History
He was a bishop of Myra (present-day Turkey). Who was he?
Bonus question - which century did he serve as a bishop in (+/- 3 centuries)
Saint Nicholas; 4th century
Which plant associated with Christmas now did Celtic druids consider the holiest of all plants and a cure-for-all?
Mistletoe
Previously beef and goose were the centrepiece of the Christmas dinner. Another meat was added to this by the wealthier sections of the community in the 19th century, but its perfect size for a middle-class family gathering meant it became the dominant dish by the beginning of the 20th century.
Turkey
This Czech carol puts a certain ethnic group (present, among others, on the territory of the Czech republic) at the birth of Jesus. The fact is very unlikely though - the carol associates the ethnicity with their typical occupation.
(pasli ovce) Valaši
This film stars Bing Crosby, where he rerecords his hit of the same name from 1942, which eventually became the most successful record of all time.
Bonus 100 points - year of release (+/-4 years)
White Christmas, 1954
According to some historians, 25 December became incorporated by Christians because it was the last day of Roman celebrations, a week-long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the weeklong celebration. Which Roman God were these celebrations dedicated to? Bonus 100 points – what was the name of these festivities?
Saturn; Saturnalia
What unites Nicolas Cage, Elena Ciausescu, Paul McCartney’s brother Mike McGear and Jesus Christ, according to some Orthodox churches?
Bonus 100 points - give the EXACT answer
Date of birth - 7th January
The Polish share the Christmas wafer (oplatek) and wish each other good things for the coming year at what moment of Christmas Eve?
When the first star appears (the dusk)
This Christmas standard reached Christmas N1 in the UK for the first time in 2023, 39 years after its original release. Andrew Ridgeley, the surviving member of the duo performing the song, says 'George (his partner) would be beside himself'.
Bonus 100 points for the name of the duo.
Last Christmas; Wham
Which Dr Zeuss's character, featuring in a super-successful Christmas film, suffers from 'heart two sizes too small'?
Bonus 100 points - year of the release of the live action film (+/-3 years).
Grinch; 2000
He was a ruler in the early Middle Ages and later was made a saint. A popular English carol tells about him saving a poor peasant from cold, while a Czech church hymn asks him to pray for his people before God. Who is he? Bonus 100 points – what was the name of the country he ruled (e.g. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)?
St Vaclav; The Duchy of Bohemia
They came to Jerusalem and asked the king of Jerusalem where was the one who was born to be the king of Jews. What was the name of the king of Jerusalem, how many men were there and what THREE things they give to Jesus when they found him? 100 points for each answer.
Herod; three; gold, incense, myrrh
She was born in the Artmann family on 1785. In 1826 she published her best-known book which, among other things, contained a recipe for Christmas carp, which has become a staple dish in Czech lands
Magdalena Rettigova
an acronym for Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr; which translates into English as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour", is also a name (in translation) of a composer of a very popular Christmas piece of music in the Czech lands.
Bonus 100 points – what is the name of the piece of music?
Ryba; Ceska mše vanoční
A fairy who controls the weather saves a boy’s life and raises him in her home. One day, he falls for a human girl and returns to the mortal realm.
Bonus 100 points - year of release (+/- 3 years)
The Feather Fairy (Perinbaba); 1985
Which British queen, who ruled for 64 years, helped popularize the German custom of bringing a tree inside the house at Christmas?
Bonus 200 points - name her husband.
Queen Victoria; Prince Albert
This day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day. It has been regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season in the US.
Black Friday
It is a traditional Christmas-time cocktail in the United States, sometimes attributed to British writer and professional boxing journalist Pierce Egan in the 1820s. It is a variant of eggnog with brandy and rum added and served hot, usually in a mug or a bowl. The name(s) refers to a book by Egan; later it was popularised by a rivalling cartoon couple by the same names.
Tom and Jerry
Only one song, composed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and performed by a group of (mainly) different pop-stars in each of the years given below, managed to become the N1 Christmas single three times in the UK - in 1984, 1989 and 2004.
Bonus 200 points – what was the reason for recording the first version of the song?
Do They Know It's Christmas;
Live Aid
This Yuletide fairy tale features characters like Ebenezer Scrooge, Jacob Marley as the first ghost and three more ghosts?
Bonus 100 points - name the author
Bonus 300 points - what grammar (among others) terms are the three ghosts of?
A Christmas Carol; Charles Dickens; past, present and future
Which apparently modern way to refer to Christmas in fact has been in use since at least 1551 and owes its existence to the Greek letter 'chi'?
Xmas
A top-selling Christmas ornament in America called Weihnachtsgurke is shaped like what? One version of the American tradition is that the child who finds the hidden Weihnachtsgurke on the Christmas tree gets to open the first gift. Despite its name, few people in Germany have ever heard of Weihnachtsgurke.
A pickle
The festival dedicated to this Christmas dish takes place on the Saturday before the second Sunday in Advent, and the dish weighs between three and four tonnes in a German city. It is ceremoniously cut into pieces and distributed among the crowd, in return for a small payment which goes to charity.
What is the dish?
Bonus 200 points - What is the German city?
Stollen; Dresden
The name of this oratorio by a German composer, who lived most of his life in England, is the function of Jesus Christ. The Greek word which was anglicised as 'Christ' is a literal translation for the Hebrew term.
Bonus 200 points - name the composer
Messiah (300 points for 'saviour'); Handel
It is a 2023 American Christmas comedy-drama film directed by Alexander Payne, written by David Hemingson, and starring Paul Giamatti, Da'Vine Joy Randolph and Dominic Sessa. Set in 19_ _, the film follows a bad-tempered history teacher at a New England boarding school who is forced to chaperone a handful of students with nowhere to go on Christmas break.
Bonus 200 points - the year the film is set in (+/- 3 years)
The Holdovers; 1970