Christmas Songs & Carols

40 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1.Who composed the melody of "Silent Night" in 1818?
- A. Franz Schubert
- B. Joseph Mohr
- C. Franz Xaver Gruber
- D. Wolfgang Mozart
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Franz Xaver Gruber
Did you know? Organist Franz Xaver Gruber set Mohr's poem to music.
2."Silent Night" is traditionally sung in about how many languages?
- A. 500
- B. 50
- C. 100
- D. 300
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300
Did you know? The carol is performed in hundreds of languages worldwide.
3."All I Want for Christmas Is You" finally topped the Billboard Hot 100 in which year?
- A. 2014
- B. 2019
- C. 1994
- D. 2021
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2019
Did you know? The song reached number one 25 years after its release.
4.Which 1966 musical gave us "We Need a Little Christmas"?
- A. Mame
- B. Hello, Dolly!
- C. Funny Girl
- D. Oliver!
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Mame
Did you know? Angela Lansbury sang it as Mame in 1966.
5."Mistletoe" (2011) appears on which Justin Bieber Christmas album?
- A. Journals
- B. Believe
- C. Under the Mistletoe
- D. Purpose
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Under the Mistletoe
Did you know? "Under the Mistletoe" was Bieber's 2011 holiday album.
6.Who wrote the text of "Joy to the World"?
- A. Isaac Watts
- B. John Newton
- C. Charles Wesley
- D. William Cowper
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Isaac Watts
Did you know? Isaac Watts paraphrased Psalm 98 in 1719.
7.Which animal is Santa's helper in Lou Monte's "Dominick the Donkey" (1960)?
- A. A donkey
- B. A reindeer
- C. A camel
- D. A horse
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A donkey
Did you know? Dominick is the Italian Christmas donkey of the 1960 novelty hit.
8."Away in a Manger" was long attributed to which reformer?
- A. Charles Wesley
- B. Isaac Watts
- C. John Wesley
- D. Martin Luther
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Martin Luther
Did you know? The carol was famously, though falsely, attributed to Luther.
9.Which rock band took "Please Come Home for Christmas" back into the charts in 1978?
- A. The Beach Boys
- B. Chicago
- C. Eagles
- D. Fleetwood Mac
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Eagles
Did you know? The Eagles' 1978 cover became a holiday rock staple.
10.Which British glam rock band had a 1973 hit with "Merry Xmas Everybody"?
- A. Sweet
- B. Status Quo
- C. Slade
- D. T. Rex
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Slade
Did you know? Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" topped the UK chart in 1973-74.
11.Who composed "Somewhere in My Memory" for "Home Alone" (1990)?
- A. Alan Silvestri
- B. Danny Elfman
- C. John Williams
- D. James Horner
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John Williams
Did you know? John Williams scored "Home Alone" and its signature carol.
12.Which carol is often credited as the first song broadcast on radio, in 1906?
- A. Adeste Fideles
- B. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- C. O Holy Night
- D. Silent Night
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O Holy Night
Did you know? Reginald Fessenden's 1906 broadcast reportedly included "O Holy Night".
13.Who first recorded "The Christmas Waltz" in 1954?
- A. Dean Martin
- B. Perry Como
- C. Bing Crosby
- D. Frank Sinatra
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Frank Sinatra
Did you know? Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn wrote "The Christmas Waltz" for Sinatra.
14.Who wrote the lyrics of "Silent Night"?
- A. Franz Liszt
- B. Franz Xaver Gruber
- C. Wolfgang Mozart
- D. Joseph Mohr
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Joseph Mohr
Did you know? Priest Joseph Mohr wrote the German lyrics in 1816.
15.Which holiday song holds the record as the best-selling single of all time?
- A. Silent Night
- B. Jingle Bells
- C. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
- D. White Christmas
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White Christmas
Did you know? Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" remains the best-selling single ever.
16.For which 1942 film was "White Christmas" originally written?
- A. Going My Way
- B. The Bells of St. Mary's
- C. Holiday Inn
- D. White Christmas
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Holiday Inn
Did you know? The song debuted in "Holiday Inn" before the 1954 film took its name.
17.With whom did Mariah Carey co-write "All I Want for Christmas Is You"?
- A. Diane Warren
- B. David Foster
- C. Max Martin
- D. Walter Afanasieff
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Walter Afanasieff
Did you know? Mariah Carey co-wrote the hit with Walter Afanasieff.
18.Who first recorded the teasing "Santa Baby" in 1953?
- A. Marilyn Monroe
- B. Peggy Lee
- C. Lena Horne
- D. Eartha Kitt
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Eartha Kitt
Did you know? Eartha Kitt's "Santa Baby" became a signature hit in 1953.
19.On which 1971 album did Joni Mitchell release "River"?
- A. Hejira
- B. Court and Spark
- C. Ladies of the Canyon
- D. Blue
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Blue
Did you know? "River" closes side one of the album "Blue".
20.Which 1971 peace carol did John Lennon record with Yoko Ono?
- A. Peace on Earth
- B. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
- C. Wonderful Christmastime
- D. Merry Christmas Everybody
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Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Did you know? "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" was released by John and Yoko in 1971.
21.Who co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?" with Midge Ure?
