51 holiday trivia questions, with answers

Six rounds for an office holiday party, a family get-together or the last class before winter break: guess the holiday from its custom, December around the world, songs, films, food and drink, and decorations. Every answer links to its source.

51 questions · Holiday trivia questions with answers · answers included

Updated 3 Nov 2026

Which holiday is it?

1
Players spin a four-sided top, a Hebrew letter on each side, to win from a pot. Which holiday is it?

easy

Answer
Hanukkah.
The top is the dreidel, and playing the dreidel game is one of the holiday's customs.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanukkah?oldid=1377193755
2
Seven candles stand in a holder called a kinara, one for each of seven principles. Which holiday is it?

easy

Answer
Kwanzaa.
It runs from December 26 to January 1, and its seven principles run from unity, Umoja, to faith, Imani.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwanzaa?oldid=1366422197
3
A family puts up a bare aluminum pole, airs its grievances and holds feats of strength. Which holiday is it?

medium

Answer
Festivus, on December 23.
It reached most people through a 1997 episode of Seinfeld, though the O'Keefe family had kept it since 1966.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus?oldid=1382882326
4
Friends stay up past midnight on the longest night of the year, eating pomegranates and watermelon and reading the poems of Hafez. Which festival is it?

medium

Answer
Yalda Night.
It is kept in Iran and its neighbors on the winter solstice; the red fruit stands for the dawn and the glow of life.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalda_Night?oldid=1377686109
5
Families eat tangyuan, balls of sticky rice in a sweet soup, on the shortest day of the year. Which festival is it?

hard

Answer
Dongzhi, the Chinese winter solstice festival.
The name of the rice balls sounds like the word for reunion, so the family eats them together.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongzhi?oldid=1383341941
6
In the Alps, a horned figure with birch rods walks beside Saint Nicholas on the night of December 5. What is that night called?

medium

Answer
Krampusnacht, or Krampus Night.
Saint Nicholas brings small gifts to good children, and Krampus punishes the badly behaved, on the eve of the Feast of St. Nicholas.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus?oldid=1377051872
7
In Italy, a witch-like old woman on a broomstick fills children's stockings on the night of January 5. Which feast is the next day?

medium

Answer
Epiphany, on January 6.
She is the Befana, who brings sweets to good children and coal to bad ones, coming down the chimney.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Befana?oldid=1379611264
8
Romans exchanged small gifts, gambled freely and turned everyday rules upside down, from December 17. Which festival was it?

hard

Answer
Saturnalia, in honor of the god Saturn.
It began as one day and grew to seven, ending on December 23, with a "King of the Saturnalia" giving orders to the party.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia?oldid=1365671023

December around the world

9
On Saint Lucy's Day in Sweden, girls in white dresses walk in procession with candles on their heads. On which date is it?

medium

Answer
December 13.
They carry cookies and saffron buns; the feast once fell on the shortest day of the year.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy's_Day?oldid=1383554299
10
Las Posadas in Mexico re-enacts Mary and Joseph's search for an inn. Over how many nights is it held?

medium

Answer
Nine, from December 16 to December 24.
The nine nights stand for the nine months of Mary's pregnancy; posada is Spanish for lodging.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Posadas?oldid=1382902253
11
Boxing Day is a holiday in the UK and other Commonwealth countries. On which date does it fall?

easy

Answer
December 26, the day after Christmas.
It began as a day for giving to people in need, and in much of Europe the same day is Saint Stephen's Day.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day?oldid=1375039061
12
Boxing Day has another English name that recalls its first purpose. What is it?

hard

Answer
Offering Day.
Gifts and money were once given that day to people in need and to those who worked in service.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxing_Day?oldid=1375039061
13
Italian Americans often eat many kinds of fish and seafood on Christmas Eve. What is the meal called?

medium

Answer
The Feast of the Seven Fishes.
Catholics kept from eating meat on Christmas Eve until the feast of Christmas Day, so the dinner is built on fish.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes?oldid=1373934225
14
Which German city's Christmas market, the Striezelmarkt, was first held in 1434?

hard

Answer
Dresden.
The first document that reports a Christmas market is dated 1434; the custom spread across the German-speaking world.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_market?oldid=1370684922
15
Who is said to have invented the Christmas cracker, in London in 1847?

hard

Answer
Tom Smith, a London sweet maker.
He developed it from his bon-bon sweets, which he sold twisted in a paper wrapper.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_cracker?oldid=1381714342
16
In Costa Rica and El Salvador, which corn-dough parcels, wrapped in banana leaves, are a Christmas dish?

