158 Fun Facts About Christmas

In Home Alone, the McCallister family flies from suburban Chicago to which European capital, leaving eight-year-old Kevin behind?

Paris is the destination, and Kevin, eight, is left alone to defend the family's suburban Chicago home from a pair of burglars.

Which actor plays Buddy the Elf in the 2003 movie Elf?

Will Ferrell's Buddy, raised by elves at the North Pole, heads to New York City to find a biological father who doesn't know he exists.

Which dog gets drafted to pull the Grinch's sleigh down to Whoville?

The Grinch dresses as Santa Claus and has Max haul the sleigh to Whoville for the heist.

Which festive recording holds the Guinness record as the best-selling single of all time?

Bing Crosby's 1942 recording is the world's best-selling single, with estimated sales in excess of 50 million physical copies. It was listed as the best-selling single in the first Guinness Book of Records in 1955 and still holds the title.

In A Christmas Story, what does Ralphie desperately want for Christmas?

Ralphie Parker wants a Red Ryder Carbine Action 200-shot Range Model air rifle, but everyone keeps telling him he'll shoot his eye out.

What Christmas movie features the line "Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings"?

This iconic line is spoken near the end of the 1946 classic It's a Wonderful Life, directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart.

Who wrote the song "White Christmas"?

Irving Berlin wrote White Christmas in 1940. It was first performed by Bing Crosby on a radio show in 1941 and later featured in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.

In the movie The Polar Express, what is the first gift of Christmas?

A bell works loose from the reins of Santa's reindeer and lands at the boy's feet, and Santa lets him keep it as the first gift of Christmas. Only those who truly believe can hear it ring.

Which band originally performed "Last Christmas" in 1984?

Wham!, the pop duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, released Last Christmas in 1984. It has become one of the most-played Christmas songs of all time.

What 1990 Christmas movie was the highest-grossing film of that year at the domestic box office?

Home Alone, starring Macaulay Culkin, earned over $476 million worldwide and was the highest-grossing film of 1990 domestically.

What country started the tradition of putting up a Christmas tree?

The Christmas tree was first recorded in use by German Lutherans in the 16th century, including a tree placed in Strasbourg Cathedral in 1539. The custom developed in Central Europe, particularly Germany and Livonia, now Estonia and Latvia.

What plant is traditionally hung in doorways at Christmas for people to kiss under?

Mistletoe became a Christmas decoration under which lovers are expected to kiss, a custom recorded as popular among servants in late eighteenth-century England. In one version, a berry was plucked from the sprig with each kiss and the kissing stopped once the berries ran out.

In which country is it a Christmas tradition to eat KFC for Christmas dinner?

In Japan, eating KFC for Christmas became a nationwide tradition after a hugely successful 1974 marketing campaign called Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii (Kentucky for Christmas).

Which ballet, premiered in 1892 and set on Christmas Eve, features the Sugar Plum Fairy and a girl named Clara?

The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky's 1892 score, is the most performed ballet of the Christmas season; Antonietta Dell'Era danced the first Sugar Plum Fairy.

How many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh according to the classic poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas"?

Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem describes Santa's sleigh as drawn by a team of eight reindeer, and is largely responsible for the modern lore of a named reindeer team.

Which company's 1930s ads, painted by Haddon Sundblom, spawned the myth that Santa wears red for its brand colours?

Haddon Sundblom's 1930s paintings gave rise to the legend that Coca-Cola invented Santa's red and white. Santa already appeared in his modern form on Puck magazine covers early in the 20th century; White Rock Beverages used him from 1915.

What is the name of the main character in the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol?

Ebenezer Scrooge is the miserly protagonist of A Christmas Carol, published in 1843. He is visited by three ghosts who help him rediscover the meaning of Christmas.

What was the role of the 4th-century figure from Myra whose secret gift-giving inspired the Santa Claus legend?

Saint Nicholas was a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (in modern-day Turkey), known for his generous gifts to the poor. His feast day on December 6th became associated with gift-giving.

What Christmas decoration was originally made from strands of silver?

Modern tinsel was invented in Nuremberg in 1610 and was originally made from shredded silver. Because silver tarnishes quickly, other shiny metals were substituted, notably lead, and later plastics took over.

