Christmas History Quiz 2024

The German custom of the decorated Christmas tree was first recorded in the Rhineland in the 16th century.

One of his later paintings, produced just the year before the artist's death, from sepsis resulting from a wound sustained in a brawl in Naples. This was fairly consistent with Caravaggio's life, around 1592 he committed a murder in Milan which forced him to flee to Rome. In 1606 he killed again, before fleeing Rome to Malta with a death sentence hanging over him. After a year here he severely injured an aristocratic knight, was imprisoned, but managed to escape. Two years later he was dead.

On Christmas Day 800, the Pope crowned Charlemange Imperator Romanorum (“Emperor of the Romans”) in Saint Peter’s Basilica. In so doing, the Pope rejected the legitimacy of Empress Irene of Constantinople, leading to a schism between the Eastern and Western branches of the Empire. It led to war in 802, and for centuries to come, the Emperors of both West and East would make competing claims of sovereignty over the whole.

Edmund the Martyr was crowned on Christmas Day 856, and ruled East Anglia until his death at the hands of the Great Heathen Army in 869, which led to his recognition as a martyr and canonisation. The modern town of Bury St Edmunds is named after the resting place of his remains.

William I, The Conqueror was crowned at Westminster Abbey, on Christmas Day 1066, after his success in his invasion of Britain.

The Yule Lads are a group of 13 mischievous Icelandic pranksters who steal from or harass the population and all have descriptive names that convey their favourite way of harassing. They come to town one by one during the last 13 nights before Yule. They leave small gifts in shoes that children have placed on window sills, but if the child has been disobedient they instead leave a rotten potato in the shoe.

A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man.

Created by Sir Henry Cole in London, it showed scenes of charity, with food and clothing being given to the poor. Over 2000 cards were printed and sold for a shilling each. Cole had helped introduce the Penny Post three years earlier, this was a perfect companion product.

After running aground on the island of Hispaniola, Columbus used the timbers from the ship Santa Maria to build the fort ‘La Navidad’.

It is not difficult to spot the similarities between our now long-standing Christmas traditions and the Roman festival of Saturnalia, which was also celebrated in December and co-existed with Christian belief for a period of time. Saturnalia placed an emphasis on the sharing of food and drink, and spending time with loved ones as the colder winter period arrived. There is even evidence that the Romans exchanged little gifts of food to mark the occasion.

Wassail is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing and offering a drink from the spiced ale wassail bowl in exchange for gifts. It is recorded as occurring as early as 1300, and is normally celebrated on Twelfth Night.

The Yule goat is a Scandinavian and Northern European Yule and Christmas symbol and tradition, originating in Germanic paganism. Large Yule goats are built in towns and cities around Christmas time, the best known being the Gävle goat. These goats are often the victims of arson, and as a result are guarded. There have subsequently been increasingly creative attempts to set them on fire.