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
   • It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
   • Joy to the World
   • Auld Lang Syne
2. What is the meaning of Auld Lang Syne?
   • Times Long Past
   • Happy New Year
   • Merry Christmas
   • Old language signs
3. Which beloved American singer introduced “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in the 1944 classic film “Meet Me in St. Louis?”
   • Peggy Lee
   • Doris Day
   • Judy Garland
   • Julie Andrews
4. 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
   • I’ll be Home for Christmas
   • Sleigh Ride
   • Deck the Halls
5. Which saint played a pivotal role in popularizing Christmas carols by starting Nativity plays in Italy in 1223?
   • St. Francis of Assisi
   • St. Patrick
   • St. Michael the Archangel
   • St. Jude
6. Which is not part of the English Christmas carol entitled “The12 Days of Christmas”?
   •  Five gold rings
   • Four calling birds
   • Three French wrens
   • Two turtle doves
7. Which story song began as a promotional gimmick for the Montgomery Ward department store in 1939?
   • Hark the Herald Angels Sing
   • Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town
   • Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
   • Frosty the Snowman
8. 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
   • Ariana Grande
   • Mariah Carey
   • Cher
9. 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
   • To avoid waking the animals asleep in the manger
   • The church bells were broken
   • The church organ was broken
10. Which Hanukkah song is about making and playing with a four-sided spinning top?
    • Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah
    • I Have a Little Dreidel
    • The Chanukah Song
    • Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages)
11. 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
    • Green slime sauce 
    • Poison sumac sauce
    • Arsenic sauce
12. 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
    • Jingle Bell Rock
    • Up on the Housetop
    • Jolly Old St. Nicholas
13. 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
    • I saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
    • Ding Dong Merrily on High
    • Here We Come A-Caroling
14. Which long-standing carol is based on a 10^th-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
    • Baby It’s Cold Outside
    • Good King Wenceslas
    • 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