Welcome to The Courtroom of Judge Kris Kringle Quiz

Answer: not to fight

Fighting is never advisable, but it didn't appear on Santa's list.

The correct answers can be found in the first verse of the song:

"You better watch out,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why,
Santa Claus is coming to town".

The song, written by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie in 1934, became an overnight success. When first sung in November of 1934 on "The Eddie Cantor Radio Show", orders for over 100,000 copies of the sheet music and 30,000 records were sold within 24 hours.

Answer: knowing when the children were playing

Santa did not observe the children while at play, but he knew about their games and activities.

The correct answers can be found in the third verse of the song:

"He sees you when you're sleeping,
He knows when you're awake,
He knows if you've been bad or good,
So be good for goodness sake!".

Answer: harp

At the judge's request, the court reporter scanned her stenotype machine, finding the correct information in the third verse of the testimony on the song's lyric. She proceeded to read the passage:

"See the blazing Yule before us,
Fa la la la la, la la la la,
Strike the harp and join the chorus,
Fa la la la la, la la la la".

This is the only verse of the song that references a musical instrument.

Answer: three

Three of the sweaters were monogrammed with the letter "D" for Dasher, Dancer, and Donner.

Receiving monogrammed sweaters with "C" were Comet and Cupid.

The remaining monograms were "P" for Prancer, "V" for Vixen, "B" for Blitzen, and of course, "R" for Rudolph.

The reindeer were mentioned by name in the first lines of the popular Christmas song "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer".

"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" first appeared in 1939, in the form of a coloring book, created by Robert May for the retail department store chain Montgomery Wards.

The song, movies, television specials, etc. all came later.

Answer: 23

Bond testified that there were six different species of birds mentioned in the song.
The song referenced one Partridge, two Turtle Doves, three French Hens, four Colly (Calling) birds, six Geese, and seven Swans, a total of 23.

Trivia note:
James Bond (1900-1989) was a noted and renowned ornithologist, specializing in birds of the Caribbean. His written work was well known by novelist Ian Fleming, who appropriated the name for his novels' fictional spy.

Answer: the ox and lamb

The correct answer can be found in the third verse of the song. After Mary gave her approval for the little boy to start playing, the verse was:

"Mary nodded, pa rum pum pum pum,
The ox and lamb kept time, pa rum pum pum pum,
I played my drum for him, par rum pum pum pum,
I played my best for him, par rum pum pum pum, rum pum pum pum,rum pum pum pum".

One of the most sentimental Christmas carols, "The Little Drummer Boy" was written by Katherine K. Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simone in 1958.

Answer: Will

The second verse of the song describes the gift placed in Nell's" stocking, but the answer to the question can be found in verse three.

"Next comes the stocking of little Will,
Oh just see what a glorious fill,
Here is a hammer and lots of tacks,
A whistle and a ball, and a whip that cracks"

(chorus)
"Ho ho ho!, who wouldn't go,
Ho ho ho!, who wouldn't go,
Up on the house top, click, click, click,
Down through the chimney, the good Saint Nick".

Note - Some versions identify the small boy as Little Bill.

"Up on the House Top" was written in 1864, by Benjamin Hanby in Paris, Ohio.

Answer: boughs of holly

One of the most popular traditional carols heard during the Christmas season, the answer can be found in the first line of the song:

"Deck the halls with bough of holly".
(Fa la la la la, la la la la)

The words to the song (English version) were written by Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant (1799-1873) in 1862.

The song dates back to the sixteenth century, and was based on the Welsh New Years Eve song "Nos Galan".

Answer: The Gifts of the Wise Men

The Wise Men played an important role in the story of Christmas, but not in the titles of the classic Christmas carol.

The song was recognized under three different titles: "We Three Kings", "We Three Kings of Orient Are", and "The Quest of the Magi".

The song was written in 1857 by John Henry Hopkins, Jr., while serving as rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The song was originally written for a Christmas pageant in New York City.

Answer: 1962

The witness was able to testify with absolute certainty that the song was written in October of 1962.
The Christmas carol, which gained increased popularity through the end of the 20th Century, referred to events surrounding the birth of Christ, being applied to modern times, circa 1962.

Specifically, the song was written as a plea to the United States and the Soviet Union to avoid, at all cost, the threat of a full scale nuclear war. At the time, the countries were involved in the "cold war" confrontation known as the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The witness, Gloria Shayne Baker, wrote the music for the song while her husband, Noel Regney, wrote the lyrics.