Which animal pulls Santa Claus's sleigh in the legend?
Answer : The reindeer
Reindeer live in Arctic regions, which explains their link with Santa; an American poem published in 1823 names eight of them.
Questions and answers: Christmas
Revise Christmas: here is a selection of questions of every level, with the answer and an explanation. To test yourself without seeing the answers, play the quizzes.
Play the Christmas quizzesVery easy
What is the date of Christmas Day?
Answer : December 25
The evening of the 24th is Christmas Eve; Christmas Day itself falls on December 25, a date attested in Rome as early as the 4th century.
Which tree do people traditionally decorate in their homes at Christmas?
Answer : The fir tree
Evergreen trees stay green all winter, making them a symbol of life; the custom of decorating one spread from Germanic countries.
Where does Santa Claus live in popular imagination?
Answer : At the North Pole
This image took hold in the 19th century, notably through American illustrations that placed his toy workshop near the North Pole.
An Advent calendar is used to count down the days to which holiday?
Answer : Christmas
Advent is the period of about four weeks before Christmas; each door on the calendar hides a small surprise or picture to discover day by day.
What is the name of the red-nosed reindeer in a famous Christmas song?
Answer : Rudolph
Rudolph was created in 1939 for an illustrated booklet for an American department store; the song, recorded in 1949, became a worldwide hit.
Which of these gifts do the Magi offer to the infant Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew?
Answer : Gold
Matthew mentions three presents: gold, frankincense and myrrh. They are often read as symbols of kingship, divinity and suffering.
Which plant with prickly leaves and red berries often decorates Christmas tables and wreaths?
Answer : Holly
Holly stays green in the depths of winter, which has made it a symbol of life for a very long time; its branches are woven into wreaths.
Easy
Which saint, a bishop honored on December 6, inspired the character of Santa Claus?
Answer : Saint Nicholas
A bishop in the 4th century, he was known for his generosity to children and the poor; his Dutch name, Sinterklaas, is the origin of 'Santa Claus'.
Which log-shaped, rolled and iced cake often ends the Christmas meal in France?
Answer : The Yule log (bûche de Noël)
The cake recalls the big log once burned in the hearth on Christmas night; the pastry version, rolled with cream, spread from the 19th century onwards.
Which country does panettone, the tall fruit-studded brioche served at Christmas, come from?
Answer : Italy
Born in Milan, it is made with a dough left to rise for a very long time, which gives it its airy texture; it has become a symbol of the holidays in Italy.
In which language was the carol 'Silent Night' originally written?
Answer : German
The carol was born in Austria in 1818 and has since been translated into hundreds of languages and dialects.
Which plant, hung from the ceiling, gives people the right to a kiss beneath it at Christmas in English-speaking countries?
Answer : Mistletoe
According to Pliny the Elder, the Gaulish druids held it sacred; the custom of kissing beneath it is recorded in England from the 18th century.
In which town do the Gospels of Matthew and Luke place the birth of Jesus?
Answer : Bethlehem
Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, in Galilee, and traveled to Bethlehem, Joseph's ancestral town, for a census, according to Luke.
What is the name of the old miser who changes after three spirits visit him in Charles Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol'?
Answer : Ebenezer Scrooge
This famous story helped spread the spirit of sharing and generosity associated with Christmas in Victorian England.
According to Western tradition, how many Magi visit the infant Jesus?
Answer : Three
The number three comes from the three gifts named by Matthew: gold, frankincense and myrrh. The Gospel gives neither their number nor their names; Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar appear later.
Medium
Nicholas, the bishop who inspired Santa Claus, lived in Myra in the 4th century. In which present-day country is this ancient city?
Answer : Turkey
Myra, today Demre, lies on the Turkish Mediterranean coast; in 1087, sailors from Bari brought his relics to Italy.
In Italy, which figure brings treats to children on the night of January 5 to 6?
Answer : La Befana
La Befana, an old woman on a broomstick, fills the stockings of good children with sweets and, for the others, with sugar 'coal', on the eve of Epiphany.
Which red-leaved plant native to Mexico is nicknamed the 'Christmas star'?
Answer : The poinsettia
Called 'Flor de Nochebuena' in Mexico, the poinsettia is named after Joel Poinsett, the American diplomat who brought it to the United States in the 19th century.
Who directed the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life, starring James Stewart?
Answer : Frank Capra
A box-office disappointment on release, the film became a classic thanks to its television reruns at Christmas.
In which country did the printed cardboard Advent calendar with little windows appear in the early 20th century?
Answer : Germany
The first printed calendars come from early 20th-century Germany; the custom of marking each day of Advent, with chalk lines or candles, is older.
