The Christmas Friday Question Set — 21-12-2012

It’s official: it’s just gone quarter to three on 21st December, 2012.

And despite what certain tribes Mesoamericans would tell you … ?

We’re still standing upright: and NOT dead of planetary disaster.

Which is a bit of a result.

At ANY rate … ?

At ANY rate, I think I can ALSO tell you something else.

Today’s Friday: the last Friday before Christmas … 

Which, of course, means the Christmas Friday Question Set.

Here it is, along with the ‘How To’ and Creative Commons License …

ROUND ONE:  YULETIDE KNOWLEDGE.

Q1) The poem A Visit From Saint Nicholas, is better known how?   

A1) The Night Before Christmas..

Q2) 1843 saw the first commercial printing of what?   

Q2) Christmas cards..

Q3) Tom Smith was the first person to make Xmas Crackers.  What type of Russian did he name them after?   

A3) Cossacks.   (He thought the snap sounded like a Cossacks whip.)

Q4) ‘Caribou’ is the North American name for what?   

A4) Reindeer..

Q5) Who beat Austria 6-0, on aggregate, in the play-offs for the 2002 World Cup?   

A5) Turkey.   (THINK about it … !)

Q6) Which one of Santa’s reindeer shares its name with a love god?   

A6) Cupid..

Q7) In which decade of the 19th century were electric lights first used on Christmas trees?    

A7) The 1890s.   In 1891, to be precise.

Q8) Which island nation banned Christmas in 1969 and re-introduced it in 2000?   

A8) Cuba..

Q9) Which Puritan leader banned Christmas in 1647?   

A9) Oliver Cromwell..

Q10) Which ghost was the second to appear to Ebeneezer Scrooge, in the Dickens short story,  A Christmas Carol?   

A10) The Ghost of Christmas Past..   (The first being the ghost of Jacob Marley, of course … )

ROUND  TWO: AT THE XMAS MOVIES   

Q11) Which famous actor’s real name was Joseph Yule, Jr?   

A11) Mickey Rooney.

Q12) Jack Skellington appears in which Tim Burton directed animated Xmas film?   

A12) The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Q13) Which Christmas decoration do you commonly find In Hollywood?   

A13) Tinsel.   (Tinseltown, remember … ?)

Q14) Jingle All The Way, about a father trying to buy a Xmas present for his son, starred which former American politician?   

A14) Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Q15) Which Christmas movie sees Tim Allen as Scott Calvin, accidentally killing Santa … ?   

A15) The Santa Clause.

Q16) What’s the name of the film set in Bruges, at Christmas time, about two Irish hit-men … ?   

A16) In Bruges.

Q17) Which Monty Python film, famously, opens on the original Christmas Day … ?   

A17) Life Of Brian.

Q18) Which 1982 film, sees David Bowie as a Japanese POW … ?   

A18) Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.

Q19) Which 2011 film is all about Santa’s son … ?   

A19) Arthur Christmas.

Q20) Which James Stewart film is generally considered to be the best Xmas movie ever made?   

A20) It’s a Wonderful Life.

ROUND  THREE: XMAS STUFFING   

Q21) Satsumas are a traditional Xmas gift: what country do they come from?   

A21) Japan..

Q22) What fruit tree is usually used by Christians, at Christmas time, in India?   

A22) The Mango..

Q23) A Christmas pudding is usually covered in a spirit, and then lit.   What spirit is it covered with?   

A23) Brandy..

Q24) Citizens of the USA usually eat turkey at Xmas, & at which other celebration?   

A24) Thanksgiving..

Q25) Prior to the introduction of the Turkey, what bird was traditionally eaten in Britain, at Xmas?   

A25) Goose..

Q26) What’s the name of the traditional Scottish fruit-cake eaten in the UK, at Christmas … ?   

A26) Dundee Cake.    (Bless her, my mother does great roast dinners.    Just don’t ask her about her Dundee Cake … )

Q27) Name any of the Scandinavian countries you’d be in, if you were eating a lussekatt, during Advent … ?   

A27) Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Q28) If you were eating pavo which Central American country would you be celebrating Christmas in … ?   

A28) Mexico: it’s the Mexican word for a Christmas Turkey.

Q29) Which pudding gets mentioned in the carol, We Wish You A Merry Christmas … ?   

