas there or Jesuits who built a convent in the valley.

Answer: False

Despite the long-held local belief that this is the case, scholarly works published in 2008 have shown the town to have been named for the Acadian Noel Doiron who farmed in the area in the 1700s. Even so, Canada Post has produced a special postmark for the town.

Answer: Maine

Legends regarding the name of Christmas Cove include one stating that Captain John Smith sheltered there during Christmas of 1614, but this is disproved by his having arrived home in October of that year. Regardless of the origin of the name, this is a pretty spot on the Maine shore not far from Brunswick, ME and is essentially a fishing community.

Answer: England

The former is in Hertfordshire and the latter in Shropshire. Cold Christmas lends its name to a road in in nearby Thundridge upon which is located a ruined church which is said to be haunted. Legend has it that the name Cold Christmas came about after many children in the village were killed by exceptionally cold weather during the holiday season.

Not a very jolly Christmas tale, is it?

Answer: Florida

Christmas, Florida is not far from Orlando and appears to want to cash in on its name by giving tourists the "Christmas all year" feeling. It has a post office that is in demand in December, a Christmas trailer park and a museum open only by appointment. The reason for the alligator-shaped building remains a mystery.