Getting your questions ready
Getting your questions ready
Beat the crowd
9 questions No timer
97 free December Holiday trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
64 free December trivia questions with answers. These winter holiday trivia questions cover the whole December calendar, not just Christmas: the Hanukkah menorah and dreidel, the seven principles of Kwanzaa, St. Nicholas Day shoes, Krampus and the Icelandic Yule Lads, the winter solstice, Boxing Day, and the foods and songs that come with each of them. A round of trivia about December itself adds the month's name, birthstones and zodiac signs, the Geminid meteor shower, and the big December dates in history from the Boston Tea Party to Apollo 8. The mix runs from easy questions anyone at a holiday party can get (which reindeer has the red nose) to hard ones about the origins of Advent calendars, Christmas crackers and the Feast of the Seven Fishes, so it works as a family round or an office trivia night. Every answer has been checked against a real source and each question shows its citation, so you can settle the inevitable table argument on the spot.
30 of 97 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which European country originated the modern Christmas tree tradition in the 16th century?
Germany
The modern Christmas tree tradition arose in 16th-century Germany; Martin Luther is often credited with first adding lighted candles to an indoor evergreen.
Q 02Boxing Day, celebrated on December 26th, originated as a day for what purpose?
Tipping tradespeople and servants
Boxing Day has roots in the tradition of giving 'Christmas boxes' filled with money, food, or gifts to servants, tradespeople, and the needy as thanks for their service.
Q 03In Alpine folklore, which horned figure joins Saint Nicholas on 5 December to punish naughty children?
Krampus
While the saint hands out small gifts, his companion is said to deal with the naughty using birch rods; the evening is known as Krampusnacht.
Q 04Hanukkah begins on the 25th day of which month of the Hebrew calendar?
Kislev
Hanukkah begins on 25 Kislev; because the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, the festival falls anywhere from late November to late December on the civil calendar.
Q 05Which Swahili word for 'Unity' names the first principle of Kwanzaa?
Umoja
The principle calls for striving to maintain unity in the family, community, nation and race, and its candle is the first one lit.
Q 06Where and when did the Advent calendar tradition originate?
19th-century Germany
The Advent calendar tradition began in 19th-century Germany, initially with families marking chalk lines or lighting candles to count down to Christmas.
Q 07Kwanzaa was created in 1966 in the aftermath of which event?
The Watts riots
Kwanzaa was created in 1966 after the 1965 Watts riots in Los Angeles; its creator's stated aim was to give Black Americans a holiday celebrating their own history rather than imitating the dominant society's.
Q 08Who authored the classic holiday novella 'A Christmas Carol'?
Charles Dickens
The novella was published by Chapman & Hall in London, illustrated by John Leech, and Dickens divided it into five 'staves' rather than chapters.
Q 09Kissing under the mistletoe is first recorded as a popular custom among servants where and when?
England, 18th century
The custom is first recorded in 18th-century England, where it spread among servants; one version of the rule had a berry plucked for every kiss until the sprig was bare.
Q 10Which December event marks the shortest day and longest night in the Northern Hemisphere?
Winter Solstice
The Winter Solstice, typically occurring around December 21st or 22nd, marks the shortest day and longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and is celebrated by various cultures.
Q 11How many branches does a Hanukkah menorah (hanukkiah) typically have?
Nine
A hanukkiah has nine branches: one for each night of the festival plus a raised or offset holder for the helper candle used to kindle the others.
Q 12In Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas arrives each November by steamboat from which country?
Spain
Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat from Spain each November; he then rides a white horse over the rooftops, and older songs threatened to carry naughty children back to Spain in a sack.
Q 13Who is traditionally credited with inventing the Christmas cracker in 1847?
Tom Smith
London confectioner Tom Smith created the Christmas cracker in 1847, inspired by French paper-wrapped bonbons; the paper hats and jokes were later additions by his son Walter.
Q 21Which item is traditionally left in shoes or stockings on St. Nicholas Day in some European countries?