In which century was the first commercially produced Christmas card published?

Sir Henry Cole commissioned the first commercially available Christmas card in London in 1843, designed by John Callcott Horsley. A one-off card was sent to James I of England as early as 1611, but it was never produced for sale.

What traditional Christmas drink is made with milk, cream, sugar, and eggs?

Eggnog is a rich, sweetened, creamy drink made with milk and cream, sugar and whipped eggs, often with brandy, rum or bourbon added. It may have developed from posset, a medieval European drink of hot milk curdled with wine or ale and flavoured with spices.

What was the original purpose of Boxing Day, marked on December 26th in many Commonwealth countries?

Tradespeople, employees and servants traditionally received presents or gratuities, called Christmas boxes, from customers and employers on the day after Christmas, and alms boxes in churches were opened and distributed to the poor. The exact origin of the name is not settled.

Which Christmas carol contains the lyrics "O tidings of comfort and joy"?

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen is an English traditional carol, also known as Tidings of Comfort and Joy after its refrain. An early version survives in an anonymous manuscript from the 1650s, and the earliest known printed edition is a broadsheet of about 1760.

What is the German name for the traditional Christmas market?

Weihnachtsmarkt literally translates to Christmas market.

What is the traditional Christmas flower, originally from Mexico, that turns red in winter?

The poinsettia is indigenous to Mexico and Central America and takes its English name from Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States minister to Mexico, who is credited with introducing it to the US in the 1820s. The red parts are bracts, which are leaves rather than petals.

In the song "The Twelve Days of Christmas," what gift is given on the fifth day?

The fifth day's gift is five gold rings, sung as five golden rings in North America since Mitch Miller's 1961 recording. The best known English version was first printed in Mirth without Mischief, a children's book published in London around 1780.

Which Dickens character says "God bless us, every one"?

Tiny Tim, the sickly young son of Bob Cratchit, speaks this famous line in A Christmas Carol. It has become one of the most quoted phrases associated with the Christmas spirit.

What does Advent count down to in the Christian calendar?

It begins on the fourth Sunday before December 25 and ends on Christmas Eve, December 24; calendars with 24 or 25 doors do the counting.

In which European country do children leave their shoes out for Sinterklaas to fill with gifts?

In the Netherlands, children place their shoes by the fireplace or door on the evening of December 5th (Sinterklaasavond). Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of St. Nicholas, fills them with small gifts and treats.

What fruit is traditionally placed in the toe of a Christmas stocking?

The fruit in the toe may echo the legend of the three balls of gold that the Bishop of Myra gave to three poor maidens as dowries. Oranges were also a rare and expensive fruit in nineteenth-century Europe, which made one a treat worth saving for Christmas.

What popular Christmas movie is actually based on a Dr. Seuss book published in 1957?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas was written and illustrated by Dr. Seuss (Theodor Geisel) and published in 1957. It was adapted into a beloved TV special in 1966 and a live-action film in 2000.

What is the name of the traditional Italian Christmas Eve feast of seafood?

The Feast of the Seven Fishes (Festa dei Sette Pesci) is an Italian-American Christmas Eve tradition featuring seven different seafood dishes. The number seven has various symbolic meanings in Catholic tradition.

Which country donates the Christmas tree that stands in Trafalgar Square in London each year?

Norway has donated a Christmas tree to London every year since 1947 as a gesture of gratitude for British support during World War II. The tree comes from the forests around Oslo.

In what form did the red-nosed reindeer character created by Robert L. May first appear in 1939?

Robert L. May wrote the story for Montgomery Ward, which had been buying booklets to give away each Christmas and decided to produce its own. The store distributed 2.4 million copies in the first year. Johnny Marks turned the story into a song in 1949, recorded by Gene Autry.

What sweet treat is traditionally left out for Santa Claus on Christmas Eve in American homes?

American children leave a plate of cookies and a glass of milk out on Christmas Eve. The custom took off in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, when parents used it to teach children to give to others and to be grateful for what they received.

Which famous scientist was born on Christmas Day in 1642?

Isaac Newton was born on December 25, 1642, according to the Julian calendar in use in England at the time. Under the Gregorian calendar, his birthday would be January 4, 1643.

Which 2011 sequel overtook a 1990 Christmas film as the highest-grossing live-action comedy worldwide?

