TRUE OR FALSE CHRISTMAS Answers Round 5

Below you'll find the answers to Round 5 of our True or False Christmas Quiz, each with a brief explanation so your quiz master can back up any verdicts with confidence. Anything over twelve out of twenty is a solid result, sixteen or more is exceptional, and a perfect twenty puts you firmly on Saint Nicholas's 'good list'. Right-click the list below to print a copy for scoring.

  1. True: Clarence Odbody is the second-class angel who shows George what life would have been like without him.
  2. True: Hugh Grant plays PM David, who famously falls for Natalie, a member of his household staff at Number 10.
  3. False: 'Last Christmas' was famously kept off the top spot that year, spending five weeks at Number Two.
  4. True: Medieval mince pies were savoury meat pies, combining minced meat with dried fruit and warming spices.
  5. False: The Bible does not name the Wise Men, nor does it actually specify that there were three of them.
  6. True: The film takes place in the fictional town of Kingston Falls over the Christmas period, with carols, snow and festive decorations throughout.
  7. True: St Lucia's Day is one of Sweden's major festive traditions, opening the run-up to Christmas.
  8. False: The Russian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 7th January.
  9. True: Krampus is a goat-like demon from the folklore of Austria, Bavaria and other Alpine regions.
  10. True: The plot hinges on whether Kris Kringle, played by Edmund Gwenn in the 1947 original, really is Santa Claus.
  11. False: Turkeys are native to the Americas and only reached Britain in the 16th century.
  12. False: Despite being hugely popular, it was kept off the top spot by the Pet Shop Boys.
  13. True: The 'Tió de Nadal' (Christmas Log), nicknamed 'Caga Tió', is a cherished Catalan tradition.
  14. False: The idea that poinsettias are dangerously poisonous is a long-standing myth.
  15. False: Wenceslas was a 10th-century Duke (later King) of Bohemia, not England.
  16. True: British children typically leave sherry (or another tipple) and a mince pie, often along with a carrot for the reindeer.
  17. False: The French gift-bringer is Père Noël. Père Fouettard is a different, darker figure entirely.
  18. False: 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' was first released in 1971, not 1965.
  19. True: Filipino Christmas celebrations stretch from September all the way through to the Feast of the Three Kings in early January.
  20. False: 'Yule' comes from an Old Norse and Old English word for a midwinter festival, not from Latin.