Christmas Blog

Not many of us are aware of the origins of different Christmas traditions even while we follow them year after year, generation after generation. It is the season to be cheerful; the time of year when you adorn your house with decorations, put up a tree in the front room, eat mince pies and sing Christmas carols. But do you actually know where all these traditions come from?

Test your true Christmas knowledge with this quiz.

1. In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the Julbukk, a small figurine of a goat. Of what material is it usually made?
   (i) Candy
   (ii) Straw
   (iii) Uranium
   (iv) Fir wood
2. What is the Irish custom of ‘feeding the wren’ or ‘hunting the wren’ on December 26?
   (i) Taking one’s in-laws out to dinner
   (ii) Carrying a wren door to door to collect money for charity
   (iii) Leaving a basket of cakes at the door for passers by.
   (iv) Putting out suet and seeds for wild birds
3. In Tchaikovsky’s ballet ‘The Nutcracker’, who is the nutcracker’s main enemy?
   (i) Clara
   (ii) Dr. Almond
   (iii)The King of Mice
   (iv) Drosselmeyer
4. After Scrooge has reformed his life at the end of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, he invites Bob Cratchit to join him for some ’smoking bishop’. What does he mean?
   (i) A fast variation of chess popular in Victorian London
   (ii) A premium pipe tobacco
   (iii) A hot spiced drink
   (iv) A Christmas pudding soaked in brandy and set alight
5. How many spirits appeared to Ebenezer Scrooge in Charles Dickens, ‘A Christmas Carol’?
   (i) One
   (ii) Two
   (iii) Three
   (iv) Four
6. Which pie originates from medieval Christmas time?
   (i) Pigeon Pie
   (ii) Humble Pie
   (iii) Mince Pie
7. The ‘Urn of Fate’ is part of the Christmas celebrations in many Italian households. What is it?
8. In Victorian times, most Londoners would have been familiar with the ‘goose club’. What was it?
   (i) A pantomime troupe specializing in slapstick
   (ii) A stout stick used for slaughtering geese
   (iii) A banjo like instrument used for caroling
   (iv) A method of saving to buy a goose for Christmas

Posted by admin on December 1st, 2006
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