There are just a few days left of 2024, and what better way to recap the events of the past 12 months than with some festive trivia?
With 30 quickfire questions and 10 tricky anagrams, you can test your general knowledge of Christmas food, music, and key events of the year.
Questions
1. Which old English coin was put in a Christmas pudding to bring good luck to the finder?
2. Traditionally, when should you start making a Christmas pudding?
3. Which country banned X (formerly known as Twitter) in August 2024?
4. Every year, a city in Norway provides a Christmas tree to sit in Trafalgar Square as thanks for efforts in WWII. Which city sends the tree?
5. What did the Oxford University Press declare their word/phrase of the year?
6. What was the name of the super full moon that occurred in October?
7. What is Japan’s favourite fast food meal for Christmas dinner?
8. In February, an unlicensed Willy Wonka experience went viral, but where did it occur?
9. This year, which country became the 32nd to join NATO?
10. ‘Jingle Bells’ was originally a song for what other holiday?
11. Which scientist, famous for his Laws of Motion, was born on Christmas Day in 1642?
12. Which British royal princess announced her second pregnancy in October?
13. Boxing Day is also known by another name celebrating a saint; who is the saint?
14. Singer Taylor Swift grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania connected with which Christmas commodity?
15. Who won the Great British Bake Off this year?
16. What is myrrh? (as in gold, frankincense and myrrh)
17. What launch did Elon Musk reveal?
18. Which Christmassy song plays at the end of the 1988 film Die Hard?
19. What sporting event did ‘Santa Claus’ win on June 3, 1964?
20. What was the name of the song that won Eurovision?
21. How many gifts in total were given in the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ song?
22. What cartoon character is a Christmas Eve staple in Sweden and is watched by millions of Swedes yearly?
23. Which famous Christmas pantomime was performed at the London Palladium this year?
24. In March, which iconic British confectionary brand celebrated its 200th anniversary?
25. Which BBC TV show made a highly anticipated return with a Christmas special in 2024?
26. What was the name of Tiny Tim’s father in ‘A Christmas Carol’?
27. In April, Russ Cook, aka the Hardest Geezer, made the news, but what for?
28. What was the original title of ‘The Little Drummer Boy’?
29. In May, what natural phenomenon was visible, previously unable to be seen from the UK?
30. What meat was traditionally served at Christmas before turkey became popular?
Answers
1. A sixpence
2. On a Sunday, five weeks before Christmas
3. Brazil
4. Oslo
5. Brain rot
6. Hunter Supermoon
7. Fried Chicken (According to a professor of marketing, there was no tradition of Christmas in Japan, so KFC came in and said “this is what you should do on Christmas”, and it was an instant hit.)
8. Glasgow, Scotland
9. Sweden
10. Thanksgiving
11. Sir Isaac Newton
12. Princess Beatrice
13. Saint Stephen’s Day (Boxing Day is also known as the feast day of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr)
14. Christmas trees (Taylor’s 2019 song ‘Christmas Tree Farm’ was accompanied by a music video featuring home videos of Swift’s childhood days growing up on a Christmas tree farm.)
15. Georgie Grasso (the paediatric nurse from Carmarthenshire, is the first contestant from Wales to win in the history of the show)
16. A fragrant spice derived from the sap of a tree
17. Humanoid Robots
18. Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne – ‘Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!’
19. The English Derby (‘Santa Claus’ was an Irish-trained racehorse deemed the favourite to win the English Derby, which he did, apparently giving English bookmakers one of their worst financial beatings in years.)
20. ‘The Code’
21. 364 presents
22. Donald Duck
23. Robin Hood
24. Cadbury
25. Gavin & Stacey
26. Bob Cratchit
27. He became the first person to run the length of Africa
28. Carol of the Drum (It was written and composed in 1941 by Katherine Kennicot Davis and was popularized by the Trapp Family Singers and the Harry Simeone Chorale.)
29. Northern Lights
30. Goose
Anagram answers
- Gingerbread Man
- Brandy Sauce
- Seasons Greetings
- Poinsettia
- The Polar Express
- The Grinch
- Away In a Manger
- Mary and Joseph
- Roast Turkey
- Yule Log
