A Wreath of Christmas Miscellany

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. Everyone knows that December 25 is Christmas Day, but do you know why? That's the date the Church decided on. That's the date of the Census in Bethlehem. That's the date Jesus was born. That's when the Angel Gabriel said it would be.

2. If you're like me, you've quit sending Christmas cards. I was always positive I'd left somebody off the list, so now I send e mails instead - and save a bundle on postage. Call me Scrooge! Who started this dreaded ritual, anyway? The U.S. Postal Service. W.C.T. Dobson, R.A. The British Association of Stationers. Queen Victoria.

3. Who introduced into England the custom of setting up and decorating a Christmas tree? The Druids. William the Conqueror, in 1066. Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria. The British Fir Tree Association.

4. December 26 is known as Boxing Day in the U.K. and throughout the British Commonwealth. Why? From 'dole boxes' placed in churches. All the Christmas decorations are taken down and put away in boxes. Fathers took their sons to boxing matches on the day following Christmas Day. The children throw their old toys out and put their new toys into their toy boxes.

5. We all love to sing carols at Christmas time. Do you know who produced the first printed collection of Christmas Carols? King Henry VIII Wynkyn de Worde Johann Sebastian Bach King Wenceslas

6. Wenceslas : did he actually exist? Yes No

7. Who started the custom of kissing under the mistletoe? Ugly women who never got kissed any other time of year The Druids. Those amorous Englishmen! Don Juan.

8. If you've ever been to England at Christmas time, you'll know that this is a popular British institution, especially for children. Punch and Judy show. Decorating graves for Christmas, to honour dead relatives. Gathering on the Village Green to "sing in Christmas". Pantomime.

9. It wouldn't be Christmas (for the children, anyway) without a visit from Santa, now would it? Who wrote the Christmas classic 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'? Charles Reade Washington Irving Clement Clark Moore Charles Dickens

10. Dylan Thomas wrote a Christmas classic. What is its title? The Little Drummer Boy The Littlest Shepherd A Child's Christmas in Wales Deck the Halls