Small treats or coins
Children find small treats or coins in their shoes; the custom echoes the legend of Nicholas of Myra tossing money through a poor family's window, where it landed in shoes drying by the fire.
Q 22The Kwanzaa celebration lasts for how many days each year?
Seven
Seven days, ending on New Year's Day, with a candle on the kinara lit for each principle: three red, three green and a black one in the centre.
Q 23What is the name of the extra candle on a Hanukkah menorah that is used to light the others?
Shamash
Q 14In Catalonia, children feed and keep warm a hollow log before Christmas so that it will do what?
'Excrete' presents when beaten
The Tió de Nadal is covered with a blanket and, on Christmas Eve or Day, thumped with sticks while the family sings for it to deliver sweets and small gifts.
Q 15In which country did a 1974 'Kentucky for Christmas' campaign make fried chicken a popular Christmas dinner?
Japan
In Japan, KFC's 1974 'Kentucky for Christmas' campaign grew from Takeshi Okawara's 1970 'party barrel' idea at the country's first KFC, pitched as a stand-in for the American turkey dinner.
Q 16On what date is St. Nicholas Day traditionally observed in Western Christian countries?
December 6
St. Nicholas Day, also known as the Feast of St. Nicholas, is celebrated on December 6th in Western Christian countries, honoring the 4th-century bishop known for his generosity.
Q 17What is the four-sided spinning top, marked with Hebrew letters, that children play with during Hanukkah?
Dreidel
Dreidel letters are popularly read as an acronym for 'a great miracle happened there', though the game itself likely derives from the European teetotum.
Q 18Which of Kwanzaa's Seven Principles (Nguzo Saba) means collective work and responsibility?
Ujima
Ujima, the third principle, means collective work and responsibility: building and maintaining the community together and making our brothers' and sisters' problems our own.
Q 19How many days is the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah celebrated?
Eight
Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday that commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of a single day's oil lasting for eight.
Q 20What is the traditional name for the communal feast held on the sixth day of Kwanzaa?
Karamu
The Karamu, held on 31 December, the sixth day of Kwanzaa, gathers family and community for food, music and reflection before the final day of the celebration.
The shamash, Hebrew for 'helper' or 'servant', is the extra light used to kindle the others; it must sit higher or lower than the row it serves.
Q 24What is the name of the candle holder used in Kwanzaa celebrations?
Kinara
The kinara is the Kwanzaa candle holder; the first one was little more than a wooden log with holes drilled in it to hold the candles.
Q 25In which country was the Yule Goat once regarded as an invisible spirit that checked Christmas preparations were done right?
Sweden
Sweden's Julbocken appeared some time before Christmas to make sure the Yule preparations were done right; the goat remains a Christmas decoration there and across Scandinavia.
Q 26What traditional fried potato dish is often eaten during Hanukkah?
Latkes
Latkes, fried potato pancakes, recall the temple oil said to have burned far longer than its supply allowed; sufganiyot and Sephardic bimuelos are eaten for the same reason.
Q 27Which Christmas carol includes the lyrics 'Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh'?
Jingle Bells
'Jingle Bells' was copyrighted by James Lord Pierpont in 1857 under the title 'The One Horse Open Sleigh', and it was not originally written as a Christmas song.
Q 28How many Yule Lads come down from the mountains before Christmas in Icelandic folklore?
13
Thirteen Yule Lads (jólasveinar) arrive one per night over the 13 nights before Christmas, each named for his mischief, from Spoon-Licker to Door-Slammer; children leave shoes in the window for them to fill.
Q 29What is the official start date for the Kwanzaa celebration each year?
December 26
Kwanzaa is an annual cultural celebration that begins on December 26th and lasts through January 1st.
Q 30Hanukkah gelt given to children is most often sold in what form?
Foil-wrapped chocolate coins
Foil-wrapped chocolate coins replaced or supplemented real money in the 20th century; in 1958 the Bank of Israel even issued commemorative coins for use as gelt.