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Christmas trivia

Three quizzes, 30 questions, three levels. Every answer is explained as you play.

  • 3 quizzes
  • 30 questions
  • 3 levels
  • Printable list
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Questions and answers — printable list
  1. Which of these was NOT one of Santa's eight reindeer named in the 1823 poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'?RudolphThe 1823 poem names Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Dunder, and Blixem; Rudolph wasn't invented until 1939, according to Britannica.
  2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created in 1939 as a giveaway story for which department store?Montgomery WardMontgomery Ward assigned copywriter Robert L. May to write 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' for shoppers in 1939, per the Smithsonian Institution.
  3. In what year did 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' first air on CBS?1965'A Charlie Brown Christmas' debuted on CBS on December 9, 1965, according to Smithsonian Magazine and History.com.
  4. Who wrote the song 'White Christmas,' first featured in the 1942 film 'Holiday Inn'?Irving BerlinIrving Berlin wrote 'White Christmas,' which appeared in the 1942 film 'Holiday Inn,' according to Britannica.
  5. For roughly 250 years before striped versions appeared around 1900, what color were candy canes usually?Plain whiteCandy canes were plain white sugar sticks for about 250 years before red-and-white stripes appeared around 1900, per Smithsonian Magazine.
  6. The Christmas tree tradition is thought to have begun in the 16th century in which country?GermanyThe Christmas tree custom is thought to have originated in 16th-century Germany, evolving from a decorated 'paradise tree,' according to Britannica.
  7. St. Nicholas, the historical figure behind Santa Claus, was a bishop during which century?4th centurySt. Nicholas was a 4th-century Christian bishop of Myra, in present-day Turkey, according to Britannica.
  8. The animated TV special 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' first aired in 1964 on which network?NBCThe stop-motion special first aired on NBC on December 6, 1964, before later moving to CBS, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
  9. Which U.S. president lit the first National Christmas Tree on the White House Ellipse in 1923?Calvin CoolidgePresident Calvin Coolidge lit the first National Christmas Tree on Christmas Eve 1923, per the U.S. National Park Service.
  10. 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!' was written in 1957 by which author, better known by his pen name Dr. Seuss?Theodor GeiselTheodor Geisel, known as Dr. Seuss, published 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas!' in 1957, according to Britannica.
  11. In what year did Christmas Day become a U.S. federal holiday, when Congress passed and President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law establishing it?1870Grant signed "An Act to establish Holidays within the District of Columbia" on June 28, 1870, making Christmas a federal holiday, per GovInfo.
  12. In what year did the Massachusetts Bay Colony pass a law criminalizing the public celebration of Christmas?1659The General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony banned public Christmas celebration in 1659, a law repealed in 1681, per Smithsonian Institution Archives.
  13. The poem 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' was first published anonymously in 1823 in which newspaper?Troy SentinelThe poem, better known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," first appeared in the Troy Sentinel of Troy, New York, on December 23, 1823, per the Library of Congress.
  14. Cartoonist Thomas Nast created his first illustration of Santa Claus, for the January 3, 1863 Christmas issue, in which publication?Harper's WeeklyNast's first Santa illustration, showing Santa visiting a Union Army camp, ran in Harper's Weekly in 1863, per Smithsonian Magazine.
  15. Which illustrator did Coca-Cola commission in the early 1930s to redraw Santa Claus for its advertising campaigns?Haddon SundblomCoca-Cola hired Haddon Sundblom, whose first version appeared in 1931, helping cement Santa's red-and-white look, per the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
  16. USPS Operation Santa began in 1912 under which Postmaster General, who authorized postal employees to answer children's letters to Santa?Frank HitchcockPostmaster General Frank Hitchcock authorized local postmasters to let employees open and respond to letters to Santa starting in 1912, per USPS.
  17. Electric Christmas tree lights were first assembled in 1882, at his own home, by which colleague of Thomas Edison?Edward H. JohnsonEdward H. Johnson strung the first electric Christmas tree lights at his New York City home in 1882, per the Library of Congress.
  18. The first National Christmas Tree, a 48-foot balsam fir lit by President Coolidge in 1923, was donated by a college in which state?VermontThe tree was donated by Vermont's Middlebury College and decorated with 2,500 electric bulbs, per the U.S. National Park Service.
  19. Louis Prang, credited as the 'father of the American Christmas card,' ran his lithography business in which city?BostonPrang, a Boston lithographer, made commercially printed greeting cards widely available in the U.S. starting in the mid-1870s, per the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.
  20. The first U.S. Christmas postage stamp was issued on November 1, 1962, in which city?PittsburghThe first Christmas stamp, a 4-cent green-and-red wreath-and-candles design, was issued in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1962, per USPS.
  21. Franz Gruber's authorship of the melody of 'Silent Night' was long disputed until a manuscript in Joseph Mohr's hand — naming Gruber as the composer — surfaced in what year?1995A manuscript in Joseph Mohr's own handwriting, reading 'Melodie von Fr. Xav. Gruber' ('melody by Fr. Xav. Gruber'), surfaced in 1995 and is now held by the Salzburg Museum. It ended decades of dispute over the song's authorship, during which the tune had sometimes been credited to Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven.
  22. 'Jingle Bells' debuted at a Boston minstrel show in 1857 under what original title?The One Horse Open SleighJames Lord Pierpont's song was first performed as 'The One Horse Open Sleigh' at Ordway Hall in Boston. Source: Boston University Today.
  23. Which actor won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for playing Kris Kringle in the 1947 film 'Miracle on 34th Street'?Edmund GwennEdmund Gwenn's performance as Kris Kringle earned him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1947 films. Source: Britannica.
  24. The NORAD Tracks Santa tradition began in 1955 after a misprinted phone number in an ad by which department store rang a military command center instead?SearsA Sears ad in a Colorado Springs newspaper misprinted the 'call Santa' number, connecting children to the Continental Air Defense Command. Source: NORAD.
  25. Joel Roberts Poinsett, who popularized the poinsettia in the U.S. after finding it near Taxco in 1828, served as the first American minister to which country?MexicoPoinsett was the first U.S. minister to Mexico and brought cuttings of the plant back to South Carolina. Source: Britannica.
  26. Emily Bissell's 1907 Christmas Seal campaign was launched to save a struggling tuberculosis sanatorium in which state?DelawareThe penny seals were sold to raise $300 for a financially struggling sanatorium in Delaware. Source: Smithsonian's National Postal Museum.
  27. As of the Gävle Goat's 50th anniversary in 2016, how many times had Sweden's giant straw Yule Goat been destroyed (by arson, vandalism, or accident) since 1966?35The roughly 43-foot straw goat erected each Advent in Gävle had been destroyed 35 times as of its 50th anniversary in 2016 — most often by arson, but also by vandals smashing it, an act of sabotage, and even a car crashing into it.
  28. Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol' was published on December 19, 1843; how many copies made up its first printing?6,000The first printing of 6,000 copies sold out by Christmas Eve of that same year. Source: Britannica.
  29. John Hughes, who wrote 1990's 'Home Alone,' also wrote the screenplays for how many sequels to the film?twoHughes wrote the screenplays for Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) and Home Alone 3 (1997) — two sequels. Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House (2002) reused his characters but was written by Debra Frank and Steve L. Hayes.
  30. The 1988 comedy 'Scrooged,' which reimagined Ebenezer Scrooge as a modern television executive, starred which actor in the lead role?Bill MurrayBill Murray played the Scrooge-inspired TV executive in the 1988 comedy 'Scrooged,' according to Britannica.

