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Hard Christmas quiz: 20 trivia questions for adults
20 hard Christmas questions for adults: Saturnalia, Thomas Nast, Bach, the Mari Lwyd and the year Christmas became a US holiday.
Hard 20 questions 30 s each · about 15 min Checked against two sources
Christmas trivia for adults who already know Rudolph and Scrooge. This difficult Christmas quiz asks who really banned Christmas in the 1640s, which month Let It Snow was written in and where a horse's skull goes door to door in December. Run it as the last round of a Christmas pub quiz or after dinner at the office party; twenty questions take about 15 minutes.
How to run it
- Play in teams of three or four. Pairs run out of guesses on this one, and a table can argue a hard question out in 30 seconds.
- Question 9 is the Cromwell trap. Let the room commit before you reveal it, then read out the explanation.
- Question 20 is the tie-breaker. If two teams finish level, the team that picked the closest year wins.
Questions and answers
1The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree stands in which US city?Easy
- AChicago
- BWashington DC
- CBoston
- DNew York
Reveal answer
D. New York
The first tree went up in 1931, put up by construction workers on the building site. Today's Norway spruce carries about 50,000 LED lights and a Swarovski crystal star.
2Santa Claus, famous for answering children's letters, is a town in which US state?Medium
- AAlaska
- BIndiana
- CGeorgia
- DMinnesota
Reveal answer
B. Indiana
Settlers wanted Santa Fe, but another Indiana town had it, so the post office opened as Santa Claus in 1856. Volunteers still answer thousands of letters to Santa every December.
3Counting every repeat, how many gifts are given in The Twelve Days of Christmas?Hard
- A78
- B144
- C364
- D365
Reveal answer
C. 364
The twelfth day alone brings 78 gifts. Add every earlier day and the true love has sent 364, one short of a full year.
4Which fish do many Czech families keep in the bath before Christmas?Medium
- ACarp
- BTrout
- CPike
- DSalmon
Reveal answer
A. Carp
Live carp are sold from street tanks in December, and fried carp with potato salad is the Christmas Eve meal. Some families keep a scale in their wallet for luck.
5Saturnalia, a midwinter festival of feasting and gifts, belonged to which people?Easy
- AThe Romans
- BThe Greeks
- CThe Egyptians
- DThe Vikings
Reveal answer
A. The Romans
It began on 17 December and grew to seven days. Work stopped, slaves were served by their masters, and candles and small wax figures were given as presents.
6Which cartoonist drew the Santa Claus pictures in Harper's Weekly from 1863?Hard
- ANorman Rockwell
- BThomas Nast
- CWinslow Homer
- DCharles Dana Gibson
Reveal answer
B. Thomas Nast
His first Santa, in the 3 January 1863 issue, handed out gifts in a Union army camp. Today's Santa still rests on those drawings and on the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas.
7Printed Advent calendars with little doors first went on sale in which country?Medium
- AAustria
- BSweden
- CSwitzerland
- DGermany
Reveal answer
D. Germany
German Protestants counted down to Christmas with chalk marks and candles. Munich publisher Gerhard Lang is credited with adding the little doors in the 1920s.
8Who composed the Christmas Oratorio, written in Leipzig in 1734?Hard
- AHandel
- BVivaldi
- CHaydn
- DBach
Reveal answer
D. Bach
It is six cantatas, one for each feast day from Christmas Day to Epiphany, sung in turn at the St Thomas and St Nicholas churches. Bach reused music from his earlier secular cantatas.
9Who banned Christmas celebrations in England in the 1640s?Medium
- AParliament
- BKing Charles I
- CThe Church of England
- DThe Lord Mayor of London
Reveal answer
A. Parliament
Oliver Cromwell gets the blame, but Parliament passed the ordinances in 1644 and 1647, years before he became Lord Protector. Christmas came back with Charles II in 1660.
10Which spirit is poured over a Christmas pudding and set alight?Easy
- AGin
- BBrandy
- CVodka
- DWhisky
Reveal answer
B. Brandy
Some families use rum instead. Many make the pudding weeks ahead on Stir-up Sunday, a name taken from the opening words of that day's prayer in the Book of Common Prayer.