medium

Answer
Tamales.
They are filled with chicken, pork, vegetables or beans and steamed in their leaf wrappers.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamale?oldid=1383066224

Holiday songs

17
Which singer wrote and recorded "All I Want for Christmas Is You" in 1994?

easy

Answer
Mariah Carey.
It came out on her first holiday album, Merry Christmas, and returns to the charts every December.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_I_Want_for_Christmas_Is_You?oldid=1383321500
18
Who wrote and first recorded "Feliz Navidad" in 1970?

easy

Answer
José Feliciano.
The Puerto Rican singer wrote it while homesick for his family at Christmas.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feliz_Navidad_(song)?oldid=1380141773
19
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" was written in which month of 1945, during a Hollywood heatwave?

medium

Answer
July.
Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne imagined cooler weather, and the lyrics never once mention Christmas.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Let_It_Snow!_Let_It_Snow!_Let_It_Snow!?oldid=1378039960
20
"The Christmas Song", the one that begins with chestnuts roasting on an open fire, was written by Robert Wells and which singer?

medium

Answer
Mel Tormé.
They wrote it in 1945, and the Nat King Cole Trio recorded it first, in 1946.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christmas_Song?oldid=1373044198
21
Brenda Lee recorded "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" in 1958. In which year did it first top the Billboard Hot 100?

hard

Answer
2023, 65 years after it came out.
She became the oldest artist ever to reach number one on the Hot 100, at 78.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockin'_Around_the_Christmas_Tree?oldid=1380047146
22
Which band released "Last Christmas" in December 1984?

medium

Answer
Wham!
George Michael wrote it; it was kept off the UK number one spot that Christmas by Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?"
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Christmas?oldid=1381692515
23
Who first released "Jingle Bell Rock", in 1957?

medium

Answer
Bobby Helms.
Its title and some lyrics build on the much older "Jingle Bells".
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bell_Rock?oldid=1377824906
24
If every gift in "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is given again each time it is sung, how many gifts arrive in total?

hard

Answer
364.
Each day's verse repeats every gift before it, so the totals add up to 364 by the twelfth day.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)?oldid=1382067965
25
The tune of "Deck the Halls" comes from a winter carol of which country?

hard

Answer
Wales.
The melody belongs to the Welsh carol "Nos Galan"; the English words, by Thomas Oliphant, date from 1862.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deck_the_Halls?oldid=1362302539

Holiday films and TV

26
In It's a Wonderful Life (1946), in which town does George Bailey live?

medium

Answer
Bedford Falls, New York.
James Stewart plays George, and the film was directed by Frank Capra.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Wonderful_Life?oldid=1383527093
27
In It's a Wonderful Life, what happens every time a bell rings?

easy

Answer
An angel gets his wings.
George's youngest daughter, Zuzu, says it at the end, when the guardian angel Clarence has earned his.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It's_a_Wonderful_Life?oldid=1383527093
28
In Home Alone (1990), what are the two burglars who target the McCallister house called?

medium

Answer
The Wet Bandits, Harry and Marv.
Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern play them, against Macaulay Culkin as Kevin.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Alone?oldid=1381556616
29
In Elf (2003), why do the elves name the baby Buddy?

medium

Answer
After the brand label on his diaper.
He crawled into Santa's sack from an orphanage and grew up at the North Pole.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elf_(film)?oldid=1383017157
30
In A Christmas Story (1983), what does Ralphie want for Christmas?

easy

Answer
A Red Ryder air rifle, the BB gun.
His mother, his teacher and even a department store Santa all turn the request down.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Story?oldid=1383013687
31
In A Christmas Story, which prize does Ralphie's father win and put in the front window?

medium

Answer
A lamp shaped like a woman's leg in a fishnet stocking.
Ralphie's mother dislikes it, and the "Battle of the Lamp" ends when she breaks it.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Christmas_Story?oldid=1383013687
32
In Miracle on 34th Street (1947), at which New York store does Kris Kringle work as Santa?

medium

Answer
Macy's.
He takes over in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade after the hired Santa turns up drunk, then works at the store on 34th Street.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_on_34th_Street?oldid=1379530114
33
In Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, what happens to the Grinch's heart at the end?

easy

Answer
It grows three sizes.
He realizes that Christmas means more than presents and feasting.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_the_Grinch_Stole_Christmas!?oldid=1379993437
34
In the book The Polar Express, what does the boy ask Santa for as the first gift of Christmas?

