Tizzabelle's 9 for 10 for Kids #4 Quiz

Answer: Sherlock Holmes

Santa Claus has many names around the world including Kris Kringle (Germany and Austria), St Nicholas, Pere Noel (France), Joulupukki (Finland) and Sinterklaas (the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg). Sherlock Holmes might have solved crimes over the festive season but his fame comes from being a fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

He was more at home in a cape and deerstalker hat than a red suit and white beard.

Answer: Trim

The modern tradition of having a Christmas tree is generally thought to have come from a German practice which can be traced back to the 16th century. Martin Luther is said to have placed lighted candles in an evergreen tree. A devotion to evergreen trees is a much older tradition with many civilisations, including the ancient Chinese and Egyptians using evergreen trees as a symbol of eternal life.

Answer: Ornaments

Ornaments such as tinsel, glass balls and candy canes are frequently used to decorate a tree for Christmas. Tinsel, that sparkly, shiny material often seen in Christmas trees, represents the icicles often seen in colder climes during winter. The usage of glass balls can be traced back to medieval plays in which apples decorated a tree. The apples were seen as the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. The traditional candy cane came to the modern world from 17th century Germany where they were used to remind children of the shepherds who came to see the baby Jesus.

Answer: Comet

Comet is just one of Santa's reindeer. Others in the original team are Blitzen, Cupid, Dancer, Dasher, Donner, Prancer and Vixen. The most famous is Rudolph with his shiny nose, but he only joined the team in 1939 in a book called 'Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer'.

Answer: Kissing

'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' was a number one hit for Jimmy Boyd. He was only 13 years old at the time of the hit. The song tells the tale of a child sneaking out of his bedroom and down the stairs, only to see his mother kissing Santa (who was most likely his father in a Santa suit!) The song began its life when commissioned by the store Saks Fifth Avenue who wanted to promote their store and its Christmas cards that year.

Answer: Icicles

Many countries such as New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and others celebrate Christmas in summer when snow and ice are rarely, if ever, seen. In both Southern and Northern Hemispheres though, Christmas lights denoting icicles are hung from eaves to adorn homes.

Answer: North Pole

Many stories, some dating back to the 1800s, have Santa living at the North Pole. This doesn't make too much sense though as the reindeer have to eat lichen and grasses. There is no land at the North Pole, so it makes better sense for Santa, Mrs Claus, the elves and reindeer to live on land. Several countries claim Santa as a resident including Canada, Sweden, Denmark (in Greenland) and Finland.

Answer: Gold

Along with gold, they also brought frankincense and myrrh. The last two of these substances are obtained from trees, being resins used for thousands of years as incense or for religious anointment. Myrrh and frankincense are both still used today in perfumes, aromatherapy and in products such as mouthwashes.

Answer: Santa's Little Helper

Santa's Little Helper first became part of the Simpsons family in 1989. Homer rescued the dog (after pleading from Bart) from a greyhound racing track and took him home as the family's present. A brown greyhound, he's often seen in small moments of the show but has had a starring role in a few episodes such as 'Two Dozen and One Greyhounds'. Snowball is the Simpsons' cat.

Answer: Stockings

The custom of hanging Christmas stockings is possibly derived from the story of St Nicholas. Three girls were living in poverty with their poor but proud father who despaired for their future. St Nicholas heard of the family and while they were sleeping, he threw three bags of gold into the home. One of them landed in a stocking hung up to dry.

Many people now use stockings as a symbol of this generosity, using 'stocking stuffers' to fill the stocking with smaller presents. In some countries it's traditional to give an orange for Christmas.

This is said to represent the gold St Nicholas gave the young girls.