“White Christmas” was written by a man who never celebrated Christmas in his life. Irving Berlin, born Israel Beilin in a Jewish family in Siberia, wrote the best-selling single of all time because he understood something about longing that transcends any holiday. That’s the thing about Christmas songs. The people who wrote them, the reasons they were written, and the words we think we know are almost never what we assume. I’ve watched entire tables of confident adults get the second verse of “Jingle Bells” catastrophically wrong. I’ve seen friendships tested over whether Rudolph is a real traditional carol or a corporate invention. This is christmas songs trivia, and it’s built on the gap between what you’ve been singing and what’s actually true.
1. In “Jingle Bells,” what kind of sleigh is mentioned in the first verse?
Everyone pictures a big red sleigh loaded with presents. The song isn’t about Christmas at all, actually. It was written for Thanksgiving. And the answer is right there in the lyric most people mumble through.
2. What’s the name of the reindeer in “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” who’s described as the most famous reindeer of all?
I’m starting easy on purpose. Take the point. You’ll need it later.
3. In “Frosty the Snowman,” what item brings Frosty to life?
The song is very specific about this, and yet I’ve had people confidently say “a scarf” or “a carrot nose.” The magic is in one accessory.
4. “Silent Night” was originally written in what language?
This one sorts the room fast. Half the people assume English. The other half know it’s European but guess the wrong country.
5. Complete this lyric from “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”: “Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so ________.”
This is a confidence trap. People rush to answer “warm” and they’re wrong before the word finishes leaving their mouth.
6. How many gifts in total does “my true love” give over all twelve days in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?
This is a math question disguised as a music question. I’ve watched engineers get competitive about it and still land wrong.
7. What Christmas song was the first song ever broadcast from space?
This is one of those facts that makes the answer better after you know it. Gemini 6 astronauts smuggled instruments aboard in 1965.
8. Who wrote “White Christmas”?
I mentioned him in the opening. If you were paying attention, this is a free point.
9. “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was written by Bob Geldof and which other musician?
People always remember Geldof. His co-writer tends to vanish from memory, which is unfair given how many hits the guy has had.
10. Mel Tormé co-wrote which Christmas standard, reportedly in just 45 minutes on a blazing hot summer day?
The backstory is perfect. Tormé visited his co-writer Bob Wells and found a notepad with lines about chestnuts and Jack Frost. Wells had been writing them down to feel cooler.
11. Who originally recorded “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” in 1958?
She was 13 years old. Thirteen. The song didn’t become a massive hit until years later, but that vocal was laid down by a kid.
12. “Santa Baby” was first recorded in 1953 by which singer?
The number of people who answer Madonna or Mariah Carey tells you everything about how cultural memory works. The original is sultriest by far.
13. Which former Beatle had a Christmas hit with “Wonderful Christmastime”?
This song is polarizing. People either love it or physically recoil when the synth kicks in. Either way, they usually know who’s responsible.
14. Chuck Berry wrote and recorded a song in 1958 that tells Santa to hurry down the chimney. What’s it called?
The riff is instantly recognizable. The title is almost a command.
15. In “Winter Wonderland,” what is the name given to the snowman the couple builds?
I’ve asked this to hundreds of people. The hit rate is shockingly low. The name is right there in the song and nobody retains it.
16. In “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” what activity did the other reindeer not let Rudolph join?
Simple, right? But watch how many people say “flying” or “pulling the sleigh.”
17. What does the child in “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” see happening underneath?
The song implies something scandalous and then winks at you. The answer is wholesome. The implication is not.
18. In “Feliz Navidad” by José Feliciano, how many words of Spanish are actually in the song?
This is a trick question that works beautifully in a room. People start counting on their fingers and overthinking it.
19. In “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” the two vocal parts are officially labeled in the sheet music. What are they called?
The labels are stranger than anything anyone guesses. Frank Loesser wrote them into the original score.
20. What two-word phrase follows “God rest ye” in the traditional carol?
The comma placement in this title changes the meaning entirely, and almost everyone gets it wrong.
21. In what year did Mariah Carey release “All I Want for Christmas Is You”?
Everyone knows this song. Barely anyone knows the year. And the gap between when they think it came out and when it actually did is always revealing.
22. How long did it take Mariah Carey and Walter Afanasieff to write “All I Want for Christmas Is You”?
The answer makes every aspiring songwriter a little sick.
23. Before Mariah’s version dominated streaming, what was the best-selling Christmas single of all time?
Bing Crosby’s version has sold an estimated 50 million copies. Mariah’s song has overtaken it in streaming revenue, but in raw physical sales, one record still stands alone.
24. Which Christmas song holds the record for the most weeks spent on the Billboard Hot 100 across multiple holiday seasons?
It keeps coming back every December like a relative who doesn’t call the rest of the year.
25. “Jingle Bells” was originally written for which American holiday?
I mentioned this earlier. If you weren’t paying attention the first time, here’s your second chance. I won’t give you a third.
26. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” mentions “scary ghost stories.” What tradition is this referencing?
People hear this lyric every year and never stop to wonder about it. Ghost stories at Christmas? It sounds wrong. It’s not.
27. “Do You Hear What I Hear?” was written in 1962 as a plea for peace during which geopolitical crisis?
The song sounds ancient and biblical. It was written during the most terrifying two weeks of the Cold War.
28. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” started as a marketing giveaway for which department store chain?
Rudolph is a corporate mascot who escaped into folklore. The whole origin story is wonderfully American.
29. In what country was “O Christmas Tree” (“O Tannenbaum”) originally a folk song, and was the original version even about Christmas?
Two-part question. The country is easy. The second part is where people stumble.
30. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” was written for which 1944 Judy Garland film?
The original lyrics were so depressing that Garland refused to sing them to a child on camera. They had to be rewritten to be less bleak. The version we know is the cheerful revision.
31. This song describes a weather phenomenon so severe that a mythical figure needs a biological anomaly to do his job. Name it.
I love reframing songs like this. It makes people’s brains work sideways.
32. A man lists increasingly extravagant gifts he wants from a holiday figure, including a yacht and a convertible. What’s the song?
Wait. Not a man. That’s the trick. Go back and think about who’s actually singing.
33. This song, first recorded in the 1940s, is essentially a negotiation between two people about whether one of them should leave a house. Name it.
The most argued-about Christmas song of the 21st century, and it was written in 1944.
34. “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”) was first performed in what Austrian town on Christmas Eve, 1818?
This is a hard one. The town is small, and unless you’ve been there or studied music history, you’re guessing. But it’s worth knowing.
35. “Feliz Navidad” was written and recorded by José Feliciano, who was born in which country?
People assume Mexico. They’re wrong. The assumption itself reveals something about how we categorize Spanish-language artists.
36. The Welsh word “Nadolig” means Christmas. “Deck the Halls” originated as a Welsh New Year’s Eve melody. What language was the original “fa la la” tune in?
The fa la la’s predate the English lyrics by centuries.
37. “O Holy Night” was originally written in French with the title “Minuit, chrétiens.” The English translation was done by an American who also served in what political role?
This is obscure enough that it separates the serious players from the rest of the room.
38. What 1984 Wham! Christmas hit features the opening lyric “Last Christmas, I gave you my heart”?
This is a gimme. But I’m setting you up for the next one.
39. “Last Christmas” by Wham! was kept from the UK number one spot in December 1984 by which charity single?
Two of the biggest Christmas songs of all time went head to head, and only one could win. George Michael was on both records, which makes it even stranger.
40. In what year did “Last Christmas” by Wham! finally reach number one in the UK?
The gap between release and this achievement is staggering. And bittersweet.
41. The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” features a duet between Shane MacGowan and which singer?
She was a member of The Pogues at the time. Her voice on that track is one of the great performances in Christmas music.
42. What Band Aid song opens with the line “It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid”?
The first voice you hear on the recording belongs to Paul Young. Most people think it’s Bono.
43. Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” is a rock arrangement combining “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” with which other carol?
If you’ve heard it, you know it. The two melodies weave together in a way that shouldn’t work but absolutely does.
44. Is “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” technically a Christmas song?
I’ve watched this question split a room clean in half. People get genuinely heated. Read the lyrics carefully.
45. “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music is often played during the Christmas season. In the song, what are the brown paper packages tied up with?
Rodgers and Hammerstein did not write a Christmas song. But try telling that to every department store in America.
46. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” was first released in 1979 by Elmo & Patsy. What is Elmo’s last name?
Nobody knows this. I include it because the looks of total blankness are worth it.
47. What Christmas number one was recorded by a choir of schoolchildren from Gaudete, performed a cappella in Latin, and hit number one in the UK in 1973?
Wait. I’ve combined two things there. Let me rephrase: the band Steeleye Span took a medieval Latin hymn to number one. What was it called?
48. In the original version of “Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town,” Santa keeps a list. What two categories does he check twice?
You know this. You’ve sung it. Say the words out loud right now and see if you get them in the right order.
49. “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses tells a story about missed romantic connections throughout an entire year. In what city is the narrator shopping for cranberries on Christmas Eve?
This is a deep cut and I love it. The song is a complete narrative, and the cranberry detail is the hinge the whole story turns on.
50. “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono opens with a whispered message before the music begins. What do the whispered voices say?
This is the one I save for last. Because everyone knows this song. Everyone has heard it hundreds of times. But almost nobody has actually listened to the first three seconds. The whisper is intimate and specific and easy to miss under the noise of a room or a car stereo. And when you tell people what it says, something shifts. They go home and listen to it again, really listen, and for a moment a song they’d stopped hearing becomes new. That’s the best thing christmas songs trivia can do. Not make you feel smart. Make you go back and pay attention.
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