The following is just one of the Christmas quizzes we put together for our "Making the Most of Christmas" packets many years ago. Please use them in your get-togethers this season. You'll see that it is a general, fun, non-threatening quiz designed for use with friends, family members, and neighbors who may not know very much of the biblical accounts of Christmas. This way you can impart some meaningful Christmas information to them without making them feel on the spot.Christmas Quiz --- Number One
1) Which Latin singer had a big Christmas hit in the 1960's with "Felize Navidad"? A) Ricky Martin B) Julio Iglesias C) Desi Arnaz D) Jose Feliciano E) Carlos Santana F) Edward Schwartz
2) In what year were poinsettias first sold in Philadelphia as Christmas decorations? A) 1833 B) 1910 C) 1927 D) 1945
3) In which of these Christmas movies did Bing Crosby star? A) The Bishop's Wife B) Rudolph's Ride to Glory C) It's a Wonderful Life D) Going My Way
4) The music for what Christmas carol was written in 1818 by an Austrian priest to be played on a guitar? A) "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" B) "Adeste Fidelis" C) "Oh Holy Night" D) "Silent Night"
5) What Christmas work was originally written for the entertainment of the author's own family and was not published for 26 years after its writing? A) "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens B) "A Visit to St. Nicholas" ('Twas the Night Before Christmas) by Clement Moore C) "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss D) "White Christmas" by Irving Berlin
6) The first one of these was made in 1844 and they began to be sold commercially in 1860. Now, over 2 and 1/2 billion are used every Christmas season. What are they? A) Christmas trees B) Outdoor lights C) Candy canes D) Christmas cards
7) Who announced to Mary that she had been chosen to be the virgin mother of Jesus? A) The angel Gabriel B) Elizabeth C) She learned it in a dream D) John the Baptist
8)What is the popular Christmas custom that is attributed to Martin Luther?
A) Yule log B) Hanging stockings C) Attending church D) Christmas tree lights
9)In the story and film, A Miracle on 34th Street, who is put on trial?
A) Santa Claus B) The mayor of New York City C) A guardian angel named Clarence D) An elf named Hardrock
10) Good King Wenceslas hailed from what country? A) Syria B) England C) Bohemia D) Alsatia
11) The name of Scrooge's deceased business partner in Dickens' classic story, "A Christmas Carol," was: A) Bob Cratchit B) Jacob Marley C) Mr. Posey D) Martin Chuzzlewit
12) What familiar Christmas object comes from a word meaning "to shine"?
Hints: there were seven of them in the Old Testament tabernacle and it is an important part of the Advent wreath. A) Candle B) Yule log C) Crown D) Holly wreath
13) In Tchaikovsky's beautiful ballet, The Nutcracker, the main enemy of the handsome hero is: A) Drosselmeyer the magician B) The King of the Mice C) The puppet maker D) The Blue Dragon
14) Long before Scrooge or the Grinch, there was a real villain who could be called "The Man Who Tried to Kill Christmas." Who was he? A) Genghis Khan B) Caesar Augustus C) Ivan the Terrible D) Herod the Great
15) When did "Good King Wenceslaus" look out? A) Christmas morning
B) Epiphany C) Feast of Stephen D) Candlemas eve
Answers:
1) D 2) A 3) D Bing starred in several Christmas movies including Bells of St. Mary's, Holiday Inn, and White Christmas. 4) D -- "Silent Night" was written hastily for a Christmas Eve service after the priest discovered the organ was broken and that the service would have had to go without music. 5) B 6) D 7) A 8) D 9) A 10) C -- Wenceslas was actually only a 10th Century Duke of Bohemia, not an actual king. 11) B 12) A 13) B -- The King of the Mice, usually represented with seven heads, leads his troops against the nutcracker's toy soldiers, but loses the battle when Clara, the heroine, stuns him with a hurled shoe. 14) D -- Herod was Rome's "puppet ruler" over Israel at the time Jesus was born. Paranoid, vicious, and an insanely jealous tyrant, Herod murdered hundreds of people to secure his throne. It was he who ordered the murder of the infant boys of Bethlehem in an effort to end the life of Jesus, Who had come to save mankind (even Herod himself) from the curse of sin. 15) C
