Christmas pub quiz questions and answers
A complete Christmas quiz you can run tonight: 60 Christmas quiz questions in 6 rounds of 10, starting with a general knowledge round, plus a tie-breaker. Read each question out, give teams a moment, then tap to reveal the answer and a fact to share. Printing it gives you the question sheet first, then an answer sheet for the host.
Running the quiz
- Teams of up to six work well, at home, at the office party or in the pub.
- Ask every team for a festive name before round 1. Stuck? Pick one from our Christmas quiz team names.
- One point per correct answer. Swap and mark answer sheets between teams after each round.
- Let each team play a joker on one round before it starts to double their points for that round.
- Level on points at the end? The tie-breaker is a number question: closest answer wins.
Round 1: Christmas general knowledge
Which of Santa's reindeer shares its name with the Roman god of love?
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Cupid Cupid's Greek counterpart is Eros, and he is usually shown as a winged child with a bow and arrows.
What do naughty children traditionally find in their Christmas stockings instead of presents?
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A lump of coal (accept coal) In Italy, the 'coal' that La Befana leaves for naughty children is often a black sugar candy called carbone dolce.
In the carol The Twelve Days of Christmas, which birds are given on the second day?
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Turtle doves (accept doves) Turtle doves are summer visitors to Britain and spend the winter in West Africa, so you'd struggle to find any at Christmas.
What color are the berries of European mistletoe?
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White Mistletoe is a hemiparasite: it makes some of its own food by photosynthesis but draws water and nutrients from its host tree.
Which silent film star, creator of the Little Tramp, died at his home in Switzerland on Christmas Day 1977?
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Charlie Chaplin (accept Chaplin) In 1978 his coffin was stolen for ransom and was found 11 weeks later buried in a cornfield.
The winter-flowering Christmas rose isn't a true rose at all. To which genus of garden plants does it belong?
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Hellebore (accept Helleborus or black hellebore) It is a member of the buttercup family, and all parts of the plant are toxic if eaten.
In 1897, which New York newspaper answered eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon with the editorial "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus"?
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The Sun (accept The New York Sun) It was written by the paper's editor Francis Pharcellus Church, who was revealed as its author only after his death in 1906.
A Christingle, carried at many children's Christmas services, is a candle pushed into which fruit?
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An orange The custom began in the Moravian Church in Germany in 1747, at first as just a red ribbon tied around a candle.
Which small glassmaking town in Thuringia, Germany, is famous as the birthplace of the glass Christmas bauble?
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Lauscha The earliest documented order for its glass Christmas balls, six dozen in assorted sizes, dates from 1848.
The French word Noël comes from the Latin word natalis. What does natalis mean?
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Birth (accept birthday or natal) The English word 'natal' comes from the very same Latin root.
Round 2: Christmas films
Which actor plays Buddy, the human raised by elves, in Elf (2003)?
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Will Ferrell James Caan plays Buddy's long-lost father, the children's book publisher Walter Hobbs.
Which actor plays New York cop John McClane in Die Hard (1988)?
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Bruce Willis Willis was then best known for the TV comedy-drama Moonlighting, and he was paid $5 million for the role.
In Gremlins (1984), what is the name of the cute mogwai that Billy is given as a Christmas present?
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Gizmo Gizmo was voiced by comedian Howie Mandel.
Which 1992 superhero sequel, set at Christmas in Gotham City, stars Danny DeVito as the Penguin?
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Batman Returns It was directed by Tim Burton as the follow-up to his 1989 film Batman.
Which 1983 comedy, set over Christmas and New Year, sees Dan Aykroyd and Eddie Murphy swap places as a broker and a street hustler?
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Trading Places A 2010 US law banning trading on misappropriated government information is nicknamed the 'Eddie Murphy rule' after its finale.
In A Christmas Story (1983), what does Ralphie want more than anything for Christmas?
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A Red Ryder BB gun (accept BB gun or air rifle) The Cleveland house used as the Parker family home has been restored and opened to the public as A Christmas Story House.
