Know your reindeer

1

• Know your reindeer
•                                 
• Which of these names does NOT belong to one of
  Santa's reindeer?
• A) CometB) PrancerC) BlitzenD) Klaxon

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2. Planting kisses under kissing plant
                                                  
                                                  
               At Christmas, it is traditional to
exchange kisses beneath a sprig of which
plant? A) IvyB) YewC) HollyD) Mistletoe
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3. A web not for browsing
                               In the Ukraine,
what does it mean if you find a spider web in the
house on Christmas morning? A) Good luckB)
Misfortune will strike in the coming yearC) The
winter will be unusually coldD) Your house needs
cleaning!
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4. The prize is in the pudding
                                                  
                                            
                                   In many
households, part of the fun of eating Christmas
pudding is finding a trinket that predicts your
fortune for the coming year. For instance,
finding a coin means you will become wealthy.
What will you be if you find a button? A) PoorB)
FamousC) A bachelorD) Called away on a trip
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5. That's frumenty for you
                                                  
                 If you were given some frumenty
at a Medieval Christmas party, what would you
probably do with it? A) Eat itB) Burn itC) Put
it in your sweetheart's hairD) Use it to polish
your boots
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6. Second verse                        
                                Many of us are
quite familiar with the first verses of the
traditional Christmas carols, but how well do you
know the rest of the lyrics? For instance, what
is the first line of the second verse of Angels
from the Realms of Glory? A) "Christ by highest
heav'n adorèd"B) "Shepherds in the fields
abiding"C) "Shepherds why this jubilee?"D) "Don
we now our gay apparel"
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7. No name for a king
                                                  
                                                  
                      Which of the following
names does NOT belong one of the Three Kings? A)
CasparB) BalthazarC) TeleostD) Melchior
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8. Ho-ho-ho, Watson
                               One of the
adventures of Sherlock Holmes takes place during
the Christmas season. Which of these does the
tale hinge upon? A) A burglar disguised as Father
ChristmasB) A blue diamond found in a gooseC) A
cat trapped in an organ pipeD) A poisoned flask
of Napoleon brandy
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9. Man of letters                        
             Which well-known author of fantasy
fiction also created a book called The Father
Christmas Letters? A) Lewis CarrollB) J.R.R.
TolkienC) E. NesbitD) C.S. Lewis
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• 10. How to build a goat
•                                                 
   
• In Sweden, a common Christmas decoration is the
  Julbukk, a small figurine of a goat. Of what
  material is it usually made?
• A) CandyB) StrawC) UraniumD) Fir wood

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11. Feeding the wren
                                      What is the
Irish custom of "feeding the wren" or "hunting
the wren" on December 26? A) Taking one's in-laws
out to dinnerB) Carrying a wren door to door, to
collect money for charityC) Leaving a basket of
cakes at the door for passers-byD) Putting out
suet and seeds for the wild birds
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12.The Nutcracker's enemy
                                                 I
n Tchaikovsky's ballet "The Nutcracker", who is
the nutcracker's main enemy? A) A girl called
ClaraB) The King of the MiceC) Dr. AlmondD)
Drosselmeyer the magician
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A klaxon is actually a powerful electric horn.
Its name comes from a German word meaning
"shriek".
14
In ancient Scandinavia, mistletoe was associated
with peace and friendship. That may account for
the custom of "kissing beneath the mistletoe".
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There once lived a woman so poor, says a
Ukrainian folk tale, that she could not afford
Christmas decorations for her family. One
Christmas morning, she awoke to find that spiders
had trimmed her children's tree with their webs.
When the morning sun shone on them, the webs
turned to silver and gold. An artificial spider
and web are often included in the decorations on
Ukrainian Christmas trees.
16
A button means you will be a bachelor. A ring
means you will get married while a thimble
predicts spinsterhood. The idea of hiding
something in the pudding comes from the tradition
in the Middle Ages of hiding a bean in a cake
that was served on Twelfth Night. Whoever found
the bean became "king" for the rest of the night.
17
Frumenty was a spiced porridge, enjoyed by both
rich and poor. It was a forerunner of modern
Christmas puddings. It is linked in legend to the
Celtic god Dagda, who stirred a porridge made up
of all the good things of the earth.
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Shepards in the fields abiding. The other
suggested lines come from (a) Hark, the Herald
Angels Sing, (c) Angels We Have Heard On High and
(d) Deck the Halls. The words to Angels from the
Realms of Glory were written by Scottish
journalist and poet James Montgomery (1771-1854).
Montgomery was a supporter of parliamentary
reform and a prolific writer. About 100 of his
hymns are still in use.
19
A teleost is actually a fish. The word refers to
any member of the large group that includes eel,
salmon and plaice. The names of the wise men,
with their places of origin, their stations in
life, and even their number, come from legend and
story, not from strictly religious tradition. One
historical source gives them the Persian names
Hormizdah, Yazdegerd and Perozadh.
20
In "The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle" Holmes
manages to recover the diamond from the goose
but, in the spirit of the Christmas season,
allows the repentant thief to go free - on the
condition that he leave England for ever.
21
The Father Christmas Letters consists of letters
written to the Tolkien children by Father
Christmas. It was published in 1976. The
illustrated letters describe adventures and
events at the North Pole.
22
Scandinavian Christmas festivities feature a
variety of straw decorations in the form of
stars, angels, hearts and other shapes, as well
as the Julbukk.
23
One explanation for this St. Stephen's day custom
refers to a legend in which the saint was given
away by a chattering wren while hiding from his
enemies. Children cage the wren to help it do
penance for this misdeed. Often the children
carry a long pole with a holly bush at the top -
which is supposed to hide a captured wren. An
artificial wren may also be used.
24
The King of the Mice, usually represented with
seven heads, leads his troops against the
nutcracker's toy soldiers. He loses the battle
when Clara, the heroine, stuns him with a shoe.