50 Office Holiday Party Trivia Questions and Answers

1. In what year was the first National Christmas Tree lit in Washington, D.C.?

2. What date did the Continental Congress appoint as a national Thanksgiving after the American victory at Saratoga?

3. In which country did printed Advent calendars first become popular?

4. Boxing Day is traditionally linked to giving gifts or money to which group?

5. St. Nicholas served as bishop of Myra, a town in what is now which country?

6. Ava, Ben and Cy each take one office-party job: hanging lights, setting out snacks or running the quiz. Cy is hanging the lights, and Ava is not handling food. Who sets out the snacks?

7. The first principle of Kwanzaa, honored on December 26, is umoja. What does umoja mean?

8. In which Massachusetts neighborhood was Louis Prang's factory, which printed early mass-produced U.S. Christmas cards?

9. Which British monarch gave the first royal Christmas broadcast, in 1932?

10. A Hamburg teacher named Johann Hinrich Wichern is credited with inventing which holiday decoration in 1839?

11. In Japan, Ōmisoka is the name for which day?

12. During Kwanzaa, the symbols of the holiday are set on a woven mat called what?

13. During Lunar New Year, money gifts are traditionally given in envelopes of what color?

14. What is the Japanese name for the New Year holiday, the biggest celebration of the year in Japan?

15. In the Philippines, the Christmas season famously begins in which month?

16. Which fat is specifically forbidden in protected Dresdner stollen?

17. In the Republic of Ireland, what is the official name of the December 26 public holiday?

18. On Lunar New Year, which festival marks the end of the celebration on the 15th day?

19. What British holiday stage show features fairy tales, slapstick and a lot of audience shouting back?

20. In Mexico, the person who finds the tiny figurine in the Rosca de Reyes traditionally hosts a party on February 2 serving what?

21. Cloves, a warm spice in many holiday recipes, are actually what part of a plant?

22. Marzipan, often shaped into tiny fruits and animals for the holidays, is made mainly from what?

23. Italian rules cited for panettone require eggs with at least what proportion of yolk?

24. Champurrado, a warm Mexican holiday drink, is thickened with what?

25. Pandoro, a Christmas cake from Verona, Italy, is famous for what shape?

26. British mince pies are filled with mincemeat. What is mincemeat mostly made of today?

27. Traditional figgy pudding was commonly cooked by which method?

28. Osechi ryōri, packed in layered boxes, is special food for which Japanese holiday?

29. Why does a foehn wind warm as it descends the sheltered side of a mountain?

30. Cranberries, a classic holiday side, are harvested by flooding what?

31. New Mexico's paper-bag luminarias became practical after which bag feature spread in the late 1800s?

32. Snowflakes usually begin when supercooled water freezes onto what?

33. Which Arctic animal changes its coat from brown in summer to white in winter?

34. What causes the northern lights?

35. The December solstice marks the astronomical start of which season in the Southern Hemisphere?

36. Most conifers stay green all winter. Which one drops all its needles every fall?

37. Plants like pine, spruce and holly that keep their leaves all winter are called what?

38. Around the December solstice, how many hours of sunlight does the North Pole get?

39. Earth's seasons happen because its axis is tilted by roughly how many degrees?

40. Freshly fallen snow is made up mostly of what?

41. Christmastide, the season from Christmas Day to the eve of Epiphany, traditionally lasts how many days?

42. A standard Advent calendar opens its first door on which date?

43. In what year did Pope Gregory XIII introduce the Gregorian calendar used for today's New Year's Day?

44. In what year did the U.S. Post Office issue its first Christmas stamp?

45. Philippine law requires employers to pay a bonus called what by December 24?

46. The Julian calendar, still used by some Orthodox churches, now runs how many days behind the Gregorian calendar?

47. How many solstices happen every year?

48. Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally last how many days?

49. Kwanzaa candles come in how many different colors?

50. Canada's New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim in Vancouver began in which year?