They aren't for cooking, they are bitter and can cause digestive upsets. They were brought to the US from Mexico by an ambassador named Poinsett, and their red color led to them being marketed as a Christmas plant in the US. I bought mine this week - they only last a few weeks before the red bracts fall off.
Not American or European, but have heard of Holly and Mistletoe through songs (kissing under the mistletoe, deck the halls with holly etc.) Where does Poinsettia appear in Christmas stuff?
The poinsettia is closely associated with Christmas here in the US. The traditional Christmas colors are red and green, so offices, stores, etc. will decorate with red and green poinsettias in December.
Many american and british christmas movies have that scene of someone kissing under the mistletoe. Even though english isnt my first language, I learned this word (and about the plant at all because is not common here in Brazil) quite young because it is on a Harry Potter movie, and I've seen it again and again many times.
However, I would never know the word poinsettia in english. Possibly many others not native english speakers wont know either. In Brazil we call it Bico de Papagaio (Parrot Beak), which I find much easier to remember, or just christmas flower.
we have a similar thing in the Czech Republic but we just call him "a devil". He accompanies St. Nicholas on the 5th of December along with an angel. I have never heard the name Krampus though :/
Yeah, never heard of it in the UK. I did know they had something along those lines on the continent, but I had no idea on the name. Amazed it scored as highly as it did, i was expecting low single figures.
Yeah, St. Nicholas was one of the primary inspirations for the modern character of Santa Claus. In fact, it's where the name "Santa Claus" came from: Saint -> Santa, Nicholas -> Niklaus -> Klaus -> Claus. Santa is still often referred to as St. Nicholas or St. Nick, like in the carol "Up On the House Top" or in "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" (which is actually properly titled "A Visit from St. Nicholas.")
In some countries including Germany and Poland, St. Nicholas brings gifts on December 6. It's like a little foretaste for Christmas. He is often accompanied by a shady guy called Ruprecht who is meant to punish misbehaving children. As a child I was confused by the fact that St. Nicholas and Santa Claus were so similar. St. Nicholas was originally depicted as a bishop but became increasingly styled like Santa Claus.
In English-speaking countries, naughty children are merely given coal in lieu of presents. However, in some parts of Europe, misbehaving children receive Yuletide visits from a demonic beast named Krampus. This explains why you never see any litter on the streets of Vienna.
We were never threatened with coal when I was young. People burned that in their stoves and wouldn't have given it away. The naughty children in my area were threatened with switches in their stockings.
This seems like it has waaaaay too much time on it. It's an easy quiz, and I was doing hunt-and-peck typing with one hand, and I finished with 2:30 left!
Would you consider an alternate (albeit incorrect) spelling of "poinsettia"? Per Wikipedia, there are two acceptable pronunciations of the word, one of which does not pronounce the second "i", which is how I have always heard it pronounced, thus assuming that it is spelled "poinsetta".
And since the Quizmaster is American, that only makes sense. If you want to make a "UK Christmas by Picture," "Australian Christmas by Picture," "Azerbaijani Christmas by Picture," or wherever you're from Christmas by picture, you can totally do that, even on this site, and no one will stop you. In fact, Quizmaster may even feature it!
Actually it's US/UK Christmas by picture (apart from Krampus) - though in the UK we'd also need Christmas Pudding (preferably alight), mince pies, brandy butter and a whole load of other lovely things!
Nothing screams "American Christmas" like the Krampus. Or 17th century Dutch paintings. Or 3rd century Greek/Turkish saints. Or candies from Cologne, Germany. Maybe they could also throw on Black Pete just to really drive the point home that the quiz is for Americans only.
"Eggnog" is reminiscent of a bottled liquor called "Ponche Crema" which is widely available in the Southern Caribbean and Venezuela year-round, not just at Christmas time.
It would be nice if 'Knecht Ruprecht' and 'Ruprecht' were accepted for 'Krampus', as that is what it's called in Germany (excepting Bavaria, where it's called Krampus, just as it is in Austria)
I never quite understand the way people use "holiday" as a synonym for Christmas. As if there were no such thing as summer holidays, Easter holidays or whatever. Or maybe I'm wrong, do people call the Easter Bunny a "holiday character" as well?
"The word holiday has differing connotations in different regions. In the United States the word is used exclusively to refer to the nationally, religiously or culturally observed day(s) of rest or celebration, or the events themselves, whereas in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, the word may refer to the period of time where leave from one's duties has been agreed, and is used as a synonym to the US preferred vacation."
So, in the US, holidays include not just Christmas but also Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and various others.
Was quite agitated that Christmas socks weren't accepted for stocking. I couldn't tell the size from the image and stocking didn't come to mind after I was convinced it was a sock.
Could the image be clearer adding gifts inside the stocking, or could socks be accepted as an alternate answer?
However, I would never know the word poinsettia in english. Possibly many others not native english speakers wont know either. In Brazil we call it Bico de Papagaio (Parrot Beak), which I find much easier to remember, or just christmas flower.
(Black Pete). Never heard of "Krampus."
That worked out well
"The word holiday has differing connotations in different regions. In the United States the word is used exclusively to refer to the nationally, religiously or culturally observed day(s) of rest or celebration, or the events themselves, whereas in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth nations, the word may refer to the period of time where leave from one's duties has been agreed, and is used as a synonym to the US preferred vacation."
So, in the US, holidays include not just Christmas but also Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, and various others.
Could the image be clearer adding gifts inside the stocking, or could socks be accepted as an alternate answer?