Christmas quiz
Carols, Christmas films, traditions from around the world and a few facts that surprise most people. Ten questions to play now, and plenty more below for your own quiz night.
- Free
- 10 questions
- Answers included
- No sign-up
Play the quiz
Question 1 of 10
How many spirits visit Scrooge after Marley's ghost in A Christmas Carol?
Show answer
The answer is Three. The Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come visit him in a single night.
Question 2 of 10
What fast food do many Japanese book weeks ahead as Christmas dinner?
Show answer
The answer is KFC fried chicken. A 1970s ad campaign turned fried chicken into a quirky Japanese holiday staple.
Question 3 of 10
What is traditionally poured over a British Christmas pudding and set alight?
Show answer
The answer is Brandy. Warm brandy is poured over and lit just before serving, so the pudding arrives in blue flames.
Question 4 of 10
Who was crowned emperor in Rome on Christmas Day 800, reviving an ancient title?
Show answer
The answer is Charlemagne. Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne in 800, a moment that crystallized the idea of a renewed Western empire.
Question 5 of 10
Who composed the music for the ballet The Nutcracker?
Show answer
The answer is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky's ballet premiered in St Petersburg in 1892 and became a Christmas favourite around the world.
Question 6 of 10
Which German-born queen brought Britain its first recorded Christmas tree at a Windsor children’s party?
Show answer
The answer is Queen Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. In 1800, Queen Charlotte set up a decorated yew at Windsor for a children’s party, the first recorded British Christmas tree. Victoria and Albert later popularized the custom with an 1848 illustration.
Question 7 of 10
What do Dutch children traditionally set out for Sinterklaas, often with a carrot for his horse?
Show answer
The answer is A shoe. Children put out a shoe with a carrot or hay for the horse and find sweets or a small gift in it the next morning.
Question 8 of 10
In which year was Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You first released?
Show answer
The answer is 1994. It came out on her 1994 album Merry Christmas and returns to the charts every December.
Question 9 of 10
Which British monarch gave the first royal Christmas broadcast, on the radio in 1932?
Show answer
The answer is George V. George V's first Christmas message was written by Rudyard Kipling. The broadcast moved to television in 1957.
Question 10 of 10
Counting every repeat, how many gifts does the singer receive in The Twelve Days of Christmas?
Show answer
The answer is 364. The gifts pile up verse by verse: 1 on the first day, 3 more on the second, and 364 in total by the twelfth.
19 more Christmas quiz questions with answers
Which Italian-American Christmas Eve dinner is built around several fish dishes?
Answer: The Feast of the Seven Fishes. It grew from the Catholic custom of avoiding meat on Christmas Eve.
After predawn Simbang Gabi, what do Filipinos line up for like edible Christmas wishes?
Answer: Bibingka and puto bumbong. After Simbang Gabi, vendors outside churches sell bibingka (charcoal-baked rice cakes) and puto bumbong, purple sticky rice steamed in bamboo. Folklore says completing all nine predawn Masses grants a wish, so many savor these treats like edible Christmas wishes.
Which country sends London the Christmas tree that stands in Trafalgar Square every year?
Answer: Norway. Oslo has sent a tree every year since 1947 as thanks for Britain's support during the Second World War.
What is the name of the Grinch's dog?
Answer: Max. In Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Max is dressed up as a reindeer and made to pull the sleigh.
Which Cold War command still 'tracks Santa' thanks to a misprinted 1955 Sears ad?
Answer: NORAD. A Sears ad misprinted the number to CONAD's ops center in 1955, and Colonel Harry Shoup played along. The tradition continued under NORAD, which still updates Santa's "flight."
In late 1984, which British all-star single led by Bob Geldof raised cash for Ethiopia before Live Aid?
Answer: Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Recorded in a day by Band Aid at Sarm West, it was spearheaded by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure. The hit raised millions for Ethiopia and helped spark 1985’s Live Aid.
Which stop-motion movie has the U.S. military shoot 'Sandy Claws' out of the sky?
Answer: The Nightmare Before Christmas. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack impersonates “Sandy Claws”; the U.S. military mistakes him for Santa and shoots his sleigh down.
Which wartime pause saw foes sing carols and kick a football?
Answer: Christmas Truce. On Christmas 1914, scattered trenches on the Western Front traded gifts and games before orders shut it down.
Which reindeer was created in 1939 for a booklet given away by the US department store Montgomery Ward?
Answer: Rudolph. Copywriter Robert L. May wrote the story of Rudolph for Montgomery Ward. The song followed ten years later.
What colour is the Grinch?
Answer: Green. Dr. Seuss's 1957 book was printed in black, white and red; the green Grinch arrived with the 1966 animated TV special.
What does 'my true love' give on the first day of Christmas in the carol?
Answer: A partridge in a pear tree. Every verse ends with the partridge in a pear tree, the gift of the first day.
On which date is Boxing Day?
Answer: 26 December. Boxing Day is the day after Christmas Day, a public holiday in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Saint Nicholas, the bishop behind the Santa Claus legend, lived in Myra. In which present-day country is Myra?
Answer: Turkey. Myra, by today's Demre on Turkey's south coast, was his home in the 4th century. His remains were later taken to Bari in Italy.
Bing Crosby's recording of which Irving Berlin song is the best-selling single of all time?
Answer: White Christmas. Guinness World Records lists Crosby's White Christmas, first recorded in 1942, as the best-selling single ever.
In Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, what is the name of Scrooge's dead business partner?
Answer: Jacob Marley. Jacob Marley's ghost visits Scrooge first and warns him that three more spirits will come.
Which cheery log gets beaten to 'poop' sweets at Catalan Christmas?
Answer: Tió de Nadal. Children feed and whack the smiley Tió until it drops treats, then send it off in the hearth.
What is the name of Will Ferrell's character in the film Elf?
Answer: Buddy. Buddy is a human raised by elves at the North Pole who travels to New York to find his father.
Which red-leaved Christmas plant is named after a US ambassador to Mexico?
Answer: Poinsettia. Joel Roberts Poinsett brought the plant from Mexico to the United States in the 1820s.
In Home Alone, which city do the McCallisters fly to, leaving Kevin behind?
Answer: Paris. The family flies from Chicago to Paris while Kevin is left at home. The sequel sends him to New York.
Using these questions for a Christmas quiz night
Every question here has four options and one right answer, so they work just as well read aloud. Mix the easy ones about films and carols with a few harder ones about traditions abroad.
Want the family to play against each other from their own phones? In DoYouKno you can challenge someone to the same questions and compare scores.
More than 6,000 questions, duels and a new quiz every day.
Play free on iPhone, Android or right here in your browser.
More quizzes
Trivia questions42 easy questions with answers, sorted by topic.
General knowledge quizTen easy questions from every corner of the game.
Flag quizName 10 flags from every continent, from easy to hard.
Capitals quizTen capital cities, plus every capital in Europe.
Geography quizMountains, lakes, landmarks and borders.
Football quizWorld Cups, legends and famous moments.