Holiday History
This figure associated with Christmas owes much of his modern look—red suit and all—to 19th-century illustrations by Thomas Nast.
Who is Santa Claus?
This fried Hanukkah favorite, often made of grated potatoes and onions is eaten to honor the miracle of the oil
What are latkes?
When winter days get short, this "sunshine vitamin" can drop, affecting mood
What is Vitamin D?
The movie Elf, released in 2003, stars this SNL actor as Buddy, a long-lost human raised at the North Pole
Will Ferrell
Unlike snow showers, this weather phenomenon is intermittent, brief and does not accumulate significantly on the ground.
What are flurries?
Created in 1966 by Dr. Maulana Karenga, this cultural holiday celebrates African heritage and includes the lighting of the kinara.
What is Kwanzaa?
This rich Christmas dessert--packed with dried fruit and sometimes soaked in booze--famously has the opposite of an appealing name
What is fruitcake?
In 1957, the song Blue Christmas was released by this artist on his Christmas album
Adam Sandler stars in this adult musical cartoon Hanukkah feature
What is Eight Crazy Nights?
Known to travel up to 80mph, these natural disasters are powerful enough to destroy buildings
What are avalanches?
Celebrated on January 1st, New Year’s Day traces its date to reforms made by this Roman leader who introduced the Julian calendar in 46 BCE.
Who is Julius Ceasar?
A Kwanzaa celebration may include this slow-simmered dish of greens—collards, kale, or mustard—symbolizing prosperity.
What are Collard Greens (sautéed greens acceptable)
In the Pokemon Kanto region, this blue-hued city is home of Misty, the Water Pokemon gym leader
Cerulean City
This greeting card company churns out new holiday movies every year, and no wonder: each film only takes two weeks to produce
What is Hallmark?
This type of precipitation is in the form of ice pellets that form when snowflakes melt partially in a warm layer of air, then refreeze into pellets as they fall through a deep layer of freezing air near the ground
What is sleet?
This Christmas tradition likely evolved from legends of Saint Nicholas secretly dropping gold coins down chimneys for three impoverished sisters.
What is hanging stockings?
Festivus may shun ornamentation, but its most famous dessert mention is this pie—invoked during complaints in the Airing of Grievances.
What is pumpkin pie?
This winter bird has a crested head & a loud call
What is a blue jay
In 2018, the animated feature The Grinch dethroned this classic 1990 holiday movie as the highest grossing holiday movie of all time. Insert scream face here
What is Home Alone
Nimbostratus clouds bring steady, widespread and continuous snowfall, while these clouds produce heavy, intense snow showers. Both storms cause the worst winter mess.
What are cumulonimbus clouds?
Hanukkah’s historical roots lie in the revolt led by this priestly family, whose victory over the Seleucids set the stage for the rededication of the Temple.
Who are the Maccabees?
This Victorian-era British Christmas dish—essentially a mincemeat pie without meat—added suet for richness and brandy to preserve the fruit.
What is a mince pie?
From 1901 - 1904, this artist had a Blue Period, working in shades of blue & blue-green to characterize somber themes of poverty, loneliness & despair
Who is Picasso
Pope Leo recently released a list of his four favorite movies, which included this 1946 holiday favorite
What is It's a Wonderful Life
These natives to the Arctic region have more than 50 words for snow
Who are the Inuit peoples?