Spin Control: Can’t play in any reindeer games? Try our annual Christmas trivia quiz

According to the song, it’s the most wonderful time of the year … unless one is writing a political column, because no one wants to read about politics at Christmas.

At a time when lions can lie down with lambs, one can always hope that MAGA Republicans could share a cup of eggnog with liberal progressives and Spokane City Council members might go caroling at Camp Hope with Mayor Nadine Woodward.

To stay completely away from anything political, Spin Control offers its annual 12 Trivias of Christmas quiz for readers to test their yuletide knowledge as they gather with friends and family. Answers at the bottom of the column. (Only Vladimir Putin would cheat by looking at them first.)

1. Which of the following is not a Bing Crosby Christmas movie?

A. White Christmas

B. Holiday Inn

C. The Road to the North Pole

D. The Bells of St. Mary’s

2. In Italy, Santa is known as

A. Father Christmas

B. Pere Noel

C. Kris Kringle

D. Babbo Natale

3. According to the Gospel of Luke, who was emperor of Rome when Jesus was born?

A. Julius

B. Augustus

C. Tiberius

D. Claudius

4. Which of the following does not fall within the traditional 12 Days of Christmas?

A. St. Nicholas Day

B. Boxing Day

C. New Year’s Eve

D. New Year’s Day

5. Where did the idea first appear in print that Santa lives at the North Pole?

A. Clement Clarke Moore in “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”

B. O Henry in “The Gift of the Magi”

C. Thomas Nast in a cartoon for Harper’s Weekly

D. William Shakespeare in “Twelfth Night”

6. What Christmas duet do Buddy and Jovie sing in the movie “Elf”?

A. Santa Claus is Coming to Town

B. Baby, It’s Cold Outside

C. Let It Snow

D. Frosty the Snowman

7. Why was George Bailey classified as 4F for the draft?

A. He was married and had two children.

B. He was too old.

C. He was the sole support of his widowed mother.

D. He was deaf in one ear.

8. Other than reindeer, what other large mammal is mentioned in the title of a Christmas song?

A. Polar bear

B. Elephant

C. Hippopotamus

D. Lion

9. The first artificial Christmas trees were made in 1930 by a company that also made:

A. Aluminum foil

B. Toilet brushes

C. Christmas wrapping paper

D. Paint brushes

10. In 1979, only the top ornament on the national Christmas Tree was lit. Why?

A. To honor the American hostages in Iran

B. To save energy

C. To protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan

D. It was a torch to signify the upcoming Olympics in the U.S.

11. Where did the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe originate?

A. France

B. Italy

C. England

D. Germany

12. What other holiday song is mentioned in the chorus to “Christmas/Baby Please Come Home?”

A. Silver Bells

B. Jingle Bells

C. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town

D. Deck the Halls

Answers

1. C. There is no “Road to the North Pole.” We made that up. The other movies are real Crosby Christmas movies.

2. D. Babbo Natale, which is “Daddy Christmas,” is the Italian version of Santa Claus.

3. B. The second chapter of that Gospel starts with “… a decree went out from Caesar Augustus”

4. A. St. Nicholas Day is Dec. 6. The traditional 12 days start Dec. 25.

5. C. A Nast illustration for an 1866 edition of Harper’s Weekly had him at “Santa Claussville, N.P.” with the abbreviation standing for North Pole.

6. B. They sing “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in a movie made before that song fell out of favor for implications to date rape.

7. D. George was deaf in one ear from catching a cold after rescuing his brother who fell through the ice as a young boy.

8. C. “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” was sort of a hit in 1953.

9. B. In 1930, the Addis Brush Co. made the first artificial Christmas trees with the machines it used the rest of the year to make toilet brushes.

10. A. Put up about a month after the hostages were seized, President Jimmy Carter announced only the top star on the tree would be lit until the hostages came home.

11. C. Although a Norse legend says the goddess Frigg declared mistletoe a symbol of love, the Christmas tradition is traced to a song in 18th-century England.

12. D. A verse starts “They’re singing Deck the Halls, but it’s not like Christmas at all…”

Scoring

0-2 Scrooge before Marley’s ghost appears.

3-5 Charlie Brown before he and Linus find a tree.

6-8 Scrooge after the Ghost of Christmas Past.

9-11 Linus on stage explaining the meaning of Christmas.

12 Scrooge after waking up and finding he hasn’t missed Christmas.