11Who painted the Santa Claus in Coca-Cola's adverts from 1931?Hard
- ANorman Rockwell
- BJ. C. Leyendecker
- CHaddon Sundblom
- DN. C. Wyeth
Reveal answer
C. Haddon Sundblom
Sundblom painted Santa for Coca-Cola until 1964, with his friend Lou Prentice as the first model. Santa already wore red before the adverts; Coca-Cola did not invent the suit.
12The annual Carols in the Domain concert is held in which Australian city?Medium
- AMelbourne
- BBrisbane
- CAdelaide
- DSydney
Reveal answer
D. Sydney
It began in 1983 and is free to attend, filling the Domain parkland in central Sydney. Melbourne's Carols by Candlelight is the other big Christmas Eve concert.
13The Mari Lwyd, a horse's skull carried door to door, comes from which country?Hard
- AIreland
- BScotland
- CWales
- DIceland
Reveal answer
C. Wales
The skull is dressed in ribbons and a white sheet. At each door the party and the household trade sung verses, the pwnco, until the house gives in and lets them in.
14St Nicholas was bishop of Myra, a city in which modern country?Medium
- AGreece
- BTurkey
- CSyria
- DItaly
Reveal answer
B. Turkey
Myra's ruins lie by the town of Demre on Turkey's south coast. In 1087 sailors from Bari carried his remains off to Italy, where they still rest.
15Which Mexican city holds the Night of the Radishes every 23 December?Hard
- AOaxaca
- BGuadalajara
- CPuebla
- DMerida
Reveal answer
A. Oaxaca
Carvers turn giant radishes into nativity scenes and moments from Mexican history for a contest in the main square. The city made it a yearly contest in 1897.
5 more questions in the full pack. Play all 20 live, free.
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Questions about this template
How hard is this Christmas quiz?
Hard means harder, not rude. Four questions are warm-ups, eight are medium and eight are hard, mixing US, British, Australian and European traditions with music and history. Every answer is checked against two sources, and each one comes with a short explanation to settle arguments at the table.
Can I run it live at a party or in the pub?
Yes. Start the quiz and put the PIN or QR code on a screen. Teams answer on their phones, the leaderboard updates after every question, and quick correct answers earn a speed bonus. The Free plan takes up to 100 people in a session.
Is there an app for the players to install?
No. Players scan the code or type the link, enter the PIN and a team name, and play in the browser. Nobody needs an account except the host.
Can I change the questions or make it easier?
Yes. Use this template to make your own copy, then swap any question for one of your own, cut the hardest ones, or change the points and timer before you go live.
Sources
Every answer shown here was checked against two sources, listed below. Links last checked 4 November 2026.
- Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- rockefellercenter.comrockefellercenter.com
- Santa Claus, Indiana - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- britannica.combritannica.com
- The Twelve Days of Christmas (song) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- The PNC Christmas Price Indexpnc.com
- Christmas Eve - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- Czech Christmas Traditions: Nativity Scenes, Superstitions and Carp | VisitCzechiavisitczechia.com
- Saturnalia - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- britannica.combritannica.com
- Thomas Nast - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- britannica.combritannica.com
- Advent calendar - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- britannica.combritannica.com
- Christmas Oratorio - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- britannica.combritannica.com
- Christmas controversies - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- historicengland.org.ukhistoricengland.org.uk
- Christmas pudding - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- The Serving of a Christmas pudding | Addey, Wilfrid R. | V&A Explore The Collectionscollections.vam.ac.uk
- Haddon Sundblom - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- Haddon Sundblom and the Coca-Cola Santascoca-colacompany.com
- Carols in the Domain - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- Christmas Events in Sydney 2025 | Sydney.comsydney.com
- Mari Lwyd - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- Winter Folklore and Tradition: The Mari Lwyd | Museum Walesmuseum.wales
- Myra - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- britannica.combritannica.com
- Night of the Radishes - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
- Why Radish Carving Has Become a Popular Holiday Event in Oaxacasmithsonianmag.com
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