Home Alone's $476.7 million worldwide gross made it the top live-action comedy for two decades, until The Hangover Part II passed it in 2011.

In the Christmas song, what did Frosty the Snowman have for a nose?

Frosty is described with a corncob pipe, a button nose and two eyes made out of coal. The song was written by Walter 'Jack' Rollins and Steve Nelson and first recorded by Gene Autry and the Cass County Boys in 1950.

What traditional Christmas spice comes from the bark of a tree?

Cinnamon is harvested from the inner bark of trees in the genus Cinnamomum. It has been a prized spice for thousands of years and is a key ingredient in many Christmas recipes, from mulled wine to gingerbread.

What is the name of the period of 12 days between Christmas Day and Epiphany?

Christmastide (also called the Twelve Days of Christmas) runs from December 25 to January 5, ending on the eve of Epiphany (January 6). This period is the basis for the famous cumulative song.

In Die Hard (1988), what is the Los Angeles skyscraper hosting the Christmas Eve party?

John McClane flies to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve for a party thrown by his estranged wife's employer, the Nakatomi Corporation, at Nakatomi Plaza. Hans Gruber's crew seizes the building mid-party.

Which country celebrates Christmas on January 7th instead of December 25th?

Russia and several other Orthodox Christian countries celebrate Christmas on January 7th because the Russian Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar, which is 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar.

What is the British term for a decorated paper tube that snaps open to reveal a toy, joke and paper crown?

Tradition credits London confectioner Tom Smith with inventing the cracker in 1847, and the Oxford English Dictionary records the pulling of crackers from that year. The gifts, paper hats and varied designs came later from his son Walter.

What was the Yule log in the original European winter tradition?

The Yule log was a specially selected log burnt on the hearth, with a portion burned each evening through to Twelfth Night. The chocolate cake version, the buche de Noel, emerged in the 19th century, probably in France.

In the movie Elf, what are Buddy's four main food groups?

Buddy the Elf proudly declares that elves stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup. This line perfectly captures Buddy's childlike nature and elf upbringing.

Which late-December Roman festival heavily influenced modern Christmas celebrations?

Saturnalia was a Roman festival honoring the god Saturn, held from December 17-23. It featured gift-giving, feasting, and merrymaking, many aspects of which were later absorbed into Christmas celebrations.

What popular Christmas Eve tradition involves tracking Santa's journey around the world via radar?

NORAD Tracks Santa began in 1955 when a Sears ad misprinted a phone number, directing children to the Continental Air Defense Command (now NORAD). A colonel on duty played along, and the tradition has continued every Christmas Eve since.

Where is hiding a pickle ornament on the Christmas tree actually a popular tradition?

Despite the name Weihnachtsgurke and the usual attribution to Germany, the Christmas pickle is a German-American custom, thought to date from the 1890s to go with imported glass ornaments. The first to find it gets an extra present.

What is frankincense, one of the gifts the Three Wise Men brought to baby Jesus?

Frankincense is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia. It has been used for thousands of years as incense in religious ceremonies and was extremely valuable in the ancient world.

In which decade was the first Christmas tree illuminated with electric lights?

Edward H. Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison, displayed the first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree in December 1882, hand-wired with 80 red, white and blue bulbs. Electric lights were too expensive to replace candles in most homes until about 1930.

Which mid-December Roman festival is often linked to the origins of some Christmas traditions?

The Roman festival of Saturnalia, dedicated to the god Saturn, was celebrated from December 17th to 23rd and featured feasting, gift-giving, and general revelry, influencing many modern Christmas customs.

Which royal consort made the Christmas tree fashionable in 19th-century England?

Prince Albert, Queen Victoria's German-born husband, made the Christmas tree fashionable in Britain; an 1848 Illustrated London News cover of the royal family's tree was widely copied. Queen Charlotte had set one up in 1800.

The earliest surviving document placing the birth of Jesus on December 25 dates from which era?

The Chronograph of 354, also called the Calendar of Filocalus, is the earliest document to give December 25 as the birthday of Jesus. Liturgical historians generally agree that this part of the text was written in Rome in AD 336.

Which 4th-century Greek bishop, famed for secret gift-giving, is the main historical model for Santa Claus?

