49 Fun Facts About Black Holiday

The 2007 film This Christmas is named after a 1970 song by which soul singer?

Donny Hathaway recorded 'This Christmas' in 1970, and the 2007 film borrows its title; Loretta Devine plays matriarch Ma'Dere Whitfield, with Idris Elba and Regina King among her six children.

Which singer plays 'Baby' Whitfield, the youngest sibling with a secret singing talent?

Chris Brown plays Michael 'Baby' Whitfield, the youngest sibling, who has been hiding a singing ambition his mother discourages because their musician father abandoned the family.

Who wrote and directed The Best Man Holiday, the 2013 sequel to The Best Man?

Malcolm D. Lee wrote and directed both The Best Man (1999) and The Best Man Holiday, reuniting the entire original cast, including Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut and Terrence Howard.

The Best Man Holiday was shot in which city in 2013?

Toronto stood in for the film's East Coast settings when the sequel was shot there in 2013, ahead of its November 15 release.

Who wrote and directed Almost Christmas (2016), in which Danny Glover hosts his family?

David E. Talbert wrote and directed Almost Christmas, with Danny Glover, Gabrielle Union and Mo'Nique; Talbert later made the Netflix musical Jingle Jangle.

In Almost Christmas, Danny Glover's Walter Meyers is a retired what?

Automotive engineer is the profession Walter Meyers retired from; he gathers his four grown children for their first Christmas since his wife Grace died, trying to recreate her sweet potato pie.

The Preacher's Wife (1996) remakes a 1947 Cary Grant film about an angel helping which clergyman?

A bishop is the clergyman in The Bishop's Wife (1947), where Cary Grant's angel Dudley aids Bishop Henry Brougham; in the remake Denzel Washington's Dudley helps Courtney B. Vance's Reverend Henry Biggs.

Who directed The Preacher's Wife?

Penny Marshall, the Laverne & Shirley star, directed The Preacher's Wife in 1996, having already directed Big, Awakenings and A League of Their Own.

Which Whitney Houston single from The Preacher's Wife soundtrack reached number four on the Hot 100?

'I Believe in You and Me', a cover of the Four Tops' 1983 song, was the lead single from The Preacher's Wife soundtrack and peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100, the album's highest-charting single.

In Last Holiday (2006), Queen Latifah's Georgia Byrd works in which department of a New Orleans store?

Cookware is Georgia Byrd's department at Kragen's store in New Orleans, a fitting post for a gifted home cook who dreams of opening her own restaurant.

Which TV chef's recipes does Georgia Byrd lovingly recreate in Last Holiday?

Emeril Lagasse is the chef whose recipes Georgia Byrd follows on TV; Lagasse himself appears in the film, and Georgia keeps a scrapbook of dreams labelled 'Possibilities'.

In Friday After Next, a robber dressed as whom breaks into Craig and Day-Day's apartment?

Santa Claus is the disguise of the burglar who breaks into Craig and Day-Day's apartment, making off with the presents and the rent money owed to landlady Ms. Pearly.

What jobs do Craig and Day-Day take on Christmas Eve in Friday After Next?

Security guards are what Craig and Day-Day become, patrolling a strip mall to earn back the stolen rent money; Ice Cube wrote all three Friday films and plays Craig opposite Mike Epps's Day-Day.

Netflix's 2020 musical Jingle Jangle stars Forest Whitaker as which toymaker?

Jeronicus Jangle, played by Forest Whitaker, is the once-celebrated toymaker whose inventions are stolen by his apprentice Gustafson, played by Keegan-Michael Key.

Which network premiered A Diva's Christmas Carol (2000), with Vanessa L. Williams as Ebony Scrooge?

VH1 premiered A Diva's Christmas Carol in December 2000 as one of its original movies; Chilli from TLC plays Ebony's late bandmate Marli Jacob and Kathy Griffin the Ghost of Christmas Present.

Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas (2013) sends Madea to a fictional town in which state?

Alabama is home to the fictional town of Bucktussle, where Madea accompanies Eileen to surprise Eileen's daughter Lacey; Larry the Cable Guy plays Lacey's father-in-law Buddy.