- A. Bob Geldof
- B. Bono
- C. Paul McCartney
- D. Elton John
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Bob Geldof
Did you know? Bob Geldof and Midge Ure wrote the Band Aid single.
22.Who wrote "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas"?
- A. Meredith Willson
- B. Cole Porter
- C. Irving Berlin
- D. Johnny Marks
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Meredith Willson
Did you know? Meredith Willson, later of "The Music Man", wrote the song.
23.The carol "Silent Night" was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in which year?
- A. 2001
- B. 2011
- C. 2015
- D. 2005
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2011
Did you know? UNESCO added "Silent Night" to its heritage list in 2011.
24.Gene Autry wrote "Here Comes Santa Claus" after riding in which 1946 parade?
- A. The Rose Parade
- B. The Macy's Parade
- C. A film premiere
- D. The Santa Claus Lane Parade
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The Santa Claus Lane Parade
Did you know? Autry was inspired while riding in Hollywood's Santa Claus Lane Parade.
25."Deck the Halls" borrows its melody from which Welsh tune?
- A. Suo Gân
- B. Men of Harlech
- C. All Through the Night
- D. Nos Galan
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Nos Galan
Did you know? The tune comes from the Welsh New Year's song "Nos Galan".
26.Who composed the music for "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" (1966)?
- A. Danny Elfman
- B. Albert Hague
- C. Vince Guaraldi
- D. Johnny Marks
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Albert Hague
Did you know? Albert Hague set Dr. Seuss's lyrics to music.
27.Who added lyrics to "Sleigh Ride" in 1950?
- A. Mitchell Parish
- B. Sammy Cahn
- C. Johnny Mercer
- D. Lorenz Hart
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Mitchell Parish
Did you know? Mitchell Parish wrote the words for Anderson's tune.
28.Which country star recorded "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" in 1965?
- A. Buck Owens
- B. Johnny Cash
- C. Merle Haggard
- D. Hank Williams
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Buck Owens
Did you know? Buck Owens' honky-tonk Christmas hit came out in 1965.
29.Which crooner co-wrote "The Christmas Song" during a 1945 heatwave?
- A. Bing Crosby
- B. Mel Tormé
- C. Dean Martin
- D. Sammy Davis Jr.
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Mel Tormé
Did you know? Mel Tormé wrote the song on a blazing summer day.
30.Which band recorded "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday" (1973)?
- A. Wizzard
- B. Sweet
- C. T. Rex
- D. Slade
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Wizzard
Did you know? Roy Wood's Wizzard released the perennial UK favorite.
31.Who wrote "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" for "Meet Me in St. Louis"?
- A. Hugh Martin
- B. Cole Porter
- C. Johnny Mercer
- D. Harold Arlen
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Hugh Martin
Did you know? Hugh Martin (with Ralph Blane) wrote the song in 1943.
32."Carol of the Bells" is based on which Ukrainian folk chant?
- A. Shchedryk
- B. Duma
- C. Kolomyika
- D. Hopak
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Shchedryk
Did you know? The carol adapts Leontovych's "Shchedryk".
33.Who sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" in the 1966 TV special?
- A. Chuck Jones
- B. June Foray
- C. Thurl Ravenscroft
- D. Boris Karloff
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Thurl Ravenscroft
Did you know? Thurl Ravenscroft's bass voice carried the Grinch song.
34.Who composed the Brazilian Christmas classic "Boas Festas"?
- A. Ary Barroso
- B. Lamartine Babo
- C. Assis Valente
- D. Pixinguinha
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Assis Valente
Did you know? Assis Valente composed "Boas Festas" in 1933, famously sung by Carlos Galhardo.
35.Who composed "Shchedryk", the melody behind "Carol of the Bells"?
- A. Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
- B. Pyotr Tchaikovsky
- C. Modest Mussorgsky
- D. Mykola Leontovych
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Mykola Leontovych
Did you know? Mykola Leontovych composed "Shchedryk" in 1916.
36.Which blues singer first recorded "Please Come Home for Christmas"?
- A. John Lee Hooker
- B. Charles Brown
- C. Ray Charles
- D. B.B. King
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Charles Brown
Did you know? Charles Brown co-wrote and recorded the song in 1960.
37."We Wish You a Merry Christmas" comes from which English region's caroling tradition?
- A. London
- B. The Midlands
- C. The West Country
- D. Yorkshire
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The West Country
Did you know? The carol is traced to the West Country of England.
38.Which choir's 1958 version made "The Little Drummer Boy" a hit?
- A. The Vienna Boys' Choir
- B. The Robert Shaw Chorale
- C. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
- D. The Harry Simeone Chorale
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The Harry Simeone Chorale
Did you know? The Harry Simeone Chorale's 1958 single popularized the carol.
39.Who composed "O Holy Night" (Cantique de Noël) in 1847?
- A. Camille Saint-Saëns
- B. Jules Massenet
- C. Adolphe Adam
- D. Charles Gounod
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Adolphe Adam
Did you know? Adolphe Adam set Placide Cappeau's poem in 1847.
40."Winter Wonderland" was written by Richard Smith and which composer?
- A. Jule Styne
- B. Irving Berlin
- C. Johnny Marks
- D. Felix Bernard
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Felix Bernard
Did you know? Felix Bernard set Smith's poem to music in 1934.

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