Since September I have been hosting quiz nights on Sundays at a local pub, as explained in this piece. Here’s a record of the 10 rounds of questions for the quiz on Sunday 15 December 2024.

Round 1: Pot Luck with a Christmas theme

1. According to the New Testament, in which city was Jesus born?
2. Viscum Album is the name of which seasonally appropriate parasitic shrub?
3. In “A Christmas Carol”, what is Scrooge’s first name?
4. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the President of which country?
5. In the 12 Days of Christmas, how many presents are given on the 12th Day? (1 + 2 + 3 … + 12)

Round 2: Merry Christmas in other languages

Here is the phrase “Merry Christmas” from 5 other languages. Name each language.

1. Joyeux Noël
2. Vesela Koleda
3. God Jul
4. Frohe Weinachten
5. Mele Kalikimaka

Round 3: Did they have a Christmas #1?

For each question pick the act that has had at least one Christmas #1 (that is, a song that was a UK #1 on Christmas Day)

1. The Beatles / The Rolling Stones
2. Take That / East 17
3. Girls Aloud / One Direction
4. Boyzone / Westlife
5. Mariah Carey / Whitney Houston

Round 4: Horror Movie Villains

Name the movie, or franchise, that features the following baddies:

1. Pennywise the clown
2. Leatherface
3. Michael Myers
4. Freddy Krueger
5. Ghostface

Round 5: Logos, something beginning with M

[5 Logos from companies beginning with M]

End of Part One

Round 6: Christmas food in Latin

Here are the Latin names for five things that you might be eating this Christmas. How are they usually known?

1. Meleagris gallopavo
2. Brassica oleracea
3. Vaccinium macrocarpon
4. Salvia officinalis et Allium cepa
5. Porcos in stragulum

Round 7: LAND-less countries

There are 10 countries that do not contain any of the letters of the word LAND. One point for each, up to a maximum of 5 points.

Round 8: Only One Olympic Medal

Each of these countries has won only one Olympic medal

• Cape Verde
• Turkmenistan
• Montenegro
• Togo
• Gabon

Match the country with the sport that the medal was won in

• Weightlifting
• Handball
• Taekwondo
• Boxing
• Canoeing

Round 9: Christmas Stuck at 2

The following songs were all Stuck at #2 in the chart in the years shown. Which songs kept them off the top?

1. “Last Christmas”, Wham! (1984)
2. “Fairytale of New York”, The Pogues featuring Kirsty McColl (1987)
3. “I Believe in Father Christmas”, Greg Lake (1975)
4. “All I Want for Christmas is You”, Mariah Carey (1994)
5. “Hallelujah”, Jeff Buckley (2008)

Round 10: Have a guess

1. Which ancient British queen is believed to be buried under Kings Cross Station?
2. Which Canadian ice hockey player was nicknamed “The Great One”
3. Greebo is the name of a cat in which Terry Pratchett book series?
4. The Trompowsky Attack is an opening series of moves in what board game?
5. What type of creature is a Black Noddy?

Tie-break Question

If you add up the first 12 prime numbers, what number do you get? (Remember, 1 is not a prime number.)