The 2013 film Black Nativity, with Forest Whitaker and Angela Bassett, is based on a 1961 play by whom?

Langston Hughes wrote Black Nativity, a gospel retelling of the Nativity first staged off-Broadway in 1961; Kasi Lemmons directed the film, with Jennifer Hudson, Mary J. Blige and Nas in the cast.

Which rapper-actor plays J-Jizzy in The Perfect Holiday (2007), narrated by Queen Latifah?

Charlie Murphy plays the rapper J-Jizzy, whose ex-wife Nancy (Gabrielle Union) falls for Morris Chestnut's Benjamin, a songwriter trying to pitch J-Jizzy a Christmas song.

Who plays the drag queen title role in Showtime's Holiday Heart (2000)?

Ving Rhames plays Holiday Heart, a drag performer who takes in Alfre Woodard's struggling mother Wanda and her daughter Niki, in a TV film directed by Robert Townsend.

'This Christmas' was co-written by its singer and which lyricist?

Nadine McKinnor wrote the lyrics to 'This Christmas' in the 1960s while working as a postal clerk, and the singer composed its music and recorded it in 1970.

In which city was 'This Christmas' recorded in the autumn of 1970?

Chicago, the singer's home base, is where 'This Christmas' was recorded in the autumn of 1970; the song only became a standard after its inclusion on Atlantic's 1991 Soul Christmas reissue.

Run-DMC's 1987 holiday single first appeared on which charity compilation?

A Very Special Christmas, the 1987 compilation that raised money for the Special Olympics, was where 'Christmas in Hollis' debuted alongside tracks by Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Madonna.

'Christmas in Hollis' samples 'Back Door Santa', a 1968 holiday song by which soul singer?

Clarence Carter's 1968 'Back Door Santa' provides the opening riff sampled in 'Christmas in Hollis'; Hollis is the Queens neighbourhood where Run-DMC grew up.

Stevie Wonder's first Christmas album, Someday at Christmas, was released in which year?

1967 saw the release of Someday at Christmas in November on Motown's Tamla label; the title track, written by Ron Miller and Bryan Wells, had been issued as a single the previous year.

Which blues singer and pianist wrote and recorded 'Please Come Home for Christmas' in 1960?

Charles Brown co-wrote 'Please Come Home for Christmas' with Gene Redd and recorded it for King Records in 1960; the Eagles' 1978 cover reached the top 20 of the Hot 100.

Johnny Moore's Three Blazers recorded the 1947 original of which R&B holiday standard?

'Merry Christmas Baby', written by Lou Baxter and Johnny Moore, was first recorded by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers in 1947 and was later covered by Otis Redding, Bruce Springsteen and many others.

In which year did Eartha Kitt first release 'Santa Baby'?

1953 was the year Eartha Kitt recorded and released 'Santa Baby', written by Joan Javits and Philip Springer; Kitt performed it again in the 1954 film New Faces.

Nat King Cole first recorded 'The Christmas Song' in which year?

1946 was when Nat King Cole first cut 'The Christmas Song' with the King Cole Trio, recording it twice that year, the second time with added strings; he re-recorded it in stereo in 1961.

'The Christmas Song' was written during a heatwave in July 1945 by Robert Wells and which singer?

Mel Tormé co-wrote 'The Christmas Song' with lyricist Robert Wells in about 40 minutes on a sweltering July day in 1945, after Wells jotted wintry lines to take his mind off the heat.

Which Motown team wrote the Jackson 5's "Give Love on Christmas Day", "I Want You Back" and "ABC"?

The Corporation was Motown's songwriting and production team of Freddie Perren, Fonce Mizell, Deke Richards and the label's founder, credited collectively so rival labels could not poach a star writer.

The Temptations' Christmas Card was released on which Motown imprint?

Ebony later listed it among Motown's best-selling Christmas albums.

Boyz II Men's 1993 album Christmas Interpretations was written mostly with which singer-songwriter?

Brian McKnight co-wrote and co-produced most of Christmas Interpretations with the group; apart from 'Silent Night', every track on the 1993 album was an original.