Which actor played Ebenezer Scrooge in Robert Zemeckis's 2009 motion-capture film A Christmas Carol?
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Jim Carrey Carrey also played all three of the ghosts who visit Scrooge.
In The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992), which Muppet plays the author Charles Dickens, narrating the story?
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Gonzo (accept The Great Gonzo) He narrates alongside Rizzo the Rat; director Brian Henson said Gonzo was chosen because he was the least likely choice to play Dickens.
In Love Actually (2003), what is the name of the aging rock star, played by Bill Nighy, who releases a Christmas single?
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Billy Mack His single, 'Christmas Is All Around,' reworks the Troggs song 'Love Is All Around,' a 15-week UK No. 1 for Wet Wet Wet in 1994.
In Home Alone (1990), what is the title of the black-and-white gangster movie Kevin plays to scare people away?
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Angels with Filthy Souls The film-within-a-film was shot specially for Home Alone, and its title spoofs the 1938 gangster classic Angels with Dirty Faces.
Round 3: Christmas music
Which 'King of Rock and Roll' released a Christmas album in 1957 that includes 'Blue Christmas'?
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Elvis Presley (accept Elvis) Elvis' Christmas Album became the first Presley title to be certified Diamond in the US.
Which former Beatle released the 1979 single 'Wonderful Christmastime'?
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Paul McCartney Although his band Wings appears in the music video, McCartney recorded the song on his own.
Which British star released the festive single 'Step into Christmas' in 1973?
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Elton John It was mixed to imitate the 'Wall of Sound' style of producer Phil Spector.
Which Puerto Rican singer-songwriter wrote and first recorded 'Feliz Navidad' in 1970?
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José Feliciano (accept Feliciano) His original recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2010.
Which singer-songwriter wrote and recorded 'Driving Home for Christmas', first released in 1986?
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Chris Rea He began writing the lyrics in 1978 while stuck in snowy traffic as his wife drove him home from London to Middlesbrough.
Which brother-and-sister duo released the festive single 'Merry Christmas Darling' in 1970?
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The Carpenters (accept Karen and Richard Carpenter) Richard Carpenter wrote the melody in 1966 for old lyrics by his college choir director, Frank Pooler.
Which composer's Christmas Oratorio, a set of six cantatas, was first performed in Leipzig over Christmas 1734 and New Year 1735?
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Johann Sebastian Bach (accept Bach or J. S. Bach) Bach reused much of its music from secular cantatas he had written earlier in praise of royalty and local dignitaries.
Which singer, later famous as Catwoman on TV, was the first to record 'Santa Baby' in 1953?
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Eartha Kitt The song was written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer, and Kitt recorded it in New York City.
Who wrote 'Jingle Bells', first published in Boston in 1857?
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James Lord Pierpont (accept Pierpont) Pierpont was the uncle of the famous financier J. P. Morgan.
Which songwriter wrote both 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree'?
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Johnny Marks Marks also set Longfellow's poem 'Christmas Bells' to music as 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,' recorded by Bing Crosby in 1956.
Round 4: Food and drink
Which nuts, sold hot from street carts in winter, are traditionally roasted at Christmas?
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Chestnuts Unlike most nuts, chestnuts are low in fat and contain about twice as much starch as potatoes.
Gammon, a Christmas favorite in Britain and Ireland, is cured meat from which animal?
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Pig (accept pork or hog) Unlike dry-cured hams such as prosciutto, gammon must be cooked before it is eaten.
Which sweet fortified wine, often served with cheese and nuts after Christmas dinner, comes from Portugal's Douro Valley?
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Port Under EU rules, only wines from Portugal may be labeled 'port.'
Which spice, often grated over eggnog, comes from the same seed as mace?
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Nutmeg Mace is made from the lacy red covering of the nutmeg seed, and the tree is native to Indonesia's Banda Islands.
