Music
Misc.
Trees
History
Foods
100
This song was initially condemned by the Roman Catholic Church in Boston upon its release in 1950.
What is I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus by Jimmy Boyd for suggesting what was thought to be marital infidelity.
100
The oddball tradition of hiding a pickle under the tree at Christmas does not have a confirmed origin, but is often connected to a story of what?
A Civil War Soldier begged for a pickle while starving in a prison camp on Christmas eve, and it is said to give him the strength to survive. It may more likely have been a marketing ploy in the late 1800s by Woolworth Stores who sold imported glass pickle ornaments.
100
The evergreen wreath tradition can be traced back to ancient Rome, and symbolized what?
Green leaves symbolized eternal life as they are one of the only greeneries to survive the harshness of winter. The wreath shape was often utilized as a crown and given as rewards for success, excellence, or gifts during festivities. The wreath was described as “the ornament of the priest in the performance of sacrifice, of the hero on his return from victory, of the bride at her nuptials, and of the guests at a feast.”
100
What do we call the event that occurred during WW1 on Christmas in 1914, and what occurred during it?
The Christmas Truce, during which soldiers on both sides crossed trenches during a ceasefire to greet one another, sing carols, play football, and exchange tobacco, cigarettes, alcohol, buttons, and caps.
100
Before turkeys became the featured meat of Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, this farm-raised animal was staple.
The goose. They only laid eggs seasonally, and the farmers had to be careful about eliminating their
milk and egg supply!
200
What are the two main addresses for addressing mail to Santa?
123 elf Road, North Pole, 88888
HoH oHo, North Pole, Canada
200
In the tradition of hanging stockings, dating back to the era of Saint Nicholas, what were the first stocking stuffers?
Gold coins, and the story says that a main was to poor to afford dowries for his three daughters, and so after he hung their stockings by the fire, St. Nick dropped coins down the chimney and they fell into their stockings, providing the dowry they needed.
200
Germany is credited with starting the Christmas Tree tradition, with documentation as early as the 16th century. Evergreens were symbolic around Winter Solstice, the darkest and longest night of the year, to remind everyone of the summer that would return when plants would flourish again. What country started the tradition of artificial trees when deforestation became more of a concern, and what was used to create the trees?
Germany, in the 19th century, and they were made using goose feathers died green and attached to wire branches.
200
What president banned Christmas Tress in the Whitehouse, and when did trees get reinstated as an annual practice?
Teddy Rosevelt in 1901, as he was an environmentalist, but they were back in the White House as part of the tradition in the 1920s.
200
While not a staple of the Gendreau household ever, fruitcakes are a common Christmas food and originate from the Middle Ages--why?
Dried fruits and sugar were expensive imports, so using them in large quantities was strictly a special-occasion endeavor, also seen at weddings.
300
Which popular song was written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas, and was the first song played in space in 1965?
Jingle Bells, written to commemorate the annual Thanksgiving sleigh races in Medford, Massachusetts in the 1850s by James Lord Pierpont. It was originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh”
300
What country celebrates Christmas by eating chicken from KFC, and when did the tradition emerge?
Japan. In the 1970s, KFC’s advertising campaign launched “Kentucky for Christmas” and feature fried chicken, a chocolate fudge cake, and a commemorative plate. 3.6 million people each year are estimated to engage in the tradition, and people can make reservations to pick up their food at KFC.
300
The first artificial trees “mass produced” were offered by Sears, Roebuck & Company in the 1880s in America, and cost what for a 33 and 55 limb tree?
$.50 and $1.00 respectively.
300
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that Emergency Rooms treat approximately 14,700 holiday-decorating-related injuries each year, an average of about 240 injuries per day. While the Christmas season has a ton of injuries, it has less than these other three holiday days, and is most commonly sending folks to the ER for what 3 main injuries?
Christmas is fourth, with New Years 3rd, Thanksgiving 2nd, and Independence Day 1st. The three holidays before Christmas are all known for vehicle related incidences and fires (Thanksgiving), while Christmas is associated with toys getting stuck in children’s noses or ingested, lacerations from non-electric decorations, and breaks/strains from falls while decking the halls.
