How The Grinch Stole Vowels Trivia Quiz

Answer: Advent

From the Latin "adventus", Advent means "coming or arrival". During the Middle Ages, Advent was a period of fasting; in modern times it is the season on the Christian calendar during which followers are to prepare themselves for Christ's coming. At worship an Advent wreath with at least four candles, one for each week of the season, is displayed. One candle is lit the first week, and an additional candle is lit each following week until all four candles glow.

The burning candles represent the light of God.

Answer: Cookie

Did you know that cookies originated in the Persian Empire in the 600s? There had been similarly baked items before that - probably as long as baking as been in existence - but the main difference was the addition of sugar, which was used in the region by then.

The Muslim conquest of Spain spread the recipe for the new food into Europe, where it was commonly eaten by the 1300s. The American word "cookie" probably came from the Dutch "koekje". Of course, there are different words used in different places.

In the UK a cookie is a biscuit, especially if it is crispy, while in Scotland it is a plain bun, but there are many types of cookies with many different names.

Answer: Icicle

Icicles are formed when dripping water freezes. It may be a bit puzzling as to why people enjoy decorating with glass or plastic icicles at Christmas, since there were obviously no icicles present at the first one and many people around the globe suffer through sweltering summer heat at Christmas! Some sources claim that Charles Dickens is the reason. From 1550-1850 England was in a mini Ice Age.

When he wrote stories like "A Christmas Carol", he included descriptions of lots of snow and ice.

Other sources claim that the musical "White Christmas" (1954) makes people think that Christmas just isn't Christmas without snow! And - don't forget - Santa does live at the North Pole, where there is plenty of snow and ice!

Answer: Tinsel

Tinsel was originally thin strips of beaten silver; aluminum was then used on trees, but was discontinued during WWI. Then lead foil (Yikes!) became popular because it did not tarnish. There are many explanations that explain why tinsel is put on the Christmas tree.

Some say that it made the tree brighter as it reflected the light put out by candles. Others say that it represents the sky of Bethlehem when Christ was born. There is an Eastern European folktale that tells of a spider decorating a Christmas tree with its web, thus creating nature's tinsel.

It was considered to be good luck to find a spider web on one's tree.

Answer: Yuletide

Although people may think that Yuletide is the same as Christmas - and the terms are used much the same way these days - it really didn't start out that way. Yule was a Norse celebration that took place during the winter solstice. It was a time of feasting and singing, and many traditions that are still celebrated, such as lighting the Yule log, making evergreen wreaths, and even decorating evergreen trees took place.

When the Norsemen were converted to Christianity, they retained many of their customs, but added to them the belief that the season was to celebrate Christ's birthday.

Answer: Dreidel

A dreidel is a spinning top with four sides. Each side is marked with a letter from the Hebrew alphabet that stands for either "nothing", "all", "half", or "put in". You see, a dreidel was used in a gambling game. But the letters also represent the phrase, "a great miracle happened here"; this refers to the oil that burned for eight days as the Jews were rebuilding the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

The miracle is celebrated during the Festival of Lights, which is also called Hanukkah.

Answer: Package

Although people around the world may open their presents at different times - in the United States its done generally on December 24 or 25 and those who celebrate St. Nicholas Day may open packages on December 5 or 6 - giving people wrapped packages is a very old tradition that goes back at least to the ancient Roman Saturnalia.

The Wise Men also brought packages of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the Baby Jesus, and Christians believe that exchanging gifts is symbolic of those gifts given at the first Christmas.

Answer: Nativity

Many people enjoy setting up a nativity scene or creche during the Christmas holiday. St. Francis of Assisi arranged the first nativity in 1223; it was a living one, as he tried to make Jesus the focus of the season. He believed that people were becoming too materialistic. Today there are many versions that include figures of the holy family, animals, shepherds, wise men, and a host of others.

Answer: Goose

Goose has been the centerpiece of a favorite holiday meal goings all the way back to festivals held by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It was a common bird, easy to raise, and tasted better than other barnyard birds. In addition, it got fatter after harvest because it would eat all of the grain that had been scattered about, which was otherwise unusable - and fattened up just in time for the holidays.

Answer: Kinara

African and African American cultures celebrate a holiday called Kwanzaa from December 26 to January 1. Central to the celebration is the kinara, a candle holder that has seven candles. The middle candle is black, while the three candles to the right are green, and the three candles to the left are red.

The black candle is lit every night, and then the new candles lit are alternated between the red and green ones. This custom is a reminder of the seven principles of Kwanzaa, which include unity, creativity, and remembering culture, customs, and history.