Christmas Trivia Here and There Quiz

Answer: The First Nowell

"Nowell" is a synonym for Christmas or the Nativity that arose in the Middle English period, some time after the Norman conquest but before the 15th century, from the French word Noël. The carol "The First Nowell" (also spelled "Noel" and "Noël" in many songbooks, although "Nowell" is more accurate), is a folk song from the Early Modern period (late 15th to late 17th centuries), emerging from Cornwall. It not published in its current form until the nineteenth century, edited and arranged by William Sandys.

"He is Born..." is a translation of "Il est né, le divin Enfant", a traditional French carol. "O Come..." was originally written in Latin as "Adeste Fideles", and Frederick Oakele penned the English translation in 1841. "Silent Night" is the German carol "Stille Nacht, heilege Nacht". Jospeh Mohr wrote the lyrics and Franz Xaver Gruber composed the melody in 1818, when their church organ failed. John Freeman Young translated it in 1859.

Answer: Rose (or pink)

One candle is lit on each of the four Sundays preceding Christmas. The first two lit are violet (or purple), but the third candle is rose (or pink), to symbolize joy that the waiting period is half over! In the 21st century, some (but not all) Protestants who observe Advent have substituted the violet candles with deep blue ones.

The remaining Protestant and most Roman Catholic observers of Advent retain the violet/purple tradition established in the 13th century. Some Advent wreaths have a fifth candle, a large white one in the center that is lit on Christmas Eve.

Answer: St. Francis of Assisi

One of the oldest Christmastime traditions is the Nativity play. St. Francis of Assisi assembled a Nativity scene outside of his church in A.D. 1223. While Nativity scenes or crèches had been around since the 10th century, this one turned into an event accompanied by a children's choir.

The spectacle was repeated, and with each passing year grew more and more elaborate, with singing and various vignettes being acted out, all of which drew ever increasing crowds of viewers. Eventually, such plays spread throughout Europe and became standard Christmas fare.

In Mexico, France, Italy, and Germany (and many other places), Nativity plays are held outdoors, in public streets.

Answer: Weihnachtsmann - China

Weihnachtsmann is a relatively recent secular gift-bearing figure in Germany, dating from the 19th century. He's like a combination of Santa Claus and Knecht Ruprecht, one of the companions of St. Nicholas, the more traditional figure (as he is in many countries), whose gift-giving day is December 6. It was also in the 19th century that Catholic areas in Germany adopted the angelic Christ Child (Kristkind) -- which actually grew from a Protestant tradition developed by Martin Luther during the Reformation -- as the bringer of gifts on Christmas Eve. In 1932, children were still split evenly along regional lines as to whether they preferred the Weihnachtsmann or the golden-haired Kristkind. By the 21st century, however, the Weihnachtsmann appeared to have won out in most areas of Germany, except for a few Catholic areas.

In the People's Republic of China, Christmas was initially just something to put on for the benefit of visiting foreigners. But particularly after the reforms of the 1990s, the Anglo-European "Christmas Old Man", or Shèngdàn lǎorén, began to make serious inroads into Chinese culture.

Answer: Pandoro

Pandoro, from "pan d'oro" (lit. "bread of gold" or "golden bread"), is indeed a golden cake, classically shaped like a three dimensional eight-pointed star. While white bread was commonly eaten by the rich in the Middle Ages, the poor could only afford brown or black bread (if that), while royalty ate golden bread, or bread enriched sugar, eggs, and butter. So this was a real treat! There is a similar Italian Christmas bread called panettone, which originally came from Milan, though it usually has candied fruit peels, raisins, and brandy.

Turrón is a nougat confection of honey, sugar, and egg white, perhaps with toasted almonds or other nuts. Turrón is the Spanish name (in Italian it's torrone). It is popular not only in Southern Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal) but also in the Americas from Mexico southward. Kartoffelpuffer are potato pancakes eaten in Germany, not wholly unlike Jewish latkes eaten during Hanukkah.

Answer: Mexico

On the morning of January 6, the children awaken to find that Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar, the Three Kings or Three Wise Men, have left gifts inside the shoes (or next to them). On this Three Kings' Day, or Día de los Reyes, family and friends share a Kings' Cake, or Rosca de Reyes (literally Kings' Ring), a sweet quickbread shaped like a wreath, with candied fruit on top and a figurine of baby Jesus baked inside. Tradition holds that whoever finds this figure must host a tamales party on February 2, which is Candlemas Day (the day that candles are blessed at Mass). After the Three Kings' Day celebration, Mexicans usually put away all their holiday decorations and conclude the Christmas festivities, until next year. Three Kings' Day is celebrated in similar ways throughout Central and South America, and Spain as well.

(The Aztecs lived in what is now Mexico, in an empire that once stretched as far southward as Guatemala.)

Answer: Fairies and flowers

The Victorians initially preferred fanciful motifs like fairies and flowers that looked forward to the approach of spring. Only later would they develop a taste for things we would more strongly associate with Christmas in the Northern Hemisphere, like wintertime, the Nativity, etc.

They also liked amusing or sentimental depictions of children and anthropomorphic animals, like a band of frogs marching on their hind legs and playing musical instruments (and not even a stick of holly). The first commercial Christmas card was designed by John Callcott Horsley and printed in Britain by Henry Cole in 1843.

Answer: False

Actually, Aussies celebrate Christmas much the same way as their British and North American brethren, wintry decorations and all, which is not terribly surprising given Australia's origin as a British penal colony. Santa Claus appears in a red suit trimmed with fur and rides a sleigh. Scenes of snowy forests and villages appear on Christmas cards.

There are, of course, some uniquely Aussie twists, like depictions of Santa surfing or wearing summer clothes and flip-flops ("thongs" in Aussie lingo), or surfing contests in which all the participants are dressed as Santa. Western Australian entertainer Rolf Harris had a hit song in 1961 called "Six White Boomers", about Santa's sleigh being pulled by kangaroos. Yvonne Morrison updated "A Visit from St. Nicholas" with "An Aussie Night Before Christmas", while Jackie French wrote a picturebook called "Christmas Wombat".

Answer: Feliz Navidad - Liberia

"Feliz Navidad" is the greeting used in Spain, Mexico, and other countries of the Hispanic World (la Hispanidad). In Liberia, a coastal West African country which arose from the only U.S. colony in Africa and remains Africa's oldest republic, the official language is English.

Instead of wishing you a "Merry Christmas", however, Liberians will more commonly say "My Christmas on you". This essentially means "please give me something nice for Christmas"!

Answer: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is a Rankin/Bass stop-motion animation fantasy that first aired on NBC in 1964. With themes of ostracism and belonging, an Island of Misfit Toys, and an elf who aspires to be dentist, it is one of the most beloved Christmas TV specials among children and adults alike in the USA. "The Year without a Santa Claus" (1974/ABC) is another Rankin/Bass Christmas special that introduced the two sons of Mother Nature, Snow Miser and Heat Miser.

A clip of "Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales" (1979/CBS), the only Looney Tunes Christmas special of the 20th century, appears in the movie "Lethal Weapon" (1987). "Lady Gaga and the Muppets Holiday Spectacular" is an indescribable live-action and not entirely family-friendly spectacle that also featured Elton John and originally aired on ABC in 2013.