In the US, what is the name for a sweet sauce of butter, sugar and brandy or rum, like Britain's brandy butter?
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Hard sauce It is served cold, often with hot desserts such as Christmas pudding and mince pies.
The German Christmas cookies Pfeffernüsse are named after nuts and which spice?
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Pepper Despite the name, they don't have to contain nuts; they're simply roughly nut-sized.
The suet in traditional Christmas pudding and mincemeat is hard fat taken from around which organs?
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The kidneys (accept kidneys and loins) It usually comes from beef, lamb or mutton.
Pavlova, a meringue dessert often served at Christmas in Australia and New Zealand, is named after a ballerina from which country?
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Russia (accept the Russian Empire) Both Australia and New Zealand claim to have invented it, in honor of Anna Pavlova's tours there in the 1920s.
Clementines are named after a French missionary brother who found them growing at his orphanage in which North African country?
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Algeria Genetic studies show the clementine is a cross between a sweet orange and a Mediterranean mandarin.
Which Swedish soft drink, created in 1910 as a non-alcoholic alternative to beer, is a Christmas favorite in Sweden?
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Julmust The same drink is sold at Easter as påskmust, and its syrup is still made only by the Roberts company in Örebro.
Round 5: Christmas around the world
In which language is Father Christmas called Père Noël?
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French French children traditionally leave their shoes by the fireplace on Christmas Eve for Père Noël to fill.
Bondi Beach, famous for its Christmas Day crowds, is in which Australian city?
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Sydney The beach lies about 7 km (4 miles) east of Sydney's city center.
In Japan, Christmas Eve is popularly treated as a romantic night for couples, much like which other holiday?
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Valentine's Day December 25 is not a national public holiday in Japan, so most people work as usual.
Which Canadian province sends Boston its official Christmas tree each year, in thanks for help after the 1917 Halifax Explosion?
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Nova Scotia Halifax first sent a tree in 1918, and the gift became a yearly tradition in 1971.
Spain's huge Christmas lottery prize is nicknamed 'El Gordo'. What does El Gordo literally mean?
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The fat one (accept the big one) The winning numbers are sung out by pupils of Madrid's San Ildefonso school at the draw every December 22.
In Greek tradition, which saint brings children their presents on January 1?
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St. Basil (accept Agios Vasilis) Greek families also cut a New Year cake called vasilopita, with a coin hidden inside for one lucky person.
On December 7 in Guatemala, people burn effigies of which figure, along with household trash, to mark the start of the Christmas season?
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The devil The tradition, La Quema del Diablo, starts at 6 p.m. on the eve of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.
Which city in Alsace, home to a Christmas market dating from 1570, calls itself the 'Capital of Christmas'?
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Strasbourg Its Alsatian name, Christkindelsmärik, means 'market of the Christ Child.'
Via San Gregorio Armeno, a street lined with workshops making nativity figures, is in which Italian city?
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Naples Some of its craftsmen also make figurines of people who hit the headlines that year.
Which native tree, whose crimson flowers peak in December, is known as the New Zealand Christmas tree?
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Pōhutukawa Māori regard it as a chiefly tree, or rākau rangatira.
Round 6: History and traditions
In the Nativity story, baby Jesus is laid in a manger. What is a manger?
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A feeding trough for animals The word comes from the Old French mangier, meaning 'to eat'.
Which two animals are traditionally shown beside the manger in nativity scenes, even though the Gospels never mention them?
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An ox and a donkey (accept cow and donkey, or ox and ass) The tradition is linked to Isaiah 1:3, which says the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib.
The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus. What does adventus mean?
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Coming (accept arrival) Early Christians used adventus to translate the Greek word parousia, which referred to the Second Coming of Christ.
According to Luke's Gospel, which Roman emperor ordered the census that took Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem?
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Caesar Augustus (accept Augustus) Luke also names Quirinius as the governor of Syria at the time of the census.
Western tradition names the three Magi as Caspar, Melchior and who?