Saint Nicholas became Santa by way of the Dutch Sinterklaas, his legendary secret gift-giving turning a 4th-century Greek bishop into 'Saint Nick'.

'Silent Night' was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in a village church in which country?

Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to words by the priest Joseph Mohr, and first performed on Christmas Eve that year at the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, then in the Austrian Empire.

Who wrote the classic novella 'A Christmas Carol'?

Charles Dickens published it in London in December 1843, with illustrations by John Leech, and the name Scrooge has meant 'miser' ever since.

What bird is the traditional centrepiece of a British Christmas dinner, served with pigs in blankets and bread sauce?

Turkey took over from goose as Britain's Christmas bird; it arrives with stuffing, gravy, pigs in blankets, bread sauce, roast potatoes and sprouts.

In the original 1823 text of 'A Visit from St. Nicholas', what are the last two reindeer called?

The 1823 text used the Dutch-derived names Dunder and Blixem, meaning thunder and lightning. Later printings changed them to the now-familiar Donner and Blitzen.

How many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh once Rudolph, added in 1939, joins the team named in the 1823 poem?

9 is the usual count: 'A Visit from St. Nicholas' named eight, and Rudolph, from a 1939 story and a 1949 song, has been hitched on ever since.

On what date is Christmas Day primarily observed in Western Christian traditions?

December 25th is Christmas in the West; Orthodox churches on the Julian calendar celebrate the same date, which now falls on January 7th in the Gregorian.

Which evergreen of Christmas wreaths and cards has glossy prickly leaves and red berries, borne only by the female plant?

Holly berries come only from female plants; European holly, Ilex aquifolium, is the species long tied to Christmas wreaths, garlands and cards.

In Italian folklore, which witch-like old woman delivers gifts to children on the night of 5 January?

The Befana brings sweets, candies or toys to good children and coal to bad ones on Epiphany Eve. She is covered in soot because she enters houses down the chimney.

Which country is credited with originating the Christmas tree tradition?

The modern Christmas tree tradition is often traced back to 16th-century Germany, where Christians began decorating trees in their homes.

What is the name of Santa's most famous reindeer, known for guiding his sleigh with a luminous red nose?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created by Robert L. May in a 1939 booklet and became famous for leading Santa's sleigh.

Which hot mulled drink shares its name with a Twelfth Night custom of singing door to door, trading a sip for gifts?

Wassail is hot mulled cider, ale or wine with spices, and on Twelfth Night (5 January) revellers carry the bowl door to door, as in 'Here we come a-wassailing'.

Which Roman feasting and gift-giving holiday is thought to have shaped Christmas traditions?

Saturnalia, a Roman festival honoring the god Saturn, involved feasting, gift exchanges, and a temporary reversal of social roles, and is thought to have contributed to some Christmas customs.

Which Tchaikovsky ballet, set on Christmas Eve, features a girl and a battle with the Mouse King?

Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker,' based on an E.T.A. Hoffmann story, is a beloved Christmas ballet first performed in 1892, telling the tale of Clara's magical journey.

In 16th- and 17th-century England, which bird, or a capon, was the usual Christmas dinner while the rich ate peacock and swan?

Goose or capon was the common Christmas bird in England through the 16th and 17th centuries, long before turkey took the table.

Which two Gospels contain accounts of the birth of Christ?

The two accounts differ a great deal: one has the Magi, the star and the flight to Egypt, the other has the census, the manger and the shepherds.

In the Gospel account, what brings the Holy Family from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the birth?

Rome wanted everyone counted in their ancestral town, and Joseph's line ran back to David, whose city was Bethlehem.

Which Gospel is the only one to mention the Magi's visit?

That single account never gives their names, their homeland or even how many of them there were; all of that came from later tradition.

What prompted the Holy Family's flight into Egypt?

They stayed in Egypt until Herod's death, then settled in Nazareth in Galilee.

By Western tradition, what are the names of the three Magi?

The names first turn up in an eighth-century chronicle; Syriac Christians often count twelve Magi rather than three.

Which German cathedral claims to hold the relics of the Magi in a golden shrine?

The bones were brought there from Milan in 1162 after Frederick Barbarossa took that city, and the transfer is still commemorated every 24 July.

