61 Best Christmas Trivia Questions and Answers

Where did eggnog come from?

Culinary historians believe eggnog began as posset, a drink made during the Middle Ages with hot milk that was curdled with ale or wine and then sweetened and spiced. Eventually a combination of raw eggs, milk, and sugar more similar to what we drink today became popular in the American colonies spiced with rum or whiskey, and by the 19th century it became a holiday season favorite, according to PBS.

Where is the North Pole?

The geographic North Pole is at the northernmost point on earth where all longitudinal lines meet. It is surrounded by water with drifting ice, and the annual mean temperature is 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit.

How long ago did the Rockefeller Center tree start?

The tradition of lighting a colossal Christmas tree at New York City’s Rockefeller Center dates back to 1931 when workers at the center pooled their money to buy a 20-foot balsam fir they decorated with garlands handmade by their families. The largest tree in its history came in 1999 with a 100-foot-tall tree.

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Who has won an Oscar for their role as Santa Claus?

How many people buy gifts online vs. in person these days?

Virtually all shoppers (93 percent) will buy at least some gifts online this year, according to Gallup. Forty-one percent plan to buy almost half of them online, while 6 percent plan to buy all gifts online.

Why are there 12 days of Christmas?

The 12 days of Christmas begin on Christmas Day in Western Christianity and end on January 6, a celebration of Epiphany or Twelfth Night to mark the day the three wise man brought Jesus gifts.

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What video game console has sold the most units?

The PlayStation 2 is the bestselling video game console of all time with 158.7 million units sold. It’s followed by Nintendo DS with 154.02 million, Nintendo Switch with 135.79 million, and Game Boy with 118.69 million. Playstation 2 was released in 2000 in response to the popularity of the original Playstation.

On what day to Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas?

In what country is it tradition to fill children’s clogs with candy and treats on December 5?

This takes place in the Netherlands. The tradition started in the 15th century when poor children would put their shoes in church and the rich would fill them for their owners to find on December 6, the anniversary of the death of Saint Nicholas. Later they started leaving them out to be filled at home.

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What was the first Christmas carol broadcast from space?

“Jingle Bells” was played on December 16, 1965, during NASA’s Gemini 6A space flight. Astronauts played it on harmonica and backed by miniature sleigh bells. Those instruments are now on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

How did the tradition of hanging stockings on the fireplace start?

According to tradition, a recently widowed father of three girls was having a tough time making ends meet when Saint Nicholas was wandering through the village and heard about the family. He wanted to help but knew they wouldn’t accept charity, so he slid down their chimney one night and filled the girls’ recently laundered stockings that were drying by the fire with gold coins.

Are Santa’s reindeer male or female?

Both male and female reindeer have antlers, but they shed them annual and grow a new, larger set every year. Only females still have antlers at Christmastime since males shed them before winter begins once mating season has ended, so Santa’s reindeer must all be female.

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How many total gifts were given in the "Twelve Days of Christmas"?

Answer: 364, or one for every day of the year except Christmas. That math gets a little complicated, so we let House of Maths do it for us.

What was the original name of "The Night Before Christmas" by Clement Clarke Moore?

Answer: “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” After Moore first wrote the poem, he read it to his children on Christmas Eve, and a friend who was visiting was so impressed that she sent it to a newspaper, who published it the next year in 1823.

When did the first image of Santa Claus as the modern-day figure we know him appear?

Answer: In 1863 the magazine Harper’s Weekly ran an image of a rotund Santa giving out presents in a Union Army camp and another of Santa in his sleigh and going down a chimney, according to Smithsonian Magazine. What started as wartime propaganda and political commentary by artist Thomas Nast, though, has lived on well past the end of Nast’s Santa illustrations for the magazine in 1886 and into the modern image we know today. The image on the left is one Nast drew for the magazine in 1881.

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What song tops Billboard's list of the greatest of all time holiday 100 songs?

Answer: “All I Want For Christmas Is You” by Mariah Carey is in the No. 1 seat followed by “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee and “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms according to Billboard.

Who invented Christmas lights?

Answer: It wasn’t just one person who invented them; it was three, according to the Library of Congress. In the Christmas season of 1880 Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, first the first strand of electric lights. Then in 1882 Edward H. Johnson, Edison’s business partner and friend, wired colored bulbs and wound them around his Christmas tree. Lastly, in 1917 Albert Sadacca sold the first strand of Christmas lights to the public.

Where was the Christmas classic film “Home Alone” filmed?

Answer: The brick family home so well known from the movie is located in Winnetka, Illinois, outside of Chicago, but while some scenes were filmed on location, most of the movie was filmed on a set built in a gym and swimming pool at New Trier Township High School nearby.

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When did it become tradition to leave milk and cookies out for Santa on Christmas Eve?

Answer: According to NPR, one of the first references to cookies for Santa appeared in the 1870s in the short story Polly: A Before-Christmas Story.

Which famous author and peer of Charles Dickens wasn't a fan of "A Christmas Carol"?

Answer: While many of Dickens’s author peers received the story (which Dickens wrote in six short weeks!) positively, Mark Twain, on the other hand, critiqued it. "There is no heart,” he said of the story. “No feeling – is nothing but glittering frostwork."

Jessica Leigh Mattern is a web editor and writer who covers home, holiday, DIY, crafts, travel, and more lifestyle topics. Prior to working for Country Living, she wrote for several lifestyle and women’s magazines including Woman’s Day, Cosmopolitan, and Redbook

Erin Cavoto is the Editorial Assistant at ThePioneerWoman.com, covering food, holidays, home decor, and more.

Ashley Leath is the Copy/Research Editor for Country Living and Veranda magazines. She also organizes the Country Living Front Porch Book Club and Veranda Sip & Read Book Club.

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