Christmas Quiz #3

Anne here, and for your entertainment here's another historical Christmas quiz, though this time the questions are not wholly restricted to the Regency era.

As usual, you will need a pen and paper to jot down your choices, then at the end, click on the link at the bottom of the page to check your answers. Then come back and tell us how you went and which snippet of historical knowledge you found most interesting. 

1)   Who could be called the original Christmas Grinch because of his hatred of Christmas? (Note: this was centuries before the word grinch was used.)    

    a) King George III.     
    b) Benjamin Disraeli.
    c) Oliver Cromwell.
    d) Charles Dickens

2) What was banned by the Puritans in the 1660s?

     a) The eating of pork during the 12 days of Christmas.     
     b)  Plum pudding.
     c)  Mistletoe.
     d)  Fox hunting

3) Why was the fourth Sunday before Christmas called Stir Up Sunday?

    a) It was the day when the first earth sod was broken and wine poured in.
    b)  It was the traditional day for the making of Christmas pudding.
    c) Ministers gave a diatribe against sin, a kind of spiritual purification before Christmas.
    d) The day when Christmas wassail was traditionally brewed.

4) Why was George I called 'the Pudding King'?

    a) Because he was very fat and pudding-shaped with skinny little legs.
    b) Because he ate German puddings at every meal.
    c) Because he spoke no English and people secretly called him "pudding head".
    d) Because he brought the Christmas pudding back into fashion.

5)  When were Christmas cards first sent in England?

    a)  In 1840 when the first "penny post" stamp was introduced.
    b)  In 1843 when a London art shop owner printed a thousand cards. 
    c)  In 1844 as a commemoration of Tsar Nicholas's visit to London.
    d)  In 1837, when Queen Victoria, aged 18, ascended the throne.

6)  Christmas Crackers were originally:—
    a)  A twist of colored paper containing sweets
    b)  A roll of colored paper containing love notes and dried rose petals
    c)  A small package of roasted and dried pork crackling
     d)  A twist of paper containing hot roasted chestnuts

7) Which of these Christmas Carols was NOT sung during the Regency? (1811-1820)

    a)  Hark the Herald Angels Sing
    b) Joy to the World  
    c)  Away In a Manger
    d)  The Holly and the Ivy

8) We know mistletoe was popular at Christmas, but did people prefer mistletoe with lots of berries or very few berries?

    a) They didn't care about the berries, as long as the mistletoe was green.
    b) They preferred fewer berries because mistletoe berries are poisonous.
    c) They preferred lots of berries because it was one kiss for one berry.
    d) They preferred fewer berries because they drop and make a mess.

9)  Most mistletoe in England was obtained from:—

    a) Oak Trees
    b)  Gypsies (travellers) selling it door-to-door
    c)  Orchards and the forest
    d)  Country fairs

10)  What was a Yule Log?

    a)  A luscious rolled pastry filled with dried fruit and sugar.
    b)  A big log that was lit on Christmas day and would burn for days.  
    c)  A list of everything naughty a child had done during the year.
    d) A symbol of Christ's death on the cross.

11) What were Twelfth Night cakes?

    a) Fruit cakes that contained a dried pea or bean.
    b) Small orange cakes iced with marzipan.
    c) Marzipan cakes shaped and painted like fruit.
    d) Pancakes that were served for Twelfth Night supper.

12) What were mummers?

    a) Temporary wet-nurses.
    b) Keepers of secrets — the origin of the expression "to keep mum."
    c) Men wearing bells around their knees who performed traditional dances.
    d) Men in costume who performed short traditional plays.

Now you have noted your answers, click here to get the results. Then come back and tell us how you went and which snippet of historical knowledge you found most interesting — or the sneakiest or silliest answer choice. 

Comments

[Mary T]

I only had 6 right, but that is not surprising since I was guessing most of them. There were a couple that I did recognize from books I had read - stirring the pudding and yule logs for example.

Anne, I love these quizzes!

[Stella Riley]

I got 9. And 2 of the 3 I got wrong were purely because I had a re-think - which only goes to show that one should go with one's first instinct! But it was fun.

[Beverly Abney]

I only had 6 correct answers (mostly from reading Regency set fiction. I never paid much attention to 'Christmas customs, I am sorry to say.

