Counting Down the Hours With Some Holiday Trivia!

Posted on December 24, 2021 by gmdirect

As you well know, fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers, we usually post a puzzle to celebrate a given holiday.

But last year we started a new holiday tradition and offered you some trivia to help count down the hours until Christmas Day!

So this year, we’re doing it again. That’s right, twelve questions on holiday pop culture from around the world. How does that sound?

Feel free to cherry-pick from these questions for your own Yuletide trivia. We’ve tried to keep it relatively easy and accessible, though a few tougher historical questions might’ve snuck in alongside the song trivia and the food trivia.

Enjoy!

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1. What holiday song was the first song played in space?

2. How old was Brenda Lee when she recorded Christmas classic “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”?

3. Saint Nicholas, whom Santa Claus is based on, is from what country?

4. Which well-known Christmas song was originally a Thanksgiving song?

5. How many days of Kwanzaa are there?

6. When are gingerbread houses believed to have been invented?

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7. Which founding father had a famously boozy eggnog recipe that forgot to note the number of eggs needed but included the instruction “Taste frequently”?

8. Who was the first U.S. president to recognize Hanukkah in the White House?

9. You can stay at the original “Home Alone” house through Airbnb. Where is the home – and film – located?

10. In Oaxaca City, Mexico, Noche de rábanos is celebrated every 23rd December. Which food gives this festival its name?

11. Which Christmas song’s second verse begins with “The cattle are lowing”?

12. After leaving Bethlehem, to which country did Joseph, Mary, and Jesus travel?

Do you have any favorite nuggets of holiday trivia? Please share it with us in the comment section below! We’d love to hear from you.

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Answers to Our Holiday Trivia Countdown

Posted on December 25, 2020 by gmdirect

holiday trivia

Yesterday, we posted twenty-four questions about various holiday-related topics like carols, reindeer, food, and Yuletide historical moments, creating our own little advent calendar countdown to Christmas.

So naturally, the right thing to do is offer the answers to you on Christmas Day! You can call it the gift of knowledge, or the gift of satisfaction when you get the questions right, or the gift of a quick and easy read on a Friday. Whatever you like.

Without further ado, and with our halls properly decked, we present the answers to our holiday trivia questions. Enjoy!

muppet christmas carol

1. How many ghosts are there in A Christmas Carol?

Answer: Four.

2. Red and green are the two colors most associated with Christmas. Which are the two other colors, also named in a Burl Ives song, that are also extremely popular in this season?

Answer: Silver and gold.

3. In the UK, which Christmas food is it considered good luck to eat one of on each of the 12 days of Christmas?

Answer: Mince pies.

4. In the song “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” the Grinch is called all kinds of names, but one particular trio of insults, one right after the other, differs by only a single letter. What are those three words?

Answer: Stink, stank, stunk.

5. Which two of the reindeer are named after weather phenomenon?

Answer: Donner and Blitzen, which are “thunder” and “lightning” in German.

6. What year was Christmas declared a federal holiday in the United States?

Answer: 1870.

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7. Which country has a tradition of a witch dropping gifts for children through the chimney at Christmas?

Answer: Italy.

8. Which was the last state in the United States to declare Christmas a legal holiday?

Answer: Oklahoma.

9. How many reindeer were in the story “Twas the Night Before Christmas?”

Answer: Eight.

10. The film Miracle on 34th Street depicted events at what famous department store?

Answer: Macy’s.

11. What dish was served by Mrs. Cratchit in A Christmas Carol? (Hint: it is also mentioned in the song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”)

Answer: Figgy pudding

12. Which of Santa’s reindeer is named after another animal?

Answer: Vixen.

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13. The red and white costume of Santa was allegedly first introduced by which beverage manufacturer?

Answer: Coca-Cola.

14. Which President, a famous conservationist, objected to a Christmas tree in the White House?

Answer: President Theodore Roosevelt. He felt it was wrong to cut down trees for decoration.

15. Which spirit is traditionally added to butter and served with Christmas pudding?

Answer: Brandy.

16. In Spain, it’s considered good luck to eat one of these foods for each chime of the clock for the new year. What food is it?

Answer: Grapes.

17. In the American version of The Office, salesman Dwight portrayed Belsnickel instead of Santa for one of the company’s holiday parties. Instead of naughty or nice, what two adjectives did Belsnickel choose between when gauging the behavior of everyone?

Answer: Impish or admirable.

18. Who was the first President to have a tree in the White House?

Answer: President Benjamin Harrison in 1889.

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19. True story. I had a dog named Chestnut who stared at the stereo speaker in confusion every time a certain holiday ditty played. What was its title?

Answer: The Christmas Song.

20. What is the most popular meal for Christmas in Japan?

Answer: KFC fried chicken.

21. The name of what Christmas song was originally called “Tinkle Bells” until the writer’s wife pointed out that tinkle also means pee?

Answer: Silver Bells.

22. In what Central American country might you find yourself kicking off the holiday season by burning the devil on December 7th while sweeping your house?

Answer: Guatemala.

23. Which ocean is Christmas Island located in?

Answer: Indian Ocean.

24. What is the name of the Grinch’s dog?

Answer: Max.

How did you do? And do you have any favorite tidbits of holiday trivia? Please let us know in the comments section below! We’d love to hear from you.

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Counting Down the Hours With Some Holiday Trivia!

Posted on December 24, 2020 by gmdirect

As you well know, fellow puzzlers and PuzzleNationers, normally we post a puzzle to celebrate a given holiday.

But we just did that for Thanksgiving.

So, instead, how about we switch things up a bit and offer you an advent calendar’s worth of holiday trivia to celebrate the festive season?

That’s right, twenty-four questions on holiday pop culture from around the world. How does that sound?