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 22 December 2024, most of them Christmas-themed.

Round 1: Christmas winners and losers

1. What is this year’s Christmas #1?
2. Which athlete won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year award last week?
3. Which team are top of the Premier League this Christmas?
4. Name the Romanian Communist leader who was executed on Christmas Day 1989
5. Which comedian won “Strictly Come Dancing” last weekend with his professional dance partner Diane Buswell

Round 2: Merry Christmas in other languages

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

1. Feliz Navidad
2. Nollaig Shona
3. Glædelig Jul
4. Buon Natale
5. Hari Kirihimete

Round 3: Pot Luck

Every answer contains at least one word associated with Christmas

1. What type of pie is described by Wikipedia as “a savoury dish of cooked minced meat topped with mashed potato and baked”
2. Which Irish band had a 1990s hit with “Zombie”?
3. Who won the Oscar for Best Actress for her part in “The Piano” (1993)?
4. In the band Oasis, what is the name of Liam Gallagher’s brother?
5. Anatolia, or Asia Minor, makes up most of the land mass of which country?

Round 4: Music: Christmas #1s

You will hear clips from Christmas #1s from the 1950s to the 1990s. Name the act

1. 1956
2. 1968
3. 1973
4. 1982
5. 1992

Round 5: Name the Christmas Movie

[Pictures from Christmas Movies]

End of Part One

Round 6: Santa

1. What is the state capital of New Mexico?
2. “Santa” is a variety of which salad fruit?
3. The Old Mission in which California city is known as “Queen of the Missions”?
4. Santa’s Little Helper is the pet dog of which cartoon family?
5. Which traditional Neapolitan song was made famous by Enrico Caruso (and was covered by Elvis Presley in “Viva Las Vegas”)?

Round 7: Christmas in numbers

1. How many miles is it from Bethlehem to Nazareth (allow 10 miles either way)?
2. According to the New Testament, John the Baptist is how many months older than Jesus?
3. The first chapter of Matthew’s Gospel lists how many generations from Abraham to Jesus?
4. In “The 12 Days of Christmas”, how many Lords are Leaping?
5. And how many Ladies are Dancing?

Round 8: Geography

Questions marked ** are NOT Christmas Questions

1. Name any of the countries which contain any part of the region known as Lapland?
2. What is the largest country in the world that does not contain any rivers? **
3. What is the largest landlocked country in the world? **
4. In which city do the Blue Nile and White Mile meet to form the Nile? **
5. Flying Fish Cove is the capital of which island, an external Australian territory?

Round 9: Music: More Christmas #1s

You will hear clips from Christmas #1s from the 1980s to the 2020s. Name the act

1. 1987
2. 1994
3. 2002
4. 2019
5. 2023

Round 10: A final Christmas round

1. TINSEL THING is an anagram of which Christmas carol?
2. “Christmas” was a #1 album in 2011, 2021, 2023 and 2024 for which Canadian crooner?
3. Olibanum is another name for what aromatic resin?
4. BOG CRINKLE JELL is an anagram of which Christmas song?
5. In which CS Lewis book is Narnia under a spell where it’s always winter but never Christmas?

Tie-break Question

Divide by 5 the year that Elvis Presley was born