Who is credited with staging the first live nativity scene, at Greccio in Italy in 1223?

It was set in a cave with a manger and live animals so ordinary people could see the story rather than hear it in Latin.

On a traditional Advent wreath, what colour is the candle lit on the third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday?

Gaudete means "rejoice ye", the first word of that Sunday's introit, so the sombre purple gives way to a lighter shade for a week.

Which German pastor is credited with inventing the modern Advent wreath in Hamburg in 1839?

His first version was a cartwheel with 24 small red candles and four large white ones, built to stop the children at his mission school asking every day whether it was Christmas yet.

Which feast, kept on 25 March, marks Gabriel's announcement to Mary nine months before Christmas?

When Dionysius Exiguus set up the Anno Domini system in 525 he started the year on 25 March for the same reason.

Christmas decorations traditionally stay up until which 2 February feast of the Presentation?

Candles are blessed in church that day and used for the rest of the year as a symbol of the Light of the World.

Which carol is Isaac Watts's paraphrase of Psalm 98 rather than a nativity text?

Watts never intended it purely for Christmas; the words are about the Second Coming as much as the first.

Whose tune, written for a Gutenberg festival, became 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing'?

Organist William Cummings fitted Charles Wesley's words to the secular cantata movement in 1855, and the pairing stuck.

What is the original Latin title of "O Come, All Ye Faithful"?

Authorship is disputed between John Francis Wade, John Reading, King John IV of Portugal and anonymous Cistercian monks; Wade's 1751 manuscript is the earliest to survive.

"O Holy Night" was set to music in 1847 by which French composer, better known for the ballet Giselle?

The words began as the poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by wine merchant Placide Cappeau; the music was finished within days.

Eastern churches on the Julian calendar celebrate Christmas on which Gregorian date?

They are still marking December 25, but the Julian calendar currently runs 13 days behind the Gregorian one.

In Eastern Christianity the feast of Theophany, kept at Epiphany, chiefly commemorates which event?

Western churches use the same date mainly for the Magi, which is why the two halves of Christendom tell different stories on the same day.

Which Mexican tradition re-enacts the Holy Family's search for lodging on the nine nights before Christmas?

The name comes from posada, the Spanish word for an inn, and the custom is traced to Augustinian friars near Mexico City.

The Christingle, a candle set in an orange, began in the 18th century in which church?

Bishop Johannes de Watteville started it in 1747 near Frankfurt as a way to get children thinking about the story; the orange came later.

In the Massacre of the Innocents, Herod ordered boys around Bethlehem killed up to what age?

The age was chosen from the timing the Magi had given him for the star's appearance.

Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean is an external territory of which country?

Captain William Mynors named it when he sailed past on Christmas Day 1643; it lies about 350 km south of Java.

Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean is famous for the annual migration of which animals?

The crabs swarm to the sea between October and December, the island's peak tourist season.

In which time zone does Kiritimati (Christmas Island) sit, making it among the first places to see New Year?

James Cook reached it on Christmas Eve 1777; Britain and the US later tested nuclear weapons there.

Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, belongs to which Pacific nation?

It is part of the northern Line Islands and appeared on maps from 1781.

Santa Claus Village, which sits on the Arctic Circle, is in which Finnish city?

The first building on the spot was a lodge put up in the 1950s for a visit by Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Indiana town that answers thousands of Christmas letters got its name in 1856 after which name was rejected?

The post office now receives thousands of letters to Santa a year, answered by volunteers called Santa's Elves.

Santa Claus Land, opened in 1946 in Santa Claus, Indiana, is claimed to be the world's first what?

It survives today as Holiday World.

The city of North Pole, with its Santa Claus Lane and Kris Kringle Drive, is in which US state?

It is near Fairbanks and about 1,700 miles south of the geographic North Pole.

Which country is often described as having the world's longest Christmas season, starting in September?

The season features nine dawn masses called Simbang Gabi and the star-shaped parol lantern.

The parol, a star-shaped lantern, is the signature Christmas decoration of which country?

The traditional midnight feast after Christmas Eve mass there is called nochebuena.

The 13 Yule Lads, who leave gifts or rotten potatoes in children's shoes, belong to which country's folklore?