[Linda S]

Six correct, not very good considering how many Christmas themed novels I’ve read. I confess to laughing out loud at answer 10a!

[Linda S]

Oops, I meant 12a!

[Pat Dupuy]

I got 7 of 12 right. Not good, not bad! Those Puritans were real spoilsports!

[Kareni]

Well that was both entertaining and informative! Thank you, Anne. I hadn't known about Cromwell being such a Grinch.

[Elizabeth Brewer]

I got 7 out of twelve. I didn't know kisses under mistletoe were counted by berries! This was a fun quiz.

[Teresa Broderick]

Great fun and I got eight! Delighted with myself. Kicked myself on the two wrong answers cos I should have known them!!

[Quantum]

I got 8 correct answers .... a definite improvement from last year!

For 'Stir Up Sunday' I chose correctly but a little googling later revealed a small technical issue:

The last Sunday before Advent is 'Stir-up Sunday'. The Collect of the Day for the last Sunday before Advent starts, “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people”.

Note there are 4 Sundays in advent so 'stir up' seems to be the fifth Sunday before Christmas.

Great quiz 😊

[Nancy Mayer]

I have often wondered ow people managed to get a yule log into the fireplaces that existed at the time of the regency. I would have thought that fireplaces big enough to roast an ox so common in the middle ages weren't prevalent in 1812. Many fireplaces had changed over to coal. No doubt a log of suitable size for the fireplace could be brought in, but could they keep a part of it for the next year?
I didn't know the 12th night cake had a dried pea. That rarely is mentioned in articles discussing it.Missed the crackers and the cards as well.Beyond my usual time period.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Mary I'm glad you enjoy them. I like making them up.

[Anne Gracie]

It's funny how we can second-guess ourselves, especially when our initial instinct was right. So easy to do. Glad you enjoyed it Stella.

[Anne Gracie]

Well Beverly, as a reader you don't really need to — your task is to enjoy the story, not memorize the details. *g* But since becoming a writer, I've had to pay attention to the Regency customs, especially as I've now written three Christmas novellas.

[Anne Gracie]

Glad you got a laugh out of that one, Linda. And I've done so many Christmas Quizzes by now, I'm going for some of the more obscure bits of info.

[Anne Gracie]

Weren't they just, Pat — no wonder people got fed up with their joyless rule.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Kareni — yes, he doesn't sound like a particularly happy chappie, does he?

[Anne Gracie]

Glad you enjoyed it, Elizabeth.

[Anne Gracie]

Glad you enjoyed it, Teresa. And that's a pretty good result.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for finding that quote, Quantum. I confess, I didn't research the full history of the day -- I'd used it in my most recent Christmas novella, so the pudding was my focus. And as for the 4th or 5th Sunday — websites differ, and the dates change. So I closed my eyes and picked one. *g* Glad you enjoyed the quiz.

[Anne Gracie]

Nancy, my guess is that Christmas — as least as celebrated by the upper classes — would be celebrated in their country homes, where logs would be readily available. Coal was much more a city thing.
As for keeping part of it for the next year, yes, they did and it was used to light the new yule log. It didn't have to be particular large, though, and I suppose it could even be a small partly burned charred piece.

[Jenny Wilcox]

Enjoyed the quiz. The one that suprised me the most was No. 2. I thought it would have been the mistletoe as it allowed kissing. Just shows how strange the thinking of some groups can be.

[Suzi Love]

11 out of 12 because I thought mistletoe grew wrapped around oak trees so the most came from there.

[Anne Gracie]

Jenny, really it was the whole Christmas celebration they condemned. Glad you enjoyed the quiz.

[Anne Gracie]

So did I until I learned it wasn't. My excuse is growing up on Asterix comics.

[Maryellen]

I love these quizes,especially since we aren't being graded on them! LOL I had 7 correct. I was totally clueless about the Puritans. I guessed Mistletoe. Thanks Anne for creating this quiz. I wish all of the Wenches and readers a very Merry Christmas!

[Constance]

Well, I got 11 right, but must give any credit to the many, many Christmas romances I’ve read, a major in English history, and as well as to a mother and grandmother who adored the history of Christmas customs and instilled them in our annual celebrations. I missed the non-Regency carol question, which would have appalled my grandmother especially! Thanks, Anne - your quizzes are always great fun!

