Trivia questions (5 of 15)
- Multiple Choice
1. With what green plant are the halls to be decked in "Deck the Halls"?
FUN FACT
In "Deck the Halls" (1862), the halls should be decorated with holly. After that the song implores people to drink by saying "fill the mead cup, drain the barrel," but that was sanitized to "don we now our gay apparel" so children could sing it.
- Multiple Choice
2. What famous playwright uses the phrase, "God rest ye merry" in his plays "As You Like It" and "Romeo and Juliet"?
While William Shakespeare didn't write the carol "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen," he used similar phrases like "God rest you merry" demonstrating its common use as a 16th-century blessing meaning "May God grant you peace and happiness".
The carol itself is much older, with lyrics dating back centuries.
- Multiple Choice
3. What two words are used to describe the holy infant in "Silent Night"?
In "Silent Night", Jesus is described as "tender and mild." It was written in Salzburg, Austria in 1818 and was declared an intangible cultural heritage of the country by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2011, almost 200 years later.
- Multiple Choice
4. What sunny location is the Christmas song "Mele Kalikimaka" themed after, borrowing the language to say "Merry Christmas" in its title?
"Mele Kalikimaka" is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian transliteration of "Merry Christmas".
One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1950. It has been covered by many artists and used in several films, most memorably in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" (1989).
- Multiple Choice
5. What part of a home is mentioned in the title of this beloved Christmas carol?
"Up on the Housetop" is a story about Santa Claus arriving to deliver presents on Christmas Eve night. It was written in 1857 and is considered the first Christmas song to focus on Santa Claus himself.
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