Anne here, celebrating the onset of the Festive Season with another Christmas Quiz. I usually have 12 questions, but I've extended this one and included several tricky questions from a previous quiz.
As usual, you will need a pen and paper to jot down your choices, then at the end, click on the link to check your answers. Don't forget to come back and tell us how you went — and remember, it's not a test, it's just a bit of fun.
1) In the Regency era, the Christmas turkey:—
a) walked to London wearing special shoes
b) was shipped to London by boat, to keep them calm.
c) was brought to London by wagon, in specially constructed willow cages
d) wasn't eaten at this time — everyone ate Christmas goose
2) In a traditional mummers' Christmas play, a commonly appearing character was:—
a) the king
b) Saint George (of dragon fame)
c) Saint Nicholas
d) Oliver Cromwell
3) In the Tudor period, the centrepiece of a Christmas feast was usually:—
a) the Christmas pudding
b) an enormous cheese
c) a dish of flaming soup
d) a boar's head
4) Marchpane is:—
a) another name for marzipan
b) a hard Christmas fruit bread that is saved until March
c) a game using a walnut, played by six or more people
d) toffee that comes in glass-like sheets
e) what you feel after too much marching. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
5) Souse is: —
a) a boozy Christmas pudding
b) an early version of egg-nog
c) a Christmas cake from Newcastle
d) is a dish made from pickled pigs' feet and ears
6) The dish we now know as turducken was eaten:—
a) In the Regency era
b) in the Victorian era
c) by highland Scots
d) in the Tudor era
7) A Twelfth Night cake traditionally contained:—
a) dried fruit and a peach stone
b) dried fruit and a dried pea or bean
c) no fruit
d) dried fruit and a small ceramic shoe
8) Frumenty is:—
a) porridge made with grains, almonds, currants and sugar
b) a drink made of hot wine, orange peel and spices
c) a toast made to the success of the apple and pear harvest
d) a slice made from dried and pounded fruit
9) Bullet pudding was:
a) slang for a man sentenced to die by firing squad
b) a game often played at Christmas
c) a shooting competition where the winner won a pudding
d) a pudding containing a lucky silver bullet
10) At Christmas, Queen Victoria particularly enjoyed:—
a) roast lamb
b) roast swan
c) roast suckling pig
d) roast potatoes
11) The first member of the English royal family to display a Christmas tree was :—
a) Queen Charlotte in 1800
b) Queen Adelaide in 1820
c) Queen Caroline in 1825
d) Queen Victoria in 1848
(That's Wench Christina's tree in the photo)
12) The festival of Twelfth Night was banned by:
a) Queen Victoria
b) Queen Elizabeth the 1st
c) Henry VIII
d) King George III
13) Nesselrode pudding was popular in the Victorian era. It was:—
a) a cold mousse-like pudding made with whipped egg-whites
b) a hot Christmas pudding made without suet
c) an early chocolate pudding
d) a moulded ice pudding made from pureed chestnut
14) Which of these was thought to bring bad luck?
a) dancing inside during the twelve days of Christmas
b) dropping an uncooked potato on Christmas Day
c) decorating with greenery before Christmas Eve
d) hanging out green or blue stockings
15) The Christmas pudding is topped with a sprig of holly:—
a) to symbolize Christ's crown of thorns
b) to symbolize the continuation of life through the winter
c) as a reminder not to be greedy
d) because it looks pretty
16) Candy canes first became bent over at the end to look like a shepherd's crooks:—
a) when a choirmaster made them to keep the young choristers quiet
b) as a reminder of the shepherds who watched their flocks by night
c) because they are easier to hang on the tree
d) because they were easier to store
Now that you have jotted down your answers, click on this link and check how many you got right —scroll down. Then come back and tell us how you went — and which questions tripped you up — but please try to avoid spoilers.