[Karin]

That was a pretty tough quiz. I made a few lucky guesses, and got 8 out of 12. I whiffed it on what the Puritans banned, King George's nickname, the Christmas crackers, and the source of mistletoe. But I did know about that spoilsport Oliver Cromwell!

[Nancy Mayer]

True they had fireplaces there but what size was the log? The pictures show logs of six or more feet I don't deny they can have a 2 or 3 ft log. if it were 2d=feet by 3feet it would last a while. I think my question is how big was the yule log?

[Patricia Franzino]

I had six correct. I like the nonsense of King George I as a fat king called pudding head.

The Puritans banning plum pudding instead of kissing is another hypocritical aspect of that ideology.

Thanks for posting this fun quiz, Anne.

[Diane Sallans]

I surprisingly got 11 right - some answers I was pretty sure of , but several were a tough choice. Got #7 wrong about the carols.

[An Looker]

I got 9 but was caught out by the Xmas carol question. Although they probably sang "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" during the Regency they wouldn't have sung it to the Mendelssohn tune we all know and love. I'd forgotten it was a Wesley hymn. Fell into the trap. Ditto with misteltoe. I thought it grew mainly on oaks. My other wrong answer was the King George one. I know they called his reign "Pudding Time" from the lyrics of "The Vicar of Bray" but I thought it was a mixure of his appearance and the German reputation for liking puddings and dumplings. Nice quiz. Thank you.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Maryellen, I'm pleased you enjoyed it. Thanks for your seasonal good wishes for the Wenches — and wishing you the same.

[Anne Gracie]

Constance, I think maybe the carol one was the hardest — some of those carols we generally think of as much older than they are. I'm very pleased you enjoyed the quiz — and well done!

[Anne Gracie]

Karin I do try to come up with sneaky alternative answers, and 8 correct is pretty good. Thanks for playing.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Patricia, glad you enjoyed it. I think the Puritans banned kissing under the mistletoe as well — they banned all things Christmas, as they considered many of the traditions were pagan — but I didn't say they banned "kissing under the mistletoe " the question just said "mistletoe."

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks for playing, Dian — and 11 right is a great result. The carols question was the hardest.

[Anne Gracie]

An, thanks for your response. I hadn't thought about the various versions of the carol music — I was just going by the dates — so you make a very good point. I'm pleased you enjoyed the quiz.

[Michelle H]

I found the Christmas carol dates the most interesting. I love the traditional carols, and have gotten exposed to a lot more old carols due to our excellent local Public Radio station who has been playing progressively more and more as of the beginning of December. But I failed that question, I might've done the research but that will have to wait until later.

I did pretty well on the rest of the quiz, except the Puritan question. I didn't give it much thought because I assumed the answer could've been 'all of the above.' Since they seemed to find sin crawling out of every corner of folks' happiness.

Thanks for the fun of this quiz, Anne. Merry Christmas and a blessed, healthy and safe New Year.

[Michelle H]

Oh, I meant to remark about how interesting the list of carols and their dates was. I was surprised that some of them had been around since early 18th century.

[Christina Courtenay]

Such a fun quiz, Anne! We have mistletoe growing on the trees in our garden but it's very high up and difficult to reach! Must go and check if any of them are in the oak trees :-) (I too grew up with Asterix comics and was delighted to see mistletoe for real here in the UK - never saw any in Sweden.)

[Anne Gracie]

Thank you, Michelle, I'm glad you enjoyed the quiz. The Puritan question was pretty close to "all of the above" except that while they probably did ban kissing under the mistletoe, the possible answer said nothing about kissing, just mistletoe, and they could hardly ban a plant growing in the wild. *g*
All the best to you for Christmas and the new year.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Christina. We have mistletoe in Australia— many different varieties, in fact, but it's nothing like the English mistletoe. I hope you find some in your oak trees — mistletoe, that is, not druids. *g*

[Amy J]

I thought I would do better, given my obsession with collecting Regency Xmas books since I was a teen. But did not know "Away in a Manger" was that modern, and missed a couple others.