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Hard Christmas Trivia Questions
The hard questions from our christmas set, 14 of them, each with the answer and an explanation below the game.
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Keys 1-4 pick an answer, Enter moves on. Nothing is saved to an account.
The hard round is mostly history: the year of the Christmas truce, the English ban on the feast, the origin of Boxing Day, the city where Messiah was first performed. These need actual knowledge rather than seasonal familiarity.
14 hard christmas trivia questions with answers
Who composed the ballet The Nutcracker?
Answer: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky It was poorly received at its 1892 premiere in St Petersburg.
The Christmas truce, when soldiers left their trenches to meet in no man's land, took place in which year?
Answer: 1914 It happened in the first winter of the First World War and was not repeated on the same scale.
Christmas festivities were banned in England during the rule of which figure?
Answer: Oliver Cromwell The Puritan-led Parliament outlawed the feast in the 1640s; it returned with the monarchy in 1660.
Who wrote the song White Christmas?
Answer: Irving Berlin Bing Crosby's recording of it became one of the best-selling singles ever made.
Krampus, the horned companion who punishes badly behaved children, comes from the folklore of which region?
Answer: The Alps Austrian and Bavarian towns still hold Krampus parades in early December.
Christmas became an official federal holiday in the United States in which decade?
Answer: The 1870s Congress made it a federal holiday in 1870, long after individual states had done so.
Good King Wenceslas, from the carol, actually ruled which territory?
Answer: Bohemia He was a tenth-century duke, not a king, and was canonised after his murder.
In the Netherlands, Sinterklaas traditionally brings gifts on the evening of which date?
Answer: 5 December Dutch families keep the main present-giving separate from Christmas Day itself.
The first commercial Christmas card was produced in which decade?
Answer: The 1840s Henry Cole commissioned it in London in 1843, the same year as A Christmas Carol.
Wigilia, a meat-free Christmas Eve supper with an odd number of dishes, is a tradition in which country?
Answer: Poland The meal traditionally begins when the first star is seen in the sky.
The most widely accepted explanation for the name Boxing Day involves what?
Answer: Boxes of alms and gifts given to the poor and to servants Church alms boxes were opened and distributed the day after Christmas.
Handel's Messiah, now a Christmas concert staple, was first performed in which city?
Answer: Dublin The 1742 premiere was a charity performance, and the work was written for Easter.
The song Jingle Bells is often said to have originally been written for which holiday?
Answer: Thanksgiving Its lyrics describe a sleigh ride and never mention Christmas at all.
Jolabokaflod, the Christmas book flood in which books are given and read on Christmas Eve, is a tradition of which country?
Answer: Iceland It grew from wartime paper rationing, when books were among the few goods not restricted.
Answer key
- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
- 1914
- Oliver Cromwell
- Irving Berlin
- The Alps
- The 1870s
- Bohemia
- 5 December
- The 1840s
- Poland
- Boxes of alms and gifts given to the poor and to servants
- Dublin
- Thanksgiving
- Iceland
How to play
- Pick a mode: multiple choice, true or false, a 60-second sprint, or the daily quiz.
- Answer with a tap, or press 1 to 4 on a keyboard. The right answer appears straight away with a line explaining it.
- Finish the round to see your score, copy the result grid, and step up a difficulty.
- Hosting a night? The full christmas list and a separate answer key are printed below, and the print layout drops the game and keeps the paper.
Not in a quiz mood?
The question games are a different kind of round: no right answers, just prompts you read out and argue about. Would You RatherNever Have I EverTruth or DareThis or That