Merry Xmas everybody! It's all over bar the shouting here. We're bout to take a break from eating and watch Donald Duck so here's the Christmas quiz to keep you busy for a while:
In which Christmas song can you find the words “Everyone dancing merrily in the new old-fashioned way”?
What is wassailing?
Before being connected with Christmas, what was Yule?
What is the name of the last ghost that visits Scrooge in A Christmas Carol?
What is Frosty the Snowman’s nose made out of?
Among Christians who lived in the East when was Christmas originally celebrated?
In what century was Christmas first written as Xmas?
What is the Capital of Christmas Island?
What does Santa ride on in Finland?
According to the Christmas song, what did my true love give to me on the eighth day of Christmas?
In which direction should you stir the Christmas pudding mix if you want to avoid bad luck, clockwise or anticlockwise?
Apart from being the world’s largest, what was unusual about the snowman named Olympia?
Under which zodiac sign are you born if your birthday is December 25th?
What popular Christmas song did Eartha Kitt record in 1953?
The Grinch is as cuddly as a what?
Are Santa’s reindeer male or female?
In Japan, Santa is said to live on the moon. True or false?
In the song Jingle Bells who was seated by my side?
Which American president banned Christmas trees from the White House?
In what decade did Coca-Cola start using Santa Clause in adverts?
I’ll bet you didn’t know …. (and maybe you’d rather not)
Caga Tío (the shitting log) is an integral part of a Catalonian Christmas. Starting December 8, children feed a log of wood every evening with morsels of food and cover it with a blanket to keep it warm. On Christmas Eve they leave the log alone and go to another room and pray for a lot of presents. On returning, they sing songs to the log while beating the living daylights out of it with big sticks and telling it to “shit”. The bewildered log obliges with sweets, nuts, small toys and the Catalonian delicacy Turron nougat. Believe me, it’s a sight to behold!
Here is one of their songs (translated to English) for you to enjoy and get you into the spirit of Christmas:
Shit Tió,
Hazlenuts and nougats,
Don’t shit herrings,
they are too salty,
they are too salty.
Shit nougat,
it tastes better,
Shit tió,
almonds and nougat,
and if you don’t want to shit
I’ll hit you with my stick!
Shit tió!