Holiday Music Quiz

Take our holiday music quiz featuring lighthearted trivia questions - and music and cultural history!

1. Which traditional Scottish tune is sung by the people of Bedford Falls at the end of the 1947 film, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
2. It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
3. Joy to the World
4. Auld Lang Syne
5. What is the meaning of Auld Lang Syne? Times Long Past
6. Happy New Year
7. Merry Christmas
8. Old language signs
9. Which beloved American singer introduced “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the 1944 classic film “Meet Me in St. Louis?” Peggy Lee
10. Doris Day
11. Judy Garland
12. Julie Andrews
13. What beloved Christmas tune is sung from the point of view of a soldier stationed overseas during World War II requesting snow, mistletoe, and presents “on” the tree? All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
14. I’ll be Home for Christmas
15. Sleigh Ride
16. Deck the Halls
17. Which saint played a pivotal role in popularizing Christmas carols by starting Nativity plays in Italy in 1223? St. Francis of Assisi
18. St. Patrick
19. St. Michael the Archangel
20. St. Jude
21. Which is not part of the English Christmas carol entitled “The12 Days of Christmas”?  Five gold rings
22. Four calling birds
23. Three French wrens
24. Two turtle doves
25. Which story song began as a promotional gimmick for the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939? Hark the Herald Angels Sing
26. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
27. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
28. Frosty the Snowman
29. Nicknamed “Queen of Christmas,” which musical artist holds the record for most weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for her holiday hit song entitled “All I Want for Christmas is You”? Gwen Stefani
30. Ariana Grande
31. Mariah Carey
32. Cher
33. Why did the song “Silent Night,” performed on Christmas Eve in a small town in Austria in 1818, purportedly reflect the silence of the night? To honor the town’s no-noise ordinance
34. To avoid waking the animals asleep in the manger
35. The church bells were broken
36. The church organ was broken
37. Which Hanukkah song is about making and playing with a four-sided spinning top? Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah
38. I Have a Little Dreidel
39. The Chanukah Song
40. Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)
41. In the song “You’re a Mean One Mr. Grinch,” the character is described as a sandwich with what type of sauce? Moldy barbecue sauce
42. Green slime sauce 
43. Poison sumac sauce
44. Arsenic sauce
45. Which song’s origin, attributed to the 1865 poem entitled “Lilly’s Secret” by Emily Huntington Miller, features requests such as “Johnny wants a pair of skates,” “Susy wants a dolly,” and “Nelly wants a storybook”?    Little Drummer Boy
46. Jingle Bell Rock
47. Up on the Housetop
48. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
49. Which holiday tune was the first song played in space in 1965 by astronauts Tom Stafford and Wally Schirra on harmonica and bells? Jingle Bells
50. I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
51. Ding Dong Merrily on High
52. Here We Come A-Caroling
53. Which long-standing carol is based on a 10th-century duke known for his generosity to the poor and tells a story of venturing out on a snowy day to bring food and firewood to a peasant? The Little Drummer Boy
54. Baby It’s Cold Outside
55. Good King Wenceslas
56. Winter Wonderland

Answer key:

1) D - Auld Lang Syne

2) A - Times Long Past

3) C - Judy Garland

4) B - I’ll be Home for Christmas

5) A - St. Francis of Assisi

6) C - Three French wrens

7) C - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

8) C - Mariah Carey

9) D - The church organ was broken

10) B - I Have a Little Dreidel

11) D - Arsenic sauce

12) D - Jolly Old St. Nicholas

13) A - Jingle Bells

14) C - Good King Wenceslas