They arrive one per night in the 13 nights before Christmas and have names like Spoon Licker and Door Slammer.

The Tió de Nadal, a log children 'feed' and beat until it drops presents, is a tradition of which region?

Feeding starts on 8 December, and the log is popularly known by a ruder name, Caga Tió.

The Church of the Nativity, marking the traditional birthplace of Jesus, stands in which town?

The spot is marked by a 14-pointed silver star, and in 2012 it became the first UNESCO site listed under Palestine.

The Church of the Nativity is entered through a very low doorway known as what?

The church was commissioned by Constantine after his mother Helena's visit and dedicated in 339.

Carols by Candlelight, now held around the world, began in 1938 in which city?

Because Christmas falls in summer there, prawns and oysters share the table with roast turkey.

Ethiopian Christmas, celebrated on 7 January, draws pilgrims to which famous rock-hewn churches?

The date is Tahsas 29 in the Ethiopian calendar, and a hockey-like game called gena is played.

In which year did the famous unofficial Christmas truces break out along the Western Front?

Truces the following year were far rarer after commanders issued strongly worded orders forbidding them.

During the 1914 truce, which sport did British and German soldiers famously play against each other?

Some British soldiers even recorded Germans asking for news from the football leagues back home.

What is the traditional day for mixing the Christmas pudding, named for a line in a prayer collect?

The name probably began as a schoolchild joke on the words 'Stir up, we beseech thee'.

Panettone, the domed Christmas sweet bread, is associated with which Italian city?

Angelo Motta gave it its tall shape and light texture by letting the dough rise three times over almost 20 hours.

Which artist designed the first commercially available Christmas card, in London in 1843?

The card was commissioned by civil servant Sir Henry Cole, later the first director of the V&A.

On which night does the horned Krampus traditionally roam the streets in Alpine folklore?

Krampusnacht falls immediately before the Feast of St. Nicholas, whom Krampus accompanies.

Since 2007, the milled lumber of the Rockefeller Center tree has gone to which charity?

The trees themselves are traditionally donated to Rockefeller Center in the first place.

Which Swedish city's giant straw Yule goat is burned down by arsonists most years?

An advertising consultant, Stig Gavlén, dreamed up the giant goat in 1966.

Which jazz pianist wrote the score for A Charlie Brown Christmas?

The special's use of real children's voices and no laugh track was also considered unorthodox for 1965.

The 1965 Charlie Brown special is credited with virtually killing demand for which fad decoration?

Lucy wanted a big pink one, but Charlie Brown's insistence on a real tree won audiences over.

In the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer TV special, misfit elf Hermey leaves Santa's workshop to pursue what career?

A dentist is Hermey's dream, which comes in handy against the Abominable Snow Monster; his travelling companion Yukon Cornelius hunts silver and gold.

Who voiced Sam the Snowman, the narrator of the 1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer special?

The animation was done in Japan, the music recorded in England, and most voice actors were Canadian.

Who won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for playing Kris Kringle in Miracle on 34th Street (1947)?

Studio boss Darryl Zanuck disliked the film and had it released in May, arguing people go to movies in warm weather.

Who co-wrote and co-produced Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' in 1994?

It was the lead single from her first holiday album, Merry Christmas.

Under what title was 'Jingle Bells' first published, in September 1857?

An 1889 Edison cylinder recording of it, believed to be the first Christmas record, is now lost.

On Christmas Eve 1968, the Apollo 8 crew read the opening verses of which book on live TV?

An estimated quarter of the people alive at the time saw the broadcast from lunar orbit.

What did a mince pie historically contain that the modern sweet version, all fruit, nuts, spices and brandy, does not?

Meat was the original filling, which is why it's still called mincemeat; today's version keeps only the fruit, nuts, spices and usually brandy.

Which Brothers Grimm fairy tale is often credited with inspiring the gingerbread house?

Other food historians argue the Grimms were describing edible houses that already existed.

Who directed the 1993 stop-motion film The Nightmare Before Christmas?

Tim Burton produced it and wrote the original 1982 poem, but was not the director.

Puritan Boston outlawed Christmas observance in 1659 with a fine of how many shillings?

The ban was revoked in 1681, but Christmas did not become fashionable in Boston until the mid-1800s.

