History of Christmas and Santa Claus Trivia Game

Try this Yuletide Trivia Quiz to see how many questions you answer correctly!
Instructions: Read the questions, click on the answers and then on "Display Score" to see how you did. click Show Answers to see the correct answer and comments. Then click on New Questions! to start a new Quiz with new questions!

~ Click on "New Questions" to play again or try these other Trivia Quizzes ~
Kidlets Trivia (easy)
Christmas Shows, Songs & Stories Trivia (medium)

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1. Which of these is not another one of Santa's names?
	Knecht Ruprecht	Joulupukki
	Julesvenn	Jultomten
These are Santa's names in the Nordic countries of Sweden (Jultomten), Finland (Joulupukki) and Norway (Julesvenn). Knecht Ruprecht is one of Santa's Germanic helpers.

2. Which of the following mythological characters is not generally considered as having provided a basis for the modern Santa Claus?
	Odin	Hertha
	Saturn	Chronos
The Roman festival for Saturn was usurped by Christmas in the 4th Century. Odin rode throughout the world in the winter on his eight-footed horse, Sleipnir, giving out gifts or punishments while Hertha was fond of delivering gifts by fireplace.

3. Saint Nicholas has been an outlaw many times through the ages. Which of the following did NOT ban him?
	The British Parliament	The state of Massachusetts
	Queen Victoria	Martin Luther
Saint Nicholas was first outlawed by Martin Luther in 1545. Christmas (and by extension Santa Claus) was banned by the English Parliament in 1644. In Massachusetts, Christmas was not made a legal holiday again until 1856, 200 years later! It wasn't until the Victorian age that Christmas as we know it really began.

4. Where did the term "Xmas" come from?
	It was first used by department stores for "Xmas Sale" signs	Newspaper editors first used it to save space in headlines
	It was created as a derogatory term for Christmas	The Greek letter "X"
Despite popular misconceptions, the abbreviation "Xmas" is roughly 500 years old and quite pious, coming from the Greek letter "X" (chi), an abbreviation for Christ.

5. Although there are many theories as to where and why the practice originated, what country is generally credited with popularizing Christmas trees in the home?
	Christmas Islands	France
	England	Germany
Some argue that Estonians or Latvians (or even the Egyptians and Babylonians!) used evergreens earlier, but Germans certainly popularized it. In legend, Martin Luther started the custom in reverence to the heavens. German royalty spred the custom to other countries thru marriage. BTW, check out the Interactive Tree on the EmailSanta webcams page too!

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