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Balthazar (accept Balthasar) The Bible never names the Magi; their names come from later tradition.
In a famous legend, St. Nicholas secretly threw bags of gold through a poor man's window to pay for what for his three daughters?
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Their dowries (accept so they could marry) In art, Nicholas is often shown holding three purses or three gold balls in memory of the story.
On Christmas Day 1991, which leader resigned as president of the Soviet Union?
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Mikhail Gorbachev (accept Gorbachev) That evening, the Soviet flag was lowered over the Kremlin for the last time and replaced by the Russian tricolor.
Which saint is credited with staging the first live nativity scene, in a cave near Greccio, Italy, at Christmas 1223?
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St. Francis of Assisi (accept Francis) The event is described by St. Bonaventure in his Life of St. Francis, written around 1260.
In 1614, which German astronomer linked the Star of Bethlehem to a series of conjunctions of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BC?
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Johannes Kepler (accept Kepler) Modern calculations show the two planets stayed nearly a degree apart, so the conjunctions would not have looked very striking.
The monk Bede wrote that pagan Anglo-Saxons called the night we now celebrate as Christmas 'Modranicht'. What does it mean?
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Night of the mothers (accept Mothers' Night) Bede recorded this in his eighth-century work The Reckoning of Time, and suspected the pagans held rituals during the night.
Tie-breaker
Santa sets off south from the North Pole. To the nearest hundred miles, how far is it along the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the equator?
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About 6,200 miles (6,215 miles, or about 10,002 km) In the 1790s, France defined the meter as one ten-millionth of this distance.
Answer sheet
Round 1: Christmas general knowledge
- Cupid
- A lump of coal (accept coal)
- Turtle doves (accept doves)
- White
- Charlie Chaplin (accept Chaplin)
- Hellebore (accept Helleborus or black hellebore)
- The Sun (accept The New York Sun)
- An orange
- Lauscha
- Birth (accept birthday or natal)
Round 2: Christmas films
- Will Ferrell
- Bruce Willis
- Gizmo
- Batman Returns
- Trading Places
- A Red Ryder BB gun (accept BB gun or air rifle)
- Jim Carrey
- Gonzo (accept The Great Gonzo)
- Billy Mack
- Angels with Filthy Souls
Round 3: Christmas music
- Elvis Presley (accept Elvis)
- Paul McCartney
- Elton John
- José Feliciano (accept Feliciano)
- Chris Rea
- The Carpenters (accept Karen and Richard Carpenter)
- Johann Sebastian Bach (accept Bach or J. S. Bach)
- Eartha Kitt
- James Lord Pierpont (accept Pierpont)
- Johnny Marks
Round 4: Food and drink
- Chestnuts
- Pig (accept pork or hog)
- Port
- Nutmeg
- Hard sauce
- Pepper
- The kidneys (accept kidneys and loins)
- Russia (accept the Russian Empire)
- Algeria
- Julmust
Round 5: Christmas around the world
- French
- Sydney
- Valentine's Day
- Nova Scotia
- The fat one (accept the big one)
- St. Basil (accept Agios Vasilis)
- The devil
- Strasbourg
- Naples
- Pōhutukawa
Round 6: History and traditions
- A feeding trough for animals
- An ox and a donkey (accept cow and donkey, or ox and ass)
- Coming (accept arrival)
- Caesar Augustus (accept Augustus)
- Balthazar (accept Balthasar)
- Their dowries (accept so they could marry)
- Mikhail Gorbachev (accept Gorbachev)
- St. Francis of Assisi (accept Francis)
- Johannes Kepler (accept Kepler)
- Night of the mothers (accept Mothers' Night)
Tie-breaker
About 6,200 miles (6,215 miles, or about 10,002 km)
Need more Christmas rounds?
Try the hard Christmas quiz for the experts, a Christmas emoji quiz for a lighter round, or the funny Christmas quiz. Every one of our Christmas quizzes has 20 multiple-choice questions with answers. For a non-festive night, there's our regular pub quiz.