300
The origin of Candy Canes origin is largely a mystery, but one of the most common theories comes from a Cologne Cathedral in Germany in the 1670s, where it concludes a choirmaster included the canes for what purpose?
He gave the sugar sticks to his choir members to help them remain quiet during the Christmas Eve Mass, and asked the candy maker to add crooks to the top of each stick to represent the shepherds who visited the infant Jesus.
400
While new songs are introduced each year for the holidays, the top 4 Christmas songs have generally remained the same in the past decade based on record/song sales. These songs are:
What is: 4. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Gene Autry from 1998), 3. All I want for Christmas is You (Mariaha Carey, 1994), 2.Silent Night (Bing Crosby, 1935), and 1. White Christmas (Bing Crosby, 1941).
400
The tradition of wrapping gifts at Christmas to keep their identity secret has its roots in various cultures, and became monetized in Kansas City by these individuals and when?
Double: name the other most common material used to wrap gifts?
The Hall Brothers in the early 1900s, who originally sold leftover envelope lining paper as wrapping paper, but later opened Hallmark and printed their own papers.
China: paper envelopes called chih pao, originally made of rice straws and bamboo fiber
Japan: ornate cloth called tsutsumi (8th century) symbolizing respect and appreciation, later introduced furoshiki style of wrapping (1600s)
3 Kingdoms Period of Korea: cloth symbolizing protection and good fortune, called a bojagi
400
What famous Christian reformer is credited with being the first person to put lights on a Christmas tree?
Martin Luther, in the 16th century, when he is credited with adding candles to his tree after being awed by the twinkling stars amongst the evergreens outside.
400
What states were the first and last to officially recognize Christmas? (Bonus points for the years of each)
Alabama in 1836, and Oklahoma in 1907.
400
The word gnocchi is thought to come from nocca, which means knuckles, or from the Lombard word knohha, which means knot (such as wood knot). Eating Gnocchi on the 29th of the month is a tradition for Italian immigrants, and is associated with what, and why did the tradition emerge?
Immigrants were penniless toward the end of the month and one day away from payday, and had only potatoes and flour and water in their kitchen, and would make gnocchi and pray for good luck and prosperity in the coming days.
500
The popular 12 days of Christmas song we know didn’t appear until 1909, where as before this time it had origins in a French memory-and-forefits game, in which singers tested their ability to receipt the lyrics perfectly or give their opponents a forefeit—or favor—if making a mistake. According to the Christmas Price Index, all of the gifts in the modern 12 days would have cost what, and can you name them all?
$45,000, with:
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!
500
The most desired Christmas gifts have changed throughout history, with children being considered lucky to receive an Orange in Victorian times, whereas in the 2000s the most requested items are often tech or clothing related. What were some of the most wanted toys over the years in the 1900s?
1910-1930: rocking horses, toy trains, dolls, yo-yos
1940s: legos
1950s: Barbie and Mr. Potato Head
1960s: G.I Joe, play cookers, and etch a sketch
1970s: Star wars toys
1980s: Rubix cubes
1990s: Furbies, Game Boys, and Power Ranger toys
500
Electric Christmas lights for the tree first featured red, white and blue bulbs on a 80 light strand, invented by Edward H. Johnson, a friend and partner of Thomas Edison. What year did he invent them?
1882.
500
When was the monk who inspired St. Nichols born, and where?
Turkey, around A.D. 280. He reportedly gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick, becoming known as the protector of children and sailors
500
Thanks to Archeological Scientists, we can trace the foods eaten during midwinter feasts back to the late Neolithic period, where archeological excavations near Stonehenge have been able to place which animals and plants?
What are pig and cattle (due to the wear and tear on the bones, the archaeological scientists were able to place them at about 9 months old and would have been born in the spring most likely and therefore died around midwinter), and plant remains also indicate the presence of crab apples, hazelnuts, sloes (a type of berry, also called blackthorn) and blackberries.