medium

Answer
A bell from Santa's sleigh.
Chris Van Allsburg won the Caldecott Medal for the book in 1986.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Polar_Express?oldid=1379783175
35
Which pianist wrote the jazz score for A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)?

hard

Answer
Vince Guaraldi.
The special first aired on CBS on December 9, 1965, and had no laugh track.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Charlie_Brown_Christmas?oldid=1382078942

Holiday food and drink

36
Which sweet, creamy holiday drink is made with milk or cream, sugar and whipped eggs?

easy

Answer
Eggnog.
With spirits added it was once called milk punch, and in the US and Canada it is sold from Thanksgiving to the end of the season.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggnog?oldid=1382866602
37
Panettone, the tall sweet bread sold at Christmas, comes from which Italian city?

medium

Answer
Milan.
Its name comes from the Milanese word for bread, with an ending that makes it "large bread".
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panettone?oldid=1383202050
38
What is the French Christmas cake rolled and iced to look like a log called?

medium

Answer
Bûche de Noël, a Yule log cake.
It is a rolled sponge cake, often with chocolate buttercream, and probably began in France in the 19th century.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_log_(cake)?oldid=1378384916
39
Dresden stollen is sold under a special seal showing which king?

hard

Answer
Augustus II the Strong.
Dresden's fruit bread was first mentioned in an official document in 1474, and only bakeries in the city may make the official stollen.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stollen?oldid=1367654539
40
Christmas pudding is also called plum pudding. What fruit is it missing?

medium

Answer
Plums.
"Plum" once meant what we call a raisin, so the pudding has none of today's plums.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding?oldid=1382360176
41
What did some British families stir into the Christmas pudding mix, for one lucky person to find?

hard

Answer
A small silver coin, often a sixpence or threepence.
Whoever found the coin in a serving could keep it.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_pudding?oldid=1382360176
42
Roman fruitcake mixed pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and raisins into which grain mash?

hard

Answer
Barley.
The Romans called the cake satura; honey, spices and preserved fruit came later, in the Middle Ages.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitcake?oldid=1378891704
43
What is the warm spiced wine of German Christmas markets called?

medium

Answer
Glühwein.
It is the German name for mulled wine.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulled_wine?oldid=1381624314

Decorations and traditions

44
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been a New York tradition every year since which year?

medium

Answer
1933.
It is usually a Norway spruce, lit in a televised ceremony around the start of December.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockefeller_Center_Christmas_Tree?oldid=1382117801
45
Since which year has the National Christmas Tree near the White House been decorated each year?

hard

Answer
1923.
The president and first lady light it early in December, among smaller trees for every state and territory.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Christmas_Tree_(United_States)?oldid=1373951696
46
Modern tinsel was invented in Nuremberg in 1610. What was it first made from?

hard

Answer
Shredded silver.
Today it is mostly plastic; the word comes from an Old French word meaning sparkle.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tinsel?oldid=1371999076
47
Who commissioned the first modern Christmas card, in 1843?

medium

Answer
Sir Henry Cole.
It was designed by John Calcott Horsley.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_card?oldid=1382096457
48
Who first used Advent calendars, to count the days to Christmas?

medium

Answer
German Lutherans, in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The calendar's name comes from the German Adventskalender, and many start on December 1.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advent_calendar?oldid=1382543171
49
Who lit the first known Christmas tree decorated with electric lights, in New York in 1882?

hard

Answer
Edward H. Johnson.
Local newspapers ignored it as a publicity stunt; before then, trees were lit with candles.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_lights?oldid=1378725305
50
The Elf on the Shelf began as a 2005 children's book. Who wrote it?

medium

Answer
Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell.
It is based on a family tradition from Aebersold's own childhood, and the book comes packed with a toy elf.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elf_on_the_Shelf?oldid=1381060693
51
Mistletoe grows on trees and shrubs. How does it get its water?

medium

Answer
It draws water and nutrients from its host tree, through a root-like structure called a haustorium.
It is a hemiparasitic plant, attached to the tree or shrub it lives on.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistletoe?oldid=1380454816

Use this set at a work party

The first round mixes several traditions, so no single holiday carries the quiz, and every question asks about a custom, never about anyone's own beliefs. Print the questions for teams and keep the answer key apart, or play one round at a time on a shared screen.

Timer and team scores

Seconds per turnTurns in the session

8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.

Pause whenever the group needs more time.

Teams

Team Lime's turn

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 0

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