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About the Christmas trivia quiz

Christmas trivia gets stranger the further back you go: in 1659 the Massachusetts Bay Colony made it illegal to celebrate Christmas at all, fining anyone caught feasting or skipping work five shillings per offense, a ban that stood until 1681. The holiday itself has no recorded birth date for Jesus — December 25 comes from early Christian calculations, not eyewitness testimony — which is why so much of what people assume about Christmas turns out to be invented centuries later.

The quizzes here cover 3 rounds spanning the whole holiday: Santa's real history from St. Nicholas to Thomas Nast's Civil War cartoons, the songs and movies that built modern Christmas, and the food and shopping traditions around it. Easy rounds stick to widely known names and dates — Rudolph, White Christmas, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Medium rounds test specifics like who wrote a carol or when a tradition started. Hard rounds dig into contested origins, disputed authorship, and the years behind Christmas customs, drawn from 30 questions total.

Frequently asked questions

What are some funny Christmas trivia questions?

Good funny trivia leans on real oddities, not made-up jokes: ask whether Santa's reindeer are male or female, since male reindeer shed their antlers by early winter while females can keep theirs through Christmas Eve — meaning the ones pulling the sleigh are probably does. Facts stranger than fiction make better icebreakers than invented one-liners.

What are 5 fun facts about Christmas?

Five worth knowing: Rudolph began in 1939 as a Montgomery Ward giveaway story, with 2.4 million copies handed out that first year. Bing Crosby's White Christmas has sold over 50 million copies, the best-selling single ever. The first Christmas card was sold in London in 1843. The National Christmas Tree tradition began in 1923 under President Coolidge. NORAD's Santa-tracking hotline started by accident in 1955, from a misprinted phone number.

What are some Christmas riddles?

The best Christmas riddles turn a fact into a clue instead of a pun: describe a red-nosed reindeer without naming him, or ask which candy became red-and-white striped only around 1900 after two-and-a-half centuries as a plain white stick. That approach works well with reindeer names, carol titles, and Christmas movie characters, since the fun is recognizing the answer once it's described sideways rather than asked outright.

What are some good questions for a Christmas quiz?

A well-built round mixes categories rather than repeating the same one: something on Santa's history (St. Nicholas, Thomas Nast's Civil War cartoons), one on carols or movies (who wrote a song, when a special first aired), one on food traditions (eggnog, candy canes, fruitcake), and one that tests dates, since Christmas history is full of specific years worth knowing.

What are 10 good trivia questions?

A solid 10-question Christmas round balances quick pop-culture recall with real history so one type doesn't dominate: a few on movies and songs everyone half-remembers, a few on Santa's evolution from St. Nicholas to Coca-Cola's ad campaigns, and a couple on how customs like the Christmas tree or candy cane actually got their start, since those origin stories rarely match what people assume.

What are some Christmas movie trivia questions?

Good angles include the awards gap between classics: It's a Wonderful Life earned five Oscar nominations but won only a technical award, while Miracle on 34th Street's Edmund Gwenn actually took home Best Supporting Actor. Other strong questions cover budgets and ratings, like A Charlie Brown Christmas being made for about $76,000 and watched by more than 15 million households on its first broadcast.

Sources for the answers above

No made-up answers

Every question here was written from a named source and reviewed before it went live.