Christmas traditions, songs, and history.
Test your knowledge with these top questions!
Dutch Sinterklaas traditionally arrives in the Netherlands aboard which vehicle?
Sinterklaas arrives from Spain by steamboat, then travels through Dutch cities on a white horse.
Which Christmas carol tells singers to "sleep in heavenly peace"?
Joseph Mohr wrote the words, and Franz Xaver Gruber set them for two voices, choir, and guitar.
What did a medieval carol describe before the word came to mean a Christmas song?
Medieval dancers sang as they moved in a circle; Christians later adapted carols for Christmas worship.
Which Finnish city declares Christmas Peace from its Old Great Square every Christmas Eve?
Turku's tradition dates to the 1300s, making it one of Finland's longest continuous cultural customs.
In the 1966 animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, who voices both narrator and Grinch?
Thurl Ravenscroft, not Karloff, sings "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the special.
Which bird does the Cratchit family serve before Scrooge sends them a turkey in A Christmas Carol?
Scrooge later sends a prize turkey, making the feast's change from goose part of his transformation.
Which cartoonist shaped Santa's popular image through 19th-century Harper's Weekly drawings?
Nast's drawings helped establish Santa as the round, bearded figure still familiar today.
Why can liturgical Advent begin before a December 1 Advent calendar?
The first Sunday of Advent falls between November 27 and December 3, while many calendars open on December 1.
Which two Gospels supply the New Testament's infancy narratives about Jesus?
Matthew tells of the Magi, while Luke tells of the shepherds; familiar Nativity scenes often combine both accounts.
Which feast falls nine months before Christmas and supports one explanation for December 25?
The Annunciation marks Jesus's conception on March 25, placing his birth nine months later on December 25.