Washington's Christmas-night Delaware crossing in 1776 led to a surprise attack on which town?

The Hessian garrison was defeated on the morning of December 26.

Which act holds the record for the most UK Christmas number one singles, with five?

The YouTube duo topped the chart every year from 2018 to 2022 for the Trussell Trust before retiring their streak.

Which country issued the first charity Christmas seals, to fight tuberculosis, in 1904?

Sweden and Iceland followed the same year, and the idea spread to some 130 countries.

Which country's 1898 map stamp, inscribed 'XMAS 1898', is a contender for the first Christmas stamp?

It was actually issued to mark the inauguration of Imperial Penny Postage, so its Christmas status is debated.

The French and Brazilian Christmas Eve feast 'réveillon' takes its name from a word meaning what?

Guests traditionally stay awake until morning; New Orleans keeps the custom thanks to its French-Creole heritage.

Simbang Gabi, the Filipino series of pre-dawn Christmas Masses, runs for how many days?

Held from December 16 to 24, it began as a compromise for farmers who started work before sunrise; Puerto Rico's Misa de Aguinaldo is similar.

Which listings magazine has printed a fortnight-long Christmas double issue every December since 1969?

Radio Times breaks its own rules for the 'Christmas Number': its cover carries painted festive artwork, where almost every other issue since the 1970s has used a photograph.

Which club beat Blackburn Rovers 4–2 in 1965 in the last English league match ever played on Christmas Day?

Blackpool's win closed a tradition of Christmas Day and Boxing Day double-headers that once gave working people their only chance to see a game; Boxing Day fixtures survived.

Which broadcaster has aired an 'alternative Christmas message' since 1993, the first of them delivered by Quentin Crisp?

Channel 4 started the tradition by accident while making a 'Christmas in New York' series: Crisp, who was himself born on Christmas Day, was invited to play on the word 'queen'.

Which BBC chart show lost its weekly slot in 2006, decades after first airing a Christmas special in 1964?

Top of the Pops' festive edition counts down the year's biggest sellers and the Christmas number one, and from 1967 it went out on Christmas Day afternoon, around 2:15.

Which Wolverhampton band's 'Merry Xmas Everybody' was 1973's Christmas number one, beating Wizzard's rival single?

Slade's single was the fastest-selling in Britain at the time, while Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday' stalled at number four. Noddy Holder wrote the lyrics overnight at his mother's house in Walsall.

Which double act's 1977 BBC Christmas show drew over 20 million viewers, one of British TV's biggest audiences?

Morecambe and Wise's 1977 show won producer Ernest Maxin a BAFTA, and their Christmas shows famously coaxed newsreader Angela Rippon, a trained ballet dancer, out from behind her desk to dance.

Which Cornish village eats stargazy pie, fish heads poking through the crust, on Tom Bawcock's Eve, 23 December?

Mousehole honours a fisherman said to have braved a storm to end a famine, and the night inspired Antonia Barber's children's book The Mousehole Cat.

Which London lake has hosted a 100-yard swim every Christmas morning since 1864, for a cup given by J. M. Barrie?

The Serpentine race starts at 9 am in Hyde Park, and the Peter Pan Cup is open only to club members who have swum the Saturday races all winter, so no one plunges in cold.

Whose first full episode as the Doctor was 'The Christmas Invasion', Doctor Who's first Christmas special, in 2005?

David Tennant's debut was commissioned to test how the revived show would fare at Christmas, and its success made the special an annual fixture until 2018, when it moved to New Year's Day.

Which BBC drama about the nuns and nurses of Poplar has aired a special every Christmas Day since 2012?

Call the Midwife's specials have sent the Nonnatus House team far from the East End, on missions to South Africa, the Outer Hebrides and Hong Kong.

Which charity launched Christmas Jumper Day in 2012, asking for £2 a head from everyone who wears a festive knit?

Save the Children's first Jumper Day fell on Friday 14 December 2012, and the idea has since raised £30 million; the charity now works to make the day as sustainable as possible.

Which pink, yellow-spotted character from Noel's House Party took the Christmas number one of 1993?

Mr Blobby began in 1992 as a prank in the show's 'Gotcha' segment, catching out celebrities; Bob Mortimer later called him a 'pink, spotty, rubber' something unprintable.

