The Warm Glow of Many Phoenix Rising Christmases Quiz

Answer: Loneliness at Christmas

Legend has it that when Melbourne radio announcer Norman Banks was walking home after his evening shift at radio station 3KZ, through a window, he saw an old lady sitting in her armchair alone, by the light of a candle, singing along to "Away in a Manger" that was being played on her radio. It got him wondering how many people would be spending their Christmas alone and the idea of gathering people to a group event that promoted joy and fellowship was born. The first Carols by Candlelight was held at Alexandra Gardens in Melbourne in 1938 and was attended by almost 10,000 people. It stayed there until 1958 before moving to the newly constructed Sidney Myer Music Bowl the following year. Generally run the week before Christmas, the concept has spread across the globe and is also used as a means of raising funds to aid the disadvantaged.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: One snowflake landing on the Meteorological Office in London in the 24hr span of December 25

The definition that the Meteorological Office uses to define a white Christmas is "one snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December somewhere in the UK".

Traditionally a single location, the Met Office building in London was used. However, the number of locations have increased and can now include sites such as: Buckingham Palace; Aldergrove Airport Belfast; Aberdeen FC at Pittodrie; Edinburgh Castle; Coronation Street in Manchester and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, white Christmases were more frequent, before the change of calendar in 1752 which moved Christmas day back by 12 days.

This question was an Anglo-Antipodean effort between smpdit and 1nn1, one of whom would like to see another white Christmas again and one who would like to see a white Christmas for the first time.

Answer: The Polar Express

From late November until early January the railroad offers an excursion that re-enacts "The Polar Express". The railroad uses steam engines like the ones used in the late 1800s mining country of the Colorado Rocky Mountains so it looks just like the train in the movie. The story is read on the way to the North Pole and Santa visits the passengers on the way back. Children are even encouraged to wear pajamas to enhance the experience.

The railroad also provides a Christmas Tree Train excursion that allows you to take the train into the forest and cut down your own tree then take it out on the train. The trip follows the normal Cascade Canyon Train but you stop to get your tree.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising team member tazman6619.

Answer: Orchard Road

The Singapore Tourism Board started putting up Christmas lights along Orchard Road in 1984. Since then it has become an annual event that attracts locals and tourists alike. In the early years, the lights were mostly yellow or orange in colour. From the late 1990s onwards other colours such as blue were introduced until it is the fantastic, colourful display that we see today. Shopping centres along Orchard Road also decorate their building facades to clinch the Best Dressed Building award.

The lights are on display from mid-November through early January each year.

This question was created by Phoneix Rising member purelyqing.

Answer: Meat & fish on the BBQ, other seafood and salads on the table with drinks coming out of an esky

A traditional Christmas lunch is rare in these parts. As the day is likely to be around 30+C, you need to keep cool. A swimming pool (with volleyball net) is useful for everyone at some point. There are usually enough people to form two full cricket teams. People need to stay hydrated so there is a steady stream of cold drinks coming out of an esky which is a cooler packed with ice (that's because there is so much food in the fridge). Lunch inevitably be a barbecue with too much meat (barbecued) or seafood (barbecued or cold) and infinite salads (every family brings a plate - ie some sort of food on said plate). Desert will be the ubiquitous Pavlova.

A Hangi is common in Brisbane - It is a traditional Maori way of preparing food, and there are a lot of ex-New Zealanders in Brissie. The hangi is not solely used at Christmas time though.

Some brave souls still brave the heat and cook the traditional hot lunch.

Christmas Eve is a working day spent wrapping presents and cooking food for the Big Day.

Question contributed by 1nn1 who has never met a snowman.

Answer: Santa's Enchanted Forest

Growing up near the city of Miami I would beg my parents to take my sister and I to Santa's Enchanted Forest. We enjoyed the millions of lights, holiday decorations, and typical theme park fare. It is very common for Florida's theme parks and even downtown areas of cities to decorate with holiday decor from early November to early January.

This question was contributed by Phoenix Rising team member Triviaballer.

Answer: Blue Crab

Sebastian is the famous crab from Disney's "The Little Mermaid". Different gumbos can have many different ingredients and seafood gumbo is no exception. But in Southern Louisiana, blue crab is an essential ingredient no matter what other meats and ingredients are present. Famed New Orleans chef Emeril Legasse's recipe uses 1 pound of lump crabmeat along with 1 pound of crab claw meat. To this he adds oysters and shrimp. New Orleans chef Ben Thibodeaux explains that it is the warm, fertile waters of southern Louisiana that make the blue crabs nice and fat. This in turn enhances the seafood gumbo's sweetness.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising members tiger51 and tazman6619.

Answer: High heels

Decorating the tree is a great Christmas tradition but to add that little something extra there's nothing quite like that sense of trekking through the woods, tracking down that one tree that will suit your house and family and then felling it yourself. Problem is that you will need to trek through wet grass and snow. Your number one priority would be sensible shoes (not the four inch heels) and comfortable but warm clothing. Gloves would also be high on that list and don't forget the saw. Axes will work but they tend to leave a mess at the site, the base of your tree will also be untidy and it would make it difficult to balance the tree once you get it home. A chainsaw would be better but some tree farms will not allow these on site. To get your tree home some rope or cord would be needed to tie the tree down lest it end up on the highway instead of the family room and, a word of warning, these trees have a tendency to dry out very quickly so a tarp would be handy to prevent the wind from sucking the moisture from it. Once you get it home it would be a good idea to place it in water as soon as you can to extend its life.

The idea for this question was put forward by Phoenix Rising team member TAKROM.

Answer: Brussels Sprout

The noble Brussels sprout is very strongly associated with Christmas in the UK, though many many people can't stand them. They look like tiny cabbages and have quite a bitter taste.

They appear to be originally cultivated somewhere near Brussels in Belgium in the 13th Century which is where their name originates. The UK eat more sprouts than anywhere else in Europe.

Question submitted by smpdit who likes the traditional British Christmas Dinner

Answer: Cricket

Originally a Sheffield Shield match was held over the Christmas break with a day's play being scheduled for Boxing Day. This then became the third day's play in a Test match between Australia and England during the 1950/51 season. It wasn't until 1974, due to the scheduling of an extra Test match between the same teams, that a game was slotted to start on Boxing Day. The match was so popular, drawing in excess of 77,000 people on Boxing Day and 250,000 for the full match (five days) that it became an annual event and one of the red letter days of Australian sport.

Boxing Day also became the major gathering day for our family with about forty members from my side arriving at my sister's place for a massive barbeque. This would culminate with our own version of the Boxing Day Test match in the drive way of Mum's place (next door) where the South of River members of our clan would take on the North of the River mob.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.