Викторина Christmas

Advent is the period of four Sundays and weeks before Christmas

1. What is the origin of the word “ADVENT”?

• Comes from German, means GREAT LENT
• Comes from Latin, means COMING
• Comes from Greek, means FIRST

Advent means 'Coming' in Latin .

This is the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas. Some people fast during advent to help them concentrate on preparing to celebrate Jesus's coming.

Chrismons are Christmas decorations with Christian symbols on them. They help Christians to remember that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus's birthday. They are often used on Christmas Trees in Churches and Christians homes.

2. What are the traditional colours of Chrismons ?

• White and silver
• White and gold
• White and blue

Chrismons are traditionally colored white and gold.

White is the liturgical (or Church) color for Christmas and symbolises that Jesus was pure and perfect. Gold symbolises His Majesty and Glory.

There are several colors which are traditionally associated with Christmas. Most the colors and their meanings come from the western/northern European traditions and customs. 3 . Who is the blue colour associated with?

• Mary, the mother of Jesus
• Jesus
• Bishops

Mary, the mother of Jesus

Mary was often painted wearing blue to show she was very important.

Carols were first sung in Europe thousands of years ago, but these were not Christmas Carols. They were pagan songs, sung at the Winter Solstice celebrations. 4. The word CAROL meant ……..

• dance
• sing
• play

The word Carol actually means dance People danced round stone circles.

Carols used to be written and sung during all four seasons, but only the tradition of singing them at Christmas has survived.

Mistletoe 5. The tradition of hanging it in the house goes back to the times of the ancient …………….

• Celts
• Romans
• Druids

Druids

It is supposed to possess mystical powers which bring good luck to the household and wards off evil spirits.

6. The custom of kissing under Mistletoe comes from……….

• England
• America
• Ireland

ENGLAND

The original custom was that a berry was picked from the sprig of Mistletoe before the person could be kissed and when all the berries had gone, there could be no more kissing!

Someone had to deliver presents to children at Christmas, so in the UK, particularly in England, he became 'Father Christmas' or 'Old Man Christmas', an old character from stories from the Middle ages.

7. Match the names of PRESENT GIVERS to the COUNTRIES.

GIFT BRINGERS

COUNTRIES

• 1. Papai Noel 
• 2. Pai Natal
• 3. Swiety Mikolaj
•   4. Tomte (Christmas Gnomes/Elves)
• 5.   Deda Mraz (Grandfather Frost)
• 6. Babbo Natale or La Befana (an old woman) or The Three Kings

• 1. Poland
• 2. Serbia
• 3. Portugal
• 4. Italy
• 5. Brazil
• 6. Sweden

GIFT BRINGERS

COUNTRIES

• 1. Papai Noel 
• 2. Pai Natal
• 3. Swiety Mikolaj
•   4. Tomte (Christmas Gnomes/Elves)
• 5.   Deda Mraz (Grandfather Frost)
• 6. Babbo Natale or La Befana (an old woman) or The Three Kings

• 1. Brazil
• 2. Portugal
• 3. Poland
• 4. Sweden
• 5. Serbia
• 6. Italy

8. The custom of sending Christmas cards was started in the UK in 1843 by Sir Henry Cole. He was ……………..

• a Royal family member
• a civil servant
• a businessman

civil servant (Government worker) who had helped to set up the new 'Public Record Office' (now called the Post Office)

Christmas crackers are a traditional Christmas favorite in the UK.

9. They were first made in the

• 18 th century
• 19 th century
• 17 th century

They were first made in about 1845-1850 by a London sweet maker called Tom Smith.

Crackers were originally called 'cosaques' and were thought to be named after the 'Cossack' soldiers who had a reputation for riding on their horses and firing guns into the air!

A story is told that, one night before Christmas, a man was walking through the forest and looked up to see the stars shining through the tree branches . It was so beautiful, that he went home and told his children that it reminded him of Jesus, who left the stars of heaven to come to earth at Christmas.

10. Who was that man according to the story, who first took a fur tree to his house and started the tradition of the Christmas tree?

1. Martin Luther

2. John Gaunt

3. St. Nicholas

The first person to bring a Christmas Tree into a house, in the way we know it today, may have been the 16th century German preacher Martin Luther.

11. Who introduced the tradition of Christmas tree decoration to Great Britain ?

• Queen Elizabeth I
• Queen Elizabeth II
• Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

The Christmas tree became popular in England in 1841 when Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, brought a Christmas tree over from Germany and put it in Windsor Castle. The Royal couple were illustrated in a newspaper standing around the Christmas tree with their children, and the tradition of decorating a tree became fashionable.

The presents are left in different places!

12. Where are they normally not left?

1. in shoes or boots put out by the children

2. in stockings, often left hanging by a fire place

3. under the bed

4. under the Christmas Tree

Under the bed

13. Match

“ Marry Christmas”

Language

• 1. Feliz Navidad 
• 2. God Jul
• 3. Joyeux Noël
• 4. Buon Natale
• 5. Zalig Kerstfeest
• 6. Hyvää joulua

• 1. Finnish
• 2. Italy
• 3.Dutch
• 4. Spanish
• 5. French
• 6. Swedish

Marry Christmas

Language

• 1. Feliz Navidad 
• 2. God Jul
• 3. Joyeux Noël
• 4. Buon Natale
• 5. Zalig Kerstfeest
• 6. Hyvää joulua

• 1. Spain
• 2. Swedish
• 3. French
• 4. Italy
• 5. Dutch
• 6. Finnish

One of the main reasons we have the custom of giving and receiving presents at Christmas, is to remind us of the presents given to Jesus by the Wise Men.

14. What did not they present?

1. Frankincense

2. Myrrh

3. Gem stones

4. Gold

Gem stones

Frankincense was a perfume used in Jewish worship and, as a gift, it showed that people would worship Jesus.

Gold was associated with Kings and Christians believe that Jesus is the King of Kings.

Myrrh was a perfume that was put on dead bodies to make them smell nice and, as a gift, it showed that Jesus would suffer and die.

15. Boxing Day takes place on December 26th and is only celebrated in a few countries. When did the tradition start?1

• 500 years ago
• 700 years ago
• 800 years ago

It started about 800 years ago, during the Middle Ages.

It was the day when the alms box, collection boxes for the poor often kept in churches, were traditionally opened so that the contents could be distributed to poor people. Some churches still open these boxes on Boxing Day.