Which king was crowned at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066?

William the Conqueror took the crown in a church where Harold had been crowned less than a year earlier, on 6 January 1066. Three years later he wore it again in the ruins of York on Christmas Day.

Which Tudor navigator, said to have brought the turkey to England, got a coat of arms featuring the bird in 1550?

William Strickland's arms show a 'turkey-cock in his pride proper', though goose remained England's main Christmas roast until the Victorian era.

Which Queen song was Christmas number one in both 1975 and, after Freddie Mercury's death, 1991?

Bohemian Rhapsody was the first song ever to reach number one in the UK twice with the same recording: nine weeks in 1975 and five more in 1991 as a double A-side with 'These Are the Days of Our Lives'.

Which chorister's 1985 single of 'Walking in the Air' reached number five, although he never sang it in The Snowman?

Aled Jones, a teenager from Anglesey, made the song famous on record, but the voice in the film belongs to Peter Auty, an uncredited St Paul's Cathedral choirboy.

Which Pogues and Kirsty MacColl duet, never a Christmas number one, is the UK's most-played Christmas song this century?

Fairytale of New York was held at number two in 1987 by the Pet Shop Boys' 'Always on My Mind' and has since re-entered the Top 20 more than twenty times. Its two singers never recorded together in the studio.

Which coronation relic did four Scottish students carry off from Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1950?

The Stone of Scone had sat under the Coronation Chair since Edward I seized it in 1296; England had promised to return it in 1328, but rioting crowds stopped it leaving the Abbey.

Which Wrong Trousers villain returns in Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, BBC One's Christmas Day film of 2024?

Feathers McGraw, the silent penguin, hijacks Wallace's robotic garden gnome Norbot to avenge the Blue Diamond heist the pair foiled in 1993. Netflix released the film abroad on 3 January 2025.

Which group's 'Goodbye' in 1998 made them the first act since the Beatles to take three Christmas number ones in a row?

Spice Girls' run began with '2 Become 1' in 1996 and ended with a ballad released after Geri Halliwell had left the group. Melanie C later added a fourth with the Justice Collective in 2012.

Whose Restoration in 1660 made Christmas a legal holiday in England again, after the Puritans had abolished it in 1647?

Charles II's return voided the Puritan legislation that had scrapped Christmas, Easter and Whitsun together; in 1647 protesting crowds had brought out footballs as a symbol of festive misrule.

Stir-up Sunday, the day for making Christmas puddings, is named from the opening collect in which Anglican text?

The Book of Common Prayer's collect for the Sunday before Advent begins 'Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord', a handy reminder that a pudding needs weeks to mature before Christmas.

Which tinned assortment, launched by Mackintosh's of Halifax in 1936, took its name from a J. M. Barrie play?

Quality Street was Harold Mackintosh's way of selling chocolates to working-class families: wrapping each sweet in coloured paper and tipping them into a tin was cheaper than a box with separate compartments.

At what time, embargoed even online, is the monarch's Christmas message traditionally broadcast in the UK?

The 3 pm slot has outlived the BBC's monopoly on the message: since 1997 production has rotated between the BBC and its rival ITN, with Sky News joining the rota in 2011, a change the Palace said reflected the modern industry.

Which charity took up the Christingle, a candle set in an orange, as a fundraiser across Britain from 1968?

The Children's Society's John Pensom borrowed the custom from the Moravian Church, where it began in 1747 as a red ribbon round a candle; nobody knows when the orange arrived.

Which London theatre has cut a cake for its company every Epiphany since 1795, under actor Robert Baddeley's will?

Theatre Royal Drury Lane still spends Baddeley's £100 bequest on cake and punch; the ritual has lapsed only for war, renovations, Covid and, legend says, a visiting French troupe the fund refused to feed.

Which civil servant commissioned the first commercial Christmas card in 1843, designed by John Callcott Horsley?

Henry Cole had 2,050 cards printed in two batches that first year; one of the Horsley originals sold at auction in 2001 for a record £22,250.

Which Walthamstow boy band's 'Stay Another Day' beat Mariah Carey's festive single to 1994's Christmas number one?

East 17's only number one was written by Tony Mortimer about his brother Ollie's suicide and reworked into a love song; the band took its name from their home postcode.