The BIG delicious. Christmas quiz 2021

Print off the PDF version and hand it out to friends and family – don’t forget to remove the answers from the bottom of the page though!

Quiz questions

1.Who wrote the first ever monarch’s Christmas message for George V to read in 1932?
a) Aldous Huxley
b) JB Priestley
c) Rudyard Kipling
d) George Orwell

2. Which American president famously announced that he didn’t like broccoli (but he didn’t express an opinion about brussels sprouts).
a) George Washington
b) Richard Nixon
c) George HW Bush

3. Name four of Santa’s reindeer, excluding the newcomer Rudolph?

4. The Nutcracker ballet was based on Alexandre Dumas’ adaptation of a story by E Hoffmann – what was the original called?
a) The Magic of Drosselmeyer
b) The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
c) The Nutcracker and the Toy Soldiers

5. Who wanted the English to eat goose at Christmas to celebrate a great victory?
a) Winston Churchill
b) Elizabeth I
c) Henry V

6. What is the name of Ebenezer Scrooge’s late business partner in Charles Dickens’ story A Christmas Carol?

7.  During the Great Plague of London in 1665, who were thought to be protected against the disease?
a) Onion sellers
b) Rat catchers
c) Milkmaids
d) Brewers

8. According to the Whos, what was it about the Grinch’s heart that made him so mean?

9. What speed can a turkey fly at?
a) It can’t fly
b) 25 mph
c) 55 mph

10. What is the piece of flesh above a turkey’s beak called?
a) Wattle
b) Snood
c) Balaclava

11. According to the 19th century writer Sir Walter Scott, what did Scottish servants ask not to be given more than five times a week?
a) Haggis
b) Porridge
c) Salmon

12. Which one of these is said to bring bad luck?
a) Cutting a mince pie with a knife
b) Eating the last piece of Christmas cake
c) Biting the head off a gingerbread man first

13. It used to be traditional to hide a sixpence coin in the Christmas pud. After decimalisation in 1971, how much was it worth??

14. True or false: Christmas traditions such as carols, roast turkey and mince pies are relatively recent innovations, having been introduced by the Victorians?

15. What is a popular gift to give in China around Christmastime?
a) Apples
b) Mandarin oranges
c) Pomegranates

16. Who ate a Christmas dinner that included ‘an entrée of stewed penguin’s breasts and redcurrant jelly?
a) Captain Cook
b) Captain Scott
c) Captain Nemo

17. Which popular Christmas biscuit is Elizabeth I credited with inventing?

18. What is Henry V said to have eaten as part of his Christmas meal during the Siege of Rouen in 1418?
a) Walrus
b) Grey seal
c) Polar bear
d) Porpoise

19. True or false: the traditional image of Santa Claus, dressed in red and white, was created by the Coca-Cola company in an advert?

20. King Wenceslas looked out of his window on the Feast of Stephen (Boxing Day). Which country was Wenceslas king of?

Quiz answers

1. Rudyard Kipling  2. George HW Bush 3. Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder (or Donner) and Blitzen. 4. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King 5. Elizabeth I – as that was what she ate after she heard of the Armada’s defeat. 6. Jacob Marley  7. Onion sellers  8. It was two sizes too small.  9. 55 mph – but only for very short distances. 10. Snood  11. Salmon 12. Cutting a mince pie with a knife 13. 1⁄2 new pence  14. False: Samuel Pepys chronicles people coming to his door to sing to him and his wife at Christmas, he enjoys “a good turkey roasted for our supper” and he has mince pies (although they weren’t necessarily sweet).  15. Apples – the Chinese for ‘apple’ (pingguo) sounds like the Chinese word for Christmas Eve. 16. Captain Scott – although Captain Cook and the fictional Captain Nemo also ate penguin – Cook said it tasted like ox liver. 17. The gingerbread man (gingerbread existed but it’s said she wanted them shaped like men). 18. Porpoise  19. False. The advertising campaign was in 1931 but a red/white Santa had been used as early as 1881 in Harper’s Weekly magazine in the US.  20. Bohemia (now part of the modern Czech Republic).