Holiday History
Holiday English and Literature
Holiday Math
Holiday Science
Holiday Foreign Language
Holiday Fine Arts
100
This holiday was first created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor of Black Studies at CSU, Long Beach. Named for a Swahili phrase meaning “first fruits", it honors African-American history and culture.
What is Kwanzaa?
100
This poem, written by Clement Clark Moore in 1823, is still one of the most popular pieces of Christmas literature today, and is traditionally recited on Christmas Eve
What is “Twas the Night Before Christmas”?
100
This is how many individual reindeer hooves can be heard clicking over your rooftop on Christmas Eve.
What is 32? (or 36 if you're counting Rudolph)
100
Botany: this is the common name of Viscum album, one of the most popular plants to have inside during the holidays.
What is Mistletoe?
100
Français: C'est “Christmas” en francais.
Español: Esto es como te llama "Christmas" en los países de habla hispana.
Français: Qu' est-ce que “ Noël ”?
Español: Que es "La Navidad"?
100
If I mixed the two colors most commonly associated with Christmas, I would get this color.
What is brown?
200
The influx of this clog-loving nationality into New York in the 1600s also brought the Christmas tradition of Santa Claus to America (or as they called him, Sinter Klaus)
Who are the Dutch?
200
Identify this English device Dickens uses in the first sentence of his iconic holiday novella "A Christmas Carol":
"Marley was dead to begin with...as dead as a door-nail."
What is simile?
200
A dreidel has four sides: Nun, Gimel, Shin, and Chai.
Daniel spins the dreidel and lands on Nun three times in a row. What is the probability that he will land on Nun his fourth spin?
What is 1 out of 4?
200
Meteorology: On average, this many inches of snow equals 1 inch of rain in the US.
What is 10-13 inches?
200
Français: Comment appelle-t-on “Santa Claus” en France.
Español: En España, estos hombres dejan regalos para los niños en lugar de "Santa Claus"
Français: Qui est le Père Noël? (Father Christmas)
Español: Quien son Los Tres Reyes Magos? (The Three Wise Men?)
200
Pentatonix’s version of “The Little Drummer Boy” is an example of this style of music.
What is a cappella?
300
Prince Albert brought the tradition of decorating evergreen trees at Christmastime to the UK from his home country of Germany in the 1850s when he married this famous English Queen.
Who is Queen Victoria?
300
Vocab: This word, meaning "decorative, used only for show", might be an apt word to describe a finished Christmas tree
What is "ornamental"?
300
What is 23?
300
Chemistry: This is the periodic symbol of the element that one of the three wise men gifted to the infant Jesus in the Nativity story associated with Christmas.
What is Au (gold)?
300
Français: Ce délicieux dessert est servi en France à Noël et ressemble à un morceau de bois.
Español: Estos postres fritos delicioso estan sirven en Mexico para la navidad y se parece los flors o las estrellas.
Français: Qu' est-ce que la 'bûche de Noël'?
Español: Que son Buñuelos de Rodilla?
300
The Dance of THIS is the climactic moment in the famous Russian ballet The Nutcracker
What is the Sugar Plum Fairy?
400
"Christmas was officially declared a ________ in America by President Ulysses S. Grant on June 26, 1870"
What is a federal holiday?
400
This famous American author, most well known for her book Little Women, also created the legend that elves build the toys that Santa Claus delivers in her 1855 book The Christmas Elves.
Who is Louisa May Alcott?
400
This is the formula you would use to calculate the volume of a delicious mug of hot cocoa
What is V= π r² h?
400
Chemistry: the wax that makes up the candles in any Hanukkah, Christmas, or Kwanzaa display is made by combining these two elements, the chemical formula for which is CnH2n+2.
What is hydrogen and carbon?
400
Français: En France, Beaucoup de gens commencent la saison de Noël Y en achetant leurs cadeaux
Español: En Colombia, la epoca navideña empieza el 7 de diciembre cuando las personas celebran encendiendo ESTAS COSAS para pedir deseos.
Français: Qu' est-ce que sont les marchés de Noël?
Español: Que son velas?
400
The name of the song that this sheet music shows the first four bars of:
What is "Jingle Bells?"
500
These delicious treats were first introduced as a Hanukkah staple by Italian Rabbi Kalonymus ben Kalonymus in the 14th century, though back then, their staple ingredient was cheese rather than potato as is commonly used today.
What are latkes?
500
Vocab: This word, meaning “trinket” in Yiddish, describes the kind of small, inexpensive, and maybe even tacky knick-knacks that might be given as gifts during the last few days of Hanukkah (and could also very easily describe the kinds of gifts one might find in a Christmas stocking, white elephant, or yankee swap)
What is “Tchotchke” (CHOTCH-key)
500
I’m making benne seed cookies for Kwanzaa but I only want to make half the quantity the recipe calls for. If the original recipe calls for 1 and 2/3 cups of flour, how much flour should I use for my revised recipe?
What is 5/6 a cup of flour?
500
Physics: these are the four physical forces that will affect Santa's sleigh's ability to fly.
What are Weight, Thrust, Drag, and Lift?
500
Français: En France, les enfants LES laissent à côté de la cheminée que le Père Noël y mette des cadeaux (au lieu des 'stockings').
Español: En lugar de calcetín de navidad, niños de Argentina ponen estos junta a la chimenea para llenar con regalos.
Français: Qu' est-ce que des chaussures?
Español: Que son zapatos?
500
This play by William Shakespeare is named for the last night of the multi-day celebration of Christmas on which it was first performed for Elizabeth I in 1602 (even though the plot of the play has nothing to do with Christmas)
What is Twelfth Night?
600
This Catholic Pope is widely believed to have been one to officially declare the 25th of December as the date of birth for the Christian Messiah known as Jesus, (though the historical evidence for this is debated)
Who was Pope Julius I?
600
O. Henry wrote this short story about the Christmas spirit of giving in 1905, its title inspired by the name given to the three wise men in the Nativity story associated with Christmas.
What is The Gift of the Magi?
600
At dawn on December 1st, Frosty the Snowman is 62 inches tall. Every day Frosty melts a little, decreasing his height by 4 inches. Every night it snows a little, increasing his height by 3 inches. On what day will Frosty reach a height of zero inches?
What is February 1? (62 days)
600
Biology: studies have found that the excitement and activities surrounding the winter holidays can cause serious spikes in these two mood enhancing hormones, essentially the neurological makeup of the “holiday spirit”.
What are Dopamine and Seratonin?
600
Latin Round!
Haec erat salutatio quā Romani alios Saturnalibus salutant.
Quid est "Io Saturnalia"?
600
The name of the song that this sheet music shows the first four bars of:
What is "Carol of the Bells"?