by John Hamilton
You may already know December 25th is the First Day of Christmas, January 5th is the Twelfth Day of Christmas, followed by the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th each year. However, how much do you really know about the season? Good luck! Try to answer without Googling first. Spoiler Alert – Answers are at bottom of the page.
1) What happened during the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn, which took place on December 21st, 2020?
a) All wars and conflicts immediately ended and everybody “hugged it out”
b) For a few seconds, Earth rotated in the opposite direction
c) The sky became as bright as if it were daytime hours
d) A lovely “Christmas Star” became visible for the first time since March 4th, 1226
2) What will become of cellphones in the State of Virginia on January 1st, 2021?
a) Thankfully, they will all be thrown to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean
b) Inexplicably, they will all begin speaking only in ancient Greek
c) They will all be replaced by cool retro rotary phones
d) It will be illegal to drive while holding a cellphone in your hand
3) True or False – Until 1909, the word “on” did not start each verse of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song.
4) By the end of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song, how many total turtle doves does the person receive?
a) 20
b) 22
c) 24
d) Just 2
5) Over the years, in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song, Americans have changed the original word:
a) “Sent” to “Gave”
b) “Gold” to “Golden”
c) Both a and b
d) Neither a nor b
6) On New Year’s Day of 1812, John Adams sent Thomas Jefferson a letter informing him he would be sending:
a) An entire garrison of loyal troops
b) Two books written by John Quincy Adams
c) The key to the city of Braintree, Massachusetts
d) Two tickets to the big hockey game
7) What year did “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song first appear in print?
a) 1780
b) 1830
c) 1880
d) 1930
e) Historians have no earthly idea
8) In the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song, how many total gifts go to the recipient?
a) 264
b) 364
c) 464
d) Just 12
9) What happened when ABC announced it was not showing “A Charlie Brown Christmas” this year?
a) CNN and Fox News still somehow couldn’t agree on this actual fact
b) Americans immediately announced french fries would be called freedom fries instead
c) Outraged citizens boycotted all ABC programming for the month of December
d) PBS agreed to air the popular holiday special
10) True or False – David Lee Roth of Van Halen once claimed he wrote “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song in a previous life, and therefore he is entitled to royalties.
11) Fill in the Blank – The cost of all the gifts in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song in 2019 was estimated at approximately ________ dollars.
12) How did George Washington convince his troops to stay another month on New Year’s Eve of 1776?
a) He gave an impassioned speech and offered each soldier ten dollars in hard coins
b) He threatened to smash each deserter in the face with his stylish powdered wig
c) He told them anyone who remained would receive one-half acre of prime Virginia land
d) He promised if they would just fight one more battle the war would end before spring arrived
13) Which president was born the closest to New Year’s Day, which was on December 29th?
a) Andrew Johnson
b) Franklin Delano Roosevelt
c) James A. Garfield
d) All presidents are born in July
14) Which president died the closest to New Year’s Day, which was on January 5th when he was 60 years old?
a) George Washington
b) Theodore Roosevelt
c) Calvin Coolidge
d) Ben Alexander Hamilton Franklin
Answers:
1 d 8 b
2 d 9 d
3 True 10 False (although it sounds plausible)
4 b 11 $38,000
5 c 12 a
6 b 13 a
7 a 14 c
Scoring:
14 correct – You have been selected “The Honorary Emcee for the Year 2021”
10-13 correct – You only fell asleep in history class once per week
5-9 correct – You look forward to 2021, but really miss Turkey Day
1-4 correct – You are allergic to catchy songs and dubious resolutions
0 correct – You must spend the entire month of January in a giant wooden bowl and eat healthy gluten-free snacks and sing Shakespearean sonnets with British accents while Irish dancing