Which German sweet bread, filled with candied fruit and dusted with powdered sugar, is linked with the city of Dresden?
Answer : Stollen
The Dresden Christstollen, whose shape is said to evoke the swaddled infant Jesus, is celebrated every year with a festival of its own.
Which continent is the turkey, a classic of the Christmas meal, native to?
Answer : America
Domesticated by the peoples of Mexico, the turkey was brought to Europe in the 16th century; it gradually took the place of other poultry on festive tables.
What are the small painted clay figurines of the Provençal nativity scene called?
Answer : Santons
Clay santons developed in Marseille in the late 18th century, when church nativity scenes were banned during the Revolution.
Hard
How many desserts traditionally make up the Christmas meal in Provence?
Answer : Thirteen
Thirteen, for Christ and the twelve apostles; they include the four 'beggars' (almonds, hazelnuts, dried figs, raisins), the pompe à l'huile and nougats.
What nickname do Spaniards give to the big Christmas lottery drawn every December 22?
Answer : El Gordo
'El Gordo' (the fat one) refers to the Christmas Lottery draw, held since 1812; schoolchildren sing out the winning numbers and the draw is followed live.
Which country sends London the big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square each year, as thanks for British support during the Second World War?
Answer : Norway
Since 1947 the city of Oslo has sent a tree to London in gratitude for the help given to occupied Norway during the war; it is lit in early December.
In which Austrian village was 'Silent Night' first performed, on Christmas Eve 1818?
Answer : Oberndorf
It was sung at midnight Mass in the church of Saint Nicholas, accompanied by a guitar.
Joulupukki, literally 'Yule goat', is the name of Santa Claus in which country?
Answer : Finland
The Finnish word pukki means 'goat' and recalls an old pagan figure who frightened people at Yuletide, before he became a generous gift-bringer; today he is tied to Finnish Lapland.
For how many nights do Mexicans celebrate the posadas before Christmas?
Answer : Nine
From December 16 to 24, the posadas reenact Mary and Joseph's search for shelter; each evening ends with songs and piñatas.
What does one receive on the first day in the traditional English song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'?
Answer : A partridge in a pear tree
A gift is added each day up to twelve; this cumulative rhyme was printed in England at the end of the 18th century.
Who directed the 1990 film Home Alone?
Answer : Chris Columbus
Chris Columbus also directed the first two Harry Potter films; the screenplay of Home Alone was written by John Hughes.
Expert
Who wrote, in 1816, the poem that became the lyrics of 'Silent Night'?
Answer : Joseph Mohr
Joseph Mohr, a young assistant priest in Oberndorf, wrote the poem in 1816; the schoolteacher Franz Xaver Gruber set it to music in 1818.
In which Alsatian town is a 1521 register often cited as one of the oldest written traces of the Christmas tree?
Answer : Sélestat
The 1521 accounts of Sélestat record payments to guards watching the forests to stop young fir trees being cut near Christmas; this is often read as the oldest written trace of Christmas trees.
Which American illustrator shaped the image of Santa Claus in the pages of Harper's Weekly, starting in 1863?
Answer : Thomas Nast
Nast drew a plump, bearded Santa dressed in fur, living at the North Pole with his toy workshop, long before the advertising images of the 20th century.
Which horned, demon-like creature accompanies Saint Nicholas in the traditions of the Austrian and Bavarian Alps on December 5?
Answer : Krampus
Krampus, a figure of Alpine folklore with horns and chains, scares naughty children while Saint Nicholas rewards the good ones; Krampus parades are held in early December.
Which saint is celebrated on December 13 in Sweden with a procession of girls wearing crowns of candles?
Answer : Saint Lucy
Lucy of Syracuse, a martyr whose name comes from the Latin lux, 'light', is honored in the season of the longest nights, hence the candles.
Which German Christmas song received its current text in 1824 thanks to Ernst Anschütz?
Answer : O Tannenbaum
Anschütz, a poet and teacher from Leipzig, reworked an earlier text to a folk tune; that melody also served for the song 'Maryland, My Maryland'.
Which composer wrote the Christmas Oratorio (Weihnachts-Oratorium) of 1734, a cycle of six cantatas for the festive season?
Answer : Johann Sebastian Bach
The six cantatas were meant to be performed in Leipzig between Christmas and Epiphany of 1734-1735; Bach reused several of his secular works in them.
Who wrote 'Jingle Bells', published in 1857 under the title 'One Horse Open Sleigh'?
Answer : James Lord Pierpont
The piece was published in Boston; the original lyrics were not about Christmas, but about a winter sleigh race.