Whitney Houston's only Christmas album, One Wish: The Holiday Album (2003), features a duet with whom?

Her daughter Bobbi Kristina, then ten, sings with Houston on 'Little Drummer Boy'; the album's title single was a cover of Freddie Jackson's 'One Wish (for Christmas)'.

Which carol did Whitney Houston record for a 1987 Special Olympics charity album?

'Do You Hear What I Hear', the 1962 carol by Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne, was Whitney Houston's contribution to the 1987 Special Olympics benefit compilation.

Destiny's Child's only holiday album, released in 2001, is titled what?

8 Days of Christmas was Destiny's Child's 2001 holiday album, recorded while Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams were riding the success of Survivor; the title track was released as a single.

Kanye West's 2010 track 'Christmas in Harlem' was produced by whom?

Hit-Boy produced 'Christmas in Harlem', released in December 2010 through Kanye West's GOOD Friday free-download series, with guests including Cam'ron, Jim Jones, Pusha T and Teyana Taylor.

Who co-wrote 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' with Mariah Carey?

Walter Afanasieff co-wrote and co-produced 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' with Mariah Carey for her 1994 album Merry Christmas; the song first reached number one on the Hot 100 in December 2019.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by which activist?

Maulana Karenga, a Black nationalist professor in Los Angeles, created Kwanzaa in 1966 after the Watts riots, modelling it on African first-fruits harvest festivals.

The name Kwanzaa comes from a phrase meaning 'first fruits' in which language?

Swahili supplies the name: 'matunda ya kwanza' means 'first fruits', and an extra 'a' was added to 'kwanza' so the holiday's name would have a symbolic seven letters.

What is the first of Kwanzaa's seven principles, celebrated on December 26?

Umoja (Unity), the principle of striving for unity in family, community, nation and race, is honoured on December 26, the first of the seven nights, when the black centre candle is lit.

What is the Kwanzaa candle holder, which holds seven candles, called?

Kinara is the candle holder; the seven candles it holds are the Mishumaa Saba in the pan-African colours, one black in the centre, and it stands on the Mkeka mat.

Kwanzaa culminates in a communal feast, usually on the sixth night, called what?

Karamu is the Kwanzaa feast, usually held on December 31, the sixth day; the daily greeting 'Habari Gani?' ('What is the news?') is answered with that day's principle.

In which year did the US Postal Service issue its first Kwanzaa stamp?

1997 was the year the US Postal Service issued its first Kwanzaa stamp, designed by artist Synthia Saint James, and the year Bill Clinton gave the first presidential declaration marking the holiday.

In which state did Gordon Granger enforce the Emancipation Proclamation on June 19, 1865?

Texas is where General Granger issued General Order No. 3 at Galveston on June 19, 1865, announcing that all enslaved people were free; in 1980 Texas became the first state to make Juneteenth a state holiday.

Juneteenth became a federal holiday in 2021, the first new one since which holiday was adopted in 1983?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day, signed into law by Ronald Reagan in 1983, was the last federal holiday created before Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act on June 17, 2021.

Which colour of food and drink is traditional at Juneteenth gatherings?

Red foods and drinks, from strawberry soda to red velvet cake and watermelon, are a Juneteenth tradition; the colour is often said to symbolise the blood shed by enslaved ancestors as well as resilience and joy.

Which 'grandmother of Juneteenth' stood beside President Biden as he signed the 2021 holiday bill?

Opal Lee, the Fort Worth activist known as the 'grandmother of Juneteenth', began her symbolic walking campaign to Washington at 89 in 2016 and was at the White House when Biden signed the bill on June 17, 2021.

What does Imani, the seventh and final principle of Kwanzaa, mean?

Faith is the meaning of Imani, the seventh principle, observed on January 1; it asks celebrants to believe in their people, parents, teachers and leaders and in the righteousness of their struggle.

What is the Houston park that Black leaders bought in 1872 for Juneteenth celebrations called?

Emancipation Park in Houston's Third Ward was bought in 1872 by formerly enslaved leaders including Rev. Jack Yates, because segregation barred Black residents from public parks where they could hold Juneteenth gatherings.