1. Who sang the first line on the 1984 hit Do They Know It’s Christmas by Band Aid?
2. What is the name of the mythical multiheaded dog that guards the gates of the underworld?
3. In which modern-day country is the ancient city of Patara, the birthplace of St Nicholas, on whom Santa Claus is said to be modelled?
4. How many ice hockey players are on the ice for each team at any one time?
5. What would you receive if you were given 42 Cygni over the course of the song The 12 Days of Christmas?
6. The hippocampus in the brain is so named because of its resemblance to which marine creature?
7. In which country is Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) the equivalent of Father Christmas?
8. Which of the Brontë sisters wrote Wuthering Heights?
9. Who starred as Scott Calvin in the 1994 film The Santa Clause?
10. What are the two colours of Pakistan’s national flag?
11. The song Jingle Bells was not originally a Christmas carol, but was written to celebrate which other American national holiday?
12. What relation to the Mongol leader Genghis Khan was Kublai Khan?
13. Which arthropod is considered to be a symbol of prosperity and good luck at Christmas in Ukraine and is often used to decorate Christmas trees?
14. Rive Gauche is a fragrance from which fashion house?
15. By what name is the raised coral atoll Kiritimati, located in the Pacific Ocean, also known?
16. The Battle of Agincourt took place in which century?
17. Who recorded the song Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree in 1958 when only 13 years old?
18. Who was the leading goal scorer at the 2018 Fifa World Cup?
19. In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, who does Ebenezer Scrooge celebrate Christmas Day with?
20. The name of which type of pasta means “little ribbons” and comes from the Italian word for “a slice”?
21. Who resigned as the president of the Soviet Union on Christmas Day 1991?
22. Which animal is associated with the word “palomino”?
23. By what title is the Clement Clarke Moore poem A Visit from St Nicholas more commonly known?
24. Nestlé - the largest food company in the world in 2018, measured by revenues - is based in which country?
25. What is the period that starts on the Sunday nearest to 30 November and ends on the Sunday before 25 December?
26. What would you be afraid of if you suffered from scolionophobia?
27. Mary Stilwell married which American inventor on Christmas Day 1871?
28. The Guru Granth Sahib is the holy book in which religion?
29. Which US state became the first to declare Christmas a legal holiday in 1836 (and is also the first alphabetically) ?
30. Robert Smith has been the only constant member of which band, formed in 1976, whose hits include Boys Don’t Cry, The Love Cats and Lullaby?
31. In 1966, horror movie star Boris Karloff voiced which Dr Seuss character in a Christmas TV special?
32. Which world leader went to school with Friends actor Matthew Perry?
33. What relation to Robert L May, who wrote the story Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, was Johnny Marks, who wrote the song of the same name?
34. What type of creature is a King of Saxony?
35. Who will the Australian cricket team play in the Boxing Day Test of 2019?
36. Goneril, Cordelia and Regan are the daughters of the title character of which Shakespeare play?
37. In the song, what are Frosty the Snowman’s eyes made out of? 
38. Which Australian city was named in honour of the consort to King William IV?
39. On what date do they celebrate Christmas - also known as Epiphany - in Armenia?
40. First published in 1867, which monthly women’s fashion magazine is aimed at what it calls “discerning ladies”?
41. What Christmas holiday film sequel includes a cameo by Donald Trump?
42. In the Harry Potter novels, which house is Draco Malfoy a member of?
43. Traditionally, to avoid bad luck, mincemeat and Christmas pudding mixtures should be stirred only in which direction? 
44. The Magic Flute is an opera by which composer?
45. Befana the Christmas Witch, who delivers gifts on 5 January, features in the folklore of which country?
46. What is the name of the wife of shopkeeper Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in the cartoon series The Simpsons?
47. By what name is the medieval drink posset - which consists of milk, often eggs and some form of alcohol such as sherry or madeira - also known?
48. In what sport might players practise in a bullpen?
49. What is the first name of the Italian who painted The Adoration of the Magi, which is also the name of one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?
50. In what song would we all want some figgy pudding (and is also our message to you)?

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QUIZ ANSWERS

1. Paul Young​
2. Cerberus​
3. Turkey​
4. Six​
5. Swans​
6. Seahorse​
7. Russia​
8. Emily​
9. Tim Allen​
10. Green and white
11. Thanksgiving​
12. Grandson​
13. Spider​
14. Yves Saint Laurent​
15. Christmas Island​
16. 15th (25 October 1415)
17. Brenda Lee​
18. Harry Kane​
19. His nephew, Fred​
20. Fettuccine​
21. Mikhail Gorbachev​
22. Horse​
23. The Night Before Christmas​
24. Switzerland​
25. Advent
26. School​
27. Thomas Edison​
28. Sikhism
29. Alabama​
30. The Cure​
31. The Grinch​
32. Justin Trudeau​
33. Brother-in-law​
34. Bird
35. New Zealand​
36. King Lear​
37. Coal​
38. Adelaide​
39. 6 January​
40. Harper’s Bazaar​
41. Home Alone 2​​
42. Slytherin​
43. Clockwise​
44. Mozart​
45. Italy
46. Manjula​
47. Eggnog​
48. Baseball
49. Leonardo (da Vinci)​
50. We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Questions set by John Cunnane