Christmas song trivia

Christmas song trivia questions and answers

24 questions. Tap a question’s answer line to see it.

1. The first gift in 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is a bird perched in a pear tree. What bird is it?

   1. A partridge
   2. A turtle dove
   3. A swan
   4. A goose
   Show answer

   A. A partridge The song's words first appeared in print around 1780, in a London children's book called 'Mirth Without Mischief.'

2. In the original folk lyrics of 'Shchedryk,' the song behind 'Carol of the Bells,' which bird brings news of a good year?

   1. A robin
   2. A dove
   3. A swallow
   4. A stork
   Show answer

   C. A swallow Mykola Leontovych's choral version of the folk song premiered at the Kyiv Philharmonic in December 1916.

3. According to a surviving 1857 playbill, 'Jingle Bells' had its first public performance in which American city?

   1. Boston
   2. Savannah
   3. Philadelphia
   4. New York
   Show answer

   A. Boston It debuted at Ordway Hall in September 1857 and only became a Christmas standard decades later.

4. Who wrote 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree,' the holiday hit recorded by Brenda Lee?

   1. Irving Berlin
   2. Johnny Mercer
   3. Johnny Marks
   4. Meredith Willson
   Show answer

   C. Johnny Marks Marks also wrote 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' and 'A Holly Jolly Christmas.'

5. Which jazz vocalist teamed up with lyricist Bob Wells to write 'The Christmas Song'?

   1. Sammy Cahn
   2. Mel Tormé
   3. Hoagy Carmichael
   4. Johnny Mercer
   Show answer

   B. Mel Tormé Tormé recalled that he and Wells finished the song in about 40 minutes during a hot July in 1945.

6. How old was Brenda Lee when she recorded 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' in 1958?

   1. 16
   2. 19
   3. 13
   4. 10
   Show answer

   C. 13 The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in December 2023, 65 years after its debut.

7. The tune of 'Carol of the Bells' comes from 'Shchedryk,' a folk song arranged in 1916 by a composer from which country?

   1. Ukraine
   2. Poland
   3. Hungary
   4. Romania
   Show answer

   A. Ukraine American choir director Peter Wilhousky later wrote the English words after the melody reminded him of bells.

8. The single 'Last Christmas' came out in December 1984. Which English pop duo performed it?

   1. Eurythmics
   2. Tears for Fears
   3. Pet Shop Boys
   4. Wham!
   Show answer

   D. Wham! Wham! member George Michael wrote and produced the song himself.

9. In 'The Christmas Song,' what is roasting on an open fire?

   1. Marshmallows
   2. Chestnuts
   3. Apples
   4. Walnuts
   Show answer

   B. Chestnuts The song's original subtitle was actually 'Merry Christmas to You.'

10. What does 'my true love' give on the fifth day of 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'?

    1. Five swans a-swimming
    2. Five gold rings
    3. Five calling birds
    4. Five French hens
    Show answer

    B. Five gold rings In North America the line is often sung as 'five golden rings' instead of the older 'five gold rings.'

11. Bing Crosby sang 'White Christmas' on screen in which 1942 movie musical?

    1. Holiday Inn
    2. White Christmas
    3. The Bells of St. Mary's
    4. Going My Way
    Show answer

    A. Holiday Inn The song has been recorded in more than 500 versions since Crosby's 1942 release.

12. The carol 'Silent Night' was first performed on December 24, 1818, in St. Nicholas church in which Austrian town?

    1. Innsbruck
    2. Vienna
    3. Oberndorf
    4. Salzburg
    Show answer

    C. Oberndorf That church no longer exists; the Silent Night Memorial Chapel now stands on the site in Oberndorf.

13. Before 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' in 2019, which 1958 novelty record was the last holiday song to top the Billboard Hot 100?

    1. A Holly Jolly Christmas
    2. White Christmas
    3. The Chipmunk Song
    4. Jingle Bell Rock
    Show answer

    C. The Chipmunk Song Sixty-one years passed between the two holiday chart-toppers.

14. Who composed the melody of 'Silent Night' in 1818, setting a poem by the priest Joseph Mohr to music?

    1. Franz Schubert
    2. Anton Bruckner
    3. Franz Xaver Gruber
    4. Michael Haydn
    Show answer

    C. Franz Xaver Gruber Gruber wrote the tune in the Arnsdorf schoolhouse on Christmas Eve, the same day the carol premiered.

15. Which instrument accompanied the very first performance of 'Silent Night' on Christmas Eve 1818?

    1. Guitar
    2. Organ
    3. Piano
    4. Violin
    Show answer

    A. Guitar Joseph Mohr, who wrote the words, played the guitar himself and sang the tenor part at the premiere.

16. Which charity single kept Wham!'s 'Last Christmas' off the top of the UK chart at Christmas 1984?

    1. Merry Christmas Everyone
    2. Mistletoe and Wine
    3. We Are the World
    4. Do They Know It's Christmas?
    Show answer

    D. Do They Know It's Christmas? 'Last Christmas' finally reached No. 1 in the UK on New Year's Day 2021, 36 years after its release.

17. 'White Christmas,' made famous by Bing Crosby, was written by which American songwriter?

    1. Richard Rodgers
    2. George Gershwin
    3. Cole Porter
    4. Irving Berlin
    Show answer

    D. Irving Berlin Berlin recalled writing it in two brief sessions, saying that was fast for a song.

18. Which 'singing cowboy' turned 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' into a hit record in 1949?

    1. Eddy Arnold
    2. Gene Autry
    3. Roy Rogers
    4. Tex Ritter
    Show answer

    B. Gene Autry Autry cut it for Columbia Records in Hollywood on June 27, 1949, and introduced it at Madison Square Garden.

19. Which artist wrote the 1970 bilingual holiday song 'Feliz Navidad' and was the first to record it?

    1. Carlos Santana
    2. Trini Lopez
    3. Julio Iglesias
    4. José Feliciano
    Show answer

    D. José Feliciano The Spanish title translates to 'Merry Christmas'; RCA Victor released the single in November 1970.

20. Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' comes from her album 'Merry Christmas,' released in what year?

    1. 1989
    2. 1997
    3. 1994
    4. 2001
    Show answer

    C. 1994 Twenty-five years after its release, the song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in December 2019.

21. Under what title was the song we now call 'Jingle Bells' first performed in 1857?

    1. One Horse Open Sleigh
    2. The Merry Sleigh Ride
    3. Over the Fields We Go
    4. Dashing Through the Snow
    Show answer

    A. One Horse Open Sleigh Songwriter James Lord Pierpont re-copyrighted it in 1859 as 'Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh.'

22. 'Jingle Bell Rock' was first released in 1957. Which singer recorded that original version?

    1. Elvis Presley
    2. Bobby Helms
    3. Bill Haley
    4. Buddy Holly
    Show answer

    B. Bobby Helms Decca Records released Helms's original single in the fall of 1957.

23. In 1946, which singer and his trio were the first to record 'The Christmas Song'?

    1. Dean Martin
    2. Nat King Cole
    3. Bing Crosby
    4. Frank Sinatra
    Show answer

    B. Nat King Cole Cole recorded the song four times; his 1961 version is generally regarded as the definitive one.

24. During a December 1965 prank on Mission Control, astronauts on which NASA mission played 'Jingle Bells' with a harmonica and sleigh bells?

    1. Gemini 6A
    2. Apollo 8
    3. Mercury-Atlas 9
    4. Gemini 12
    Show answer

    A. Gemini 6A Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford pretended they had spotted a UFO, then broadcast the song on a harmonica and miniature sleigh bells.