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Fun Christmas quiz

Funny Christmas quiz

Thirty light-hearted Christmas questions for grown-ups, every one of them true. Expect logs that poo presents, roller-skating churchgoers and a number one about a milkman.

Questions
30
Rounds
5
Difficulty
Easy to hard

Round 01 / Strange but true

Strange but true

  1. What did the world's first text message, sent in December 1992, say?

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    Merry Christmas

    Also accept: Happy Christmas

    Difficulty: medium
  2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was invented in 1939 to advertise what kind of business?

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    A department store

    Also accept: Department store, A shop, A store, Montgomery Ward

    The American chain Montgomery Ward gave the story away as a free booklet.

    Difficulty: medium
  3. NORAD tracks Santa every Christmas Eve because a 1955 newspaper advert printed the wrong what?

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    Phone number

    Also accept: Telephone number, Number

    Children ringing to speak to Santa got through to a US air defence base instead.

    Difficulty: medium
  4. Tinsel was originally made from thin strips of which precious metal?

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    Silver

    Difficulty: medium
  5. The first electric Christmas tree lights were shown off in 1882 by a colleague of which inventor?

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    Thomas Edison

    Also accept: Edison

    Difficulty: medium
  6. What was "Jingle Bells" originally called?

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    One Horse Open Sleigh

    Also accept: The One Horse Open Sleigh

    Difficulty: hard

Round 02 / Around the world

Odd traditions

  1. In Catalonia, children beat a smiling log called Caga Tió with sticks until it does what?

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    Poos out presents

    Also accept: Poos presents, Poops presents, Poops out presents, Poos, Poops, Gives presents

    Difficulty: hard
  2. In Austria and Bavaria, which horned beast punishes naughty children at Christmas?

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    Krampus

    Difficulty: medium
  3. In Caracas, Venezuela, how do many people traditionally travel to early morning Christmas mass?

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    On roller skates

    Also accept: Roller skates, Roller-skates, By roller skate, Roller skating

    Difficulty: hard
  4. In Ukraine, Christmas trees are traditionally decorated with ornaments shaped like what?

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    Spiders' webs

    Also accept: Spider webs, Cobwebs, Spiders and webs, Spiders, Spider web

    A folk tale tells of a poor family whose tree was decorated overnight by a spider.

    Difficulty: hard
  5. Iceland's Christmas Eve tradition of Jólabókaflóðið is a "flood" of which gift?

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    Books

    Also accept: A book, Book

    Icelanders give each other books on Christmas Eve, then spend the night reading.

    Difficulty: hard
  6. In the Czech Republic, which fish is the traditional Christmas Eve dinner, often kept alive in the bath first?

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    Carp

    Difficulty: medium

Round 03 / Telly & pop

Telly and number ones

  1. Which pink, spotty character took the UK Christmas number one in 1993?

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    Mr Blobby

    Difficulty: easy
  2. In 1980, a school choir took the Christmas number one with a song about which relative?

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    Grandma

    Also accept: Grandmother, Granny, Nan, Nanny

    "There's No One Quite Like Grandma" by St Winifred's School Choir.

    Difficulty: medium
  3. Which comedian had the 1971 Christmas number one with "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)"?

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    Benny Hill

    Difficulty: medium
  4. In the 1996 "Only Fools and Horses" Christmas special, Del and Rodney run through the fog dressed as which duo?

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    Batman and Robin

    Difficulty: medium
  5. Which channel has broadcast an "Alternative Christmas Message" since 1993?

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    Channel 4

    Difficulty: medium
  6. Winners of which talent show had the Christmas number one four years in a row from 2005 to 2008?

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    The X Factor

    Also accept: X Factor

    Difficulty: medium

Round 04 / Food

Festive food

  1. Brussels sprouts are named after the capital of which country?

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    Belgium

    Difficulty: easy
  2. Which ingredient did mince pies contain in Tudor times that they usually don't today?

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    Meat

    Also accept: Minced meat, Mutton, Beef, Lamb

    Difficulty: medium
  3. Which nut is inside the Purple One in a tin of Quality Street?

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    Hazelnut

    Also accept: A hazelnut, Hazel nut

    It was a Brazil nut until the recipe changed.

    Difficulty: hard
  4. In America, the "blanket" in pigs in blankets is usually made of what?

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    Pastry

    Also accept: Dough, Croissant dough, Bread, Puff pastry

    Difficulty: medium
  5. Which turkey bone do two people pull apart to make a wish?

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    The wishbone

    Also accept: Wishbone, Wish bone

    Difficulty: easy
  6. Kiviak, a Christmas delicacy in Greenland, is made by fermenting small seabirds inside what?

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    A seal skin

    Also accept: Seal skin, Sealskin, A seal, A sealskin

    Difficulty: hard

Round 05 / Daft

Daft but true

  1. Which real phobia sounds like a fear of Father Christmas but is really a fear of confined spaces?

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    Claustrophobia

    Difficulty: easy
  2. In "The Twelve Days of Christmas", who are "a-leaping" on the tenth day?

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    Lords

    Also accept: Ten lords, Ten lords a-leaping, Lords a-leaping

    Difficulty: medium
  3. What are reindeer called in North America?

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    Caribou

    Difficulty: medium
  4. Finland's Father Christmas is called Joulupukki. What does the name literally mean?

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    Yule goat

    Also accept: Christmas goat, Yule buck

    Difficulty: hard
  5. Which furry talking toy, the craze of Christmas 1998, was later banned from US spy agency offices?

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    Furby

    Also accept: A Furby, Furbies

    Officials feared it could record and repeat secret conversations. It couldn't.

    Difficulty: medium
  6. In which country do people traditionally hide their brooms on Christmas Eve so that witches can't steal them?

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    Norway

    Difficulty: hard

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