Christmas Unwrapped Trivia Quiz

Answer: The birth of a calf or piglet

Since its Nordic beginnings, and thanks to the invention of central heating, the custom of burning the Yule log has diminished in popularity, though it is still practiced in certain parts of the world. Yet it was once particularly popular in Europe, and in France the tradition was for the entire family to partake in the cutting down of the log, before then dragging it home.

In South West England the tradition was slightly different, with the log being dried out and debarked before then being brought into the home and burned.

The type of wood that was used also varied between countries, with the French preferring cherry, the English, oak, and the Scots, birch.

Answer: Catullus

In Ancient Rome, Saturnalia was a festival that lasted 7 days, though it originally began as a one day feast. As with more modern, Christmas traditions, gifts were exchanged, and there was plenty of eating and drinking in celebration of the god, Saturn.

In "Catullus 14", the Latin poet Gaius Valerius Catullus, wrote "Saturnalibus, optimo dierum!", which translates to "the Saturnalia, the best of days!".

Answer: Mithra

Prior to Christians celebrating the birth of Christ, the practice of celebrating the birth of the pagan sun god, Mithra, was firmly entrenched in Pagan Rome. Also born on the 25th of December, thus coinciding with the winter solstice, Mithra was celebrated as a god of light and fertility, and to many Romans, the god's birthday was the holiest day of the year.

Answer: True

As December 25th was already a celebration of birth [albeit Pagan in origin], it seemed perfectly logical for the Church to officially declare this date as the feast day of the nativity, which was officially decreed in the 4th century. Moreover many historians have noted that as the Church had no control over Pagan festivities such as Saturnalia, and could not outlaw celebrations of Mithra's birthday, they chose instead to adopt some of the Pagan traditions.

Indeed some of Christmas' most treasured decorative traditions have their roots in Pagan festivities. Evergreen trees, for example, were considered symbols of life, as they thrived in the harshness of winter, and so their branches were often brought inside to decorate people's homes. Once Christianity had established its hold on the 25th of December, these branches were frequently decorated with apples, which were symbolic of the Garden of Eden, and would eventually be replaced with baubles and other Christmas ornaments.

Answer: Custom allowed the peasants to freely enjoy the rich's own food and drink.

Early Christmas celebrations in England were known for being raucous and riotous, with many everyday conventions being turned upside down. This was especially true when it came to social hierarchy, as it was only at Christmas time that the peasants were able to temporarily enjoy the spoils of the ruling classes. As was the custom at the time, the poor would visit the houses of the rich, before then sampling the very best of the owner's larder. If the homeowner ever refused them entry, they would retaliate by performing a nasty trick. This custom is detailed in the following Christmas Carol, entitled "Gloucestershire Wassail":

"Wassail, wassail all over the town!
Our bread it is white and our ale it is brown,
Our bowl, it is made of the good maple tree;
From the wassailing bowl we'll drink unto thee.
Come, butler, and fill us a bowl of your best,
And we hope your soul in Heaven may rest;
But if you do bring us a bowl of the small,
Then down shall go butler and bowl and all.
Come here, sweet maid, in the frilly white smock,
Come trip to the door and trip back the lock!
Come trip to the door and pull back the pin,
And let us jolly wassailers in."

The second verse urges the homeowner's butler to "fill us a bowl of your best". However if, instead, he brings "a bowl of the small", then both the "butler and bowl" will fall. Clearly then, the rich were better off giving generously to their "guests", rather than risking their wrath.

The picture for this question is that of an original Wassail bowl, which was frequently associated with this particular custom, as detailed in the above Christmas carol.

Answer: The Puritans

In England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Christmas celebrations had long been associated with immorality and misrule. These attitudes were highlighted by one sixteenth-century author, Philip Stubbes, in his work "The Anatomy of Abuses". Here he wrote that "more mischief is that time committed than in all the year besides", before claiming that all the "eating and drinking" and "banqueting and feasting" is "to the great dishonour of God and impoverishing of the realm". Therefore when the Puritans seized control in the mid seventeenth-century, they did all they could to rid England of its decadent, Christmas celebrations. However the people of England did not take kindly to the Puritans' interference, and there were many violent incidents that occurred as a result. One such incident took place in the Cheapside area of London, in 1643, when a group of men vented their displeasure at seeing several shops open for trading on Christmas Day, by attacking them.

Still, the Puritans were not to be swayed from their mission, and in early 1645, the Presbyterian Church published a document that made their feelings expressly clear. This new Directory of Publish Worship stated that "Festival days, vulgarly called Holy days, having no warrant in the Word of God, are not to be continued". Furthermore in June 1647, the feasts of Christmas, Easter and Whitsun were abolished altogether.

Answer: Boston

The Puritans certainly seemed to have gotten their way in Boston, Massachusetts, so much so that even wishing someone "Merry Christmas" would have resulted in the well-wisher being slapped with a hefty, five shillings fine. Nevertheless, the Puritans did not have it all their way, and for many, their Christmas celebrations simply went underground.

Answer: Yes

This Anti-Christmas sentiment had much to do with the fact that the holiday had long been associated with royal officialdom, and so for a period of time it fell out of favour in America. In fact, from Christmas Day of 1789, to Christmas Day, 1856, the United States Congress continued to stay open. Moreover the 25th of December didn't become a federal holiday until 1870.

Answer: The Eggnog Riot

Many historians have claimed that it was around the early nineteenth-century that America began to "reinvent" the carnival-like Christmases of old, and the Eggnog Riot only served to emphasise the need for such a change. Also known as the Grog Mutiny, the Eggnog Riot was the product of a drunken Christmas party that took place in the academy. Over seventy cadets were implicated in the riot, with twenty of these subsequently being court-martialled.

Answer: Mexico

In the nineteenth-century, Americans were certainly working hard to perfect their 'new' Christmas, and in the process they borrowed several things from other countries, including the Christmas card and the Poinsettia plant. The humble Christmas card originally hailed from the United Kingdom, and the custom of sending them was started around 1843, by a man named Sir Henry Cole.

However they didn't arrive in America until the late 1840s, and due to the fact that they were expensive to buy it was not until the late 1870s that they became more affordable, and thus more popular. Meanwhile the Poinsettia plant was brought back to America by the nation's first Ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was also responsible for introducing the American elm to Mexico.