A29) Figgy Pudding.

Q30) As a final foodie question … what, in the UK, is the traditional accompaniment to the Mince Pie … ?   

A30) Brandy Butter.

ROUND FOUR: CHRISTMAS SONG AND DANCE   

Q31) Which TV series released a Christmas album in 2010 called … The Music, The Christmas Album … ?   

A31) Glee: the FULL title is Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album.

Q32) Who did the original recording of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?   

A32) Gene Autry.

Q33) Which song by The Darkness was an almost Xmas number 1, in 2003?   

A33) Christmas Time.   (Don’t Let the Bells End).   (Is it me, or does that title seem … odd … )

Q34) More to the point, what was the Xmas number 1, that year?   

A34) Mad World.

Q35) LeAnn Rimes, Amy Grant, & Mel Smith & Kim Wilde have covered which Brenda Lee Xmas song?   

A35) Rocking Around The Christmas Tree.

Q36) True or False: Las Ketchup did a Xmas version of their only hit.   

A36) True..   (According to the Wikipedia entry, the chorus is a Spanglish version of The Sugarhill Rap.   I KNEW I knew it from somewhere … !)

Q37) 1983 saw the Flying Picket’s have a Christmas hit with their version of Only You: who charted with the original version of that song … ?   

A37) Yazoo.

Q38) Who — in 1952 — had the very first UK Christmas number one … ?   (Bonus point for the song’s title … )   

A38) Al Martino, with Here In My Heart.

Q39) Who was the first band to have three UK Xmas №. 1s, for three years in a row … ?   

A39) The Beatles: in 1963, 1964 and 1965.

Q40) Who was the first girl band to have three UK Xmas №. 1s, for three years in a row … ?   

A40) The Spice Girls.

ROUND FIVE: TOYS, GIFTS AND PRESENTS.

Q41) In many parts of the world, Christmas gifts are traditionally wrapped in what … ?   

A41) Paper.

Q42) The traditional Japanese equivalent is furoshiki: which is usually what … ?   

A42) Cloth.

Q43) What dolls where supposedly born in Cabbage Patches?   

A43) Cabbage Patch Kids.

Q44) According to urban myth, 20, 000 Luke Skywalker & other 1977 vintage Star Wars models are buried in a landfill site in which English county?   

A44) Leicestershire..

Q45) What’s the name of the top-hatted figure traditionally seen on the box of Christmas favourite, Monopoly … ?   

A45) Rich Uncle Pennybags: also known as Mr Monopoly.

Q46) Which board game was created in 1979 in Canada, and has Genus, Baby Boomers and 10th Anniversary editions … ?   

A46) Trivial Pursuit.

Q47) Who — in the UK alone — has sold over 100 million copies since her introduction in 1963 … ?   

A47) Sindy.

Q48) Father Christmas’ outfit is based out which rank of churchman?   

A48) A cardinal’s.

Q49) What — up until 1916 — could you you give as gifts to friends in the trenches … ?   

A49) Heroin and Cocaine.

Q50) In which European country is the traditional Christmas gift bringer called the Yule Goat … ?   

A50) Finland.

ROUND SIX: YULETIDE IGNORANCE.   

Q51) London’s Trafalgar Square Christmas tree is traditionally given by which  country?   

A51) Norway..

Q52) What colour are the berries of the mistletoe plant?   

A52) White.

Q53) What — traditionally — were the names of the three wise men?   

A53) Balthasar, Melchior,  Caspar (or Gaspar).

Q54) Which US state was the first to declare Christmas as a public holiday?   

A54) Alabama.

Q55) In the novel, The Grinch That Stole Christmas, what’s the name of The Grinch’s dog?   

A55) Max.

Q56) A department store in which city had the first Santas’ Grotto, in 1879 … ?   

A56) Liverpool

Q57) Which London lake is it traditional to swim in on Christmas day?   

A57) The Serpentine.

Q58) In the southern hemisphere, in which month is Xmas?   

A58) December.

Q59) Which of Shakespeare’s plays had it’s first performance on Boxing Day, 1606?   

A59) King Lear.

Q60) And FINALLY … what’s supposed to be the most abused piece of office equipment, at office Christmas parties … ?   

A60) The photocopier.

Enjoy those, everyone.

Have a Happy Christmas.