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Christmas Vocabulary

Based on the definitions, guess these words you might hear around Christmas-time.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 23, 2019
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First submittedFebruary 3, 2014
Times taken31,268
Average score65.0%
Rating4.00
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Definition
Word
Scene that depicts the birth of Jesus
Nativity
Trough where the baby Jesus was laid
Manger
Present-filled sock
Stocking
Dairy and egg beverage
Eggnog
Red-leaved Christmas plant
originally from Mexico
Poinsettia
Time of year that starts on the fourth
Sunday before Christmas
Advent
Four letter word that refers to
the three wise men
Magi
Aromatic resin used in incense,
given by the above
Frankincense
Myrrh
Decorative cord that can be
hung around a tree
Garland
Definition
Word
Horn of plenty
Cornucopia
Ring-shaped plant decoration
Wreath
Pagan festival now a synonym
for Christmas
Yule
Holiday celebrating the wise men's visit,
usually on January 6th
Epiphany
Decorative plant with toxic red berries
Holly
Decorative plant to kiss underneath
Mistletoe
Beverage of hot mulled cider;
"And to you your _______ too"
Wassail
Silvery strips used to decorate trees
Tinsel
Horse-pulled vehicle to travel over snow
Sleigh
Another word for tree branch
(think: Deck the Halls)
Bough
+2
Level 77
Feb 4, 2014
Can you please accept creche for nativity and you have myrrh spelled incorrectly.
+3
Level ∞
Feb 4, 2014
Crèche will work now and I fixed the spelling. Thanks.
+1
Level 24
Feb 9, 2014
Very nice quiz! 20/20
+4
Level 58
Dec 6, 2014
Got all of them except for Wassail. I've never heard that term before.
+2
Level 84
Jan 9, 2017
Nor I.
+6
Level 55
Dec 6, 2014
I tried Saturnalia.....that's one of the pagan/roman festivals too!
+3
Level 37
Dec 6, 2014
Lol I thought of Saturnalia too because of Big Bang Theory...
+2
Level 77
Dec 7, 2014
Right there with you. The only pagan thing around Christmas I could think of - Saturnalia. Although I guess it isn't really a word commonly used..
+6
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2017
Saturnalia is not a synonym for Christmas. Yule is. For example, the word Yule appears in many Christmas carols. Saturnalia does not.
+2
Level 78
Dec 19, 2020
Pity. We could use some new Christmas carols with Saturnalia thrown in.
+4
Level 77
Dec 9, 2017
Ditto. When I looked up Saturnalia on Google, it said, "the ancient Roman festival of Saturn in December, which was a period of general merrymaking and was the predecessor of Christmas." It certainly should be at least a type-in.
+5
Level 68
Dec 17, 2020
But it's not a synonym for Christmas!
+1
Level 55
Dec 6, 2014
you could also add something about Ivy!
+9
Level 74
Dec 6, 2014
Ivy berries are toxic too. The holly and the ivy, when they are both full-grown, can send you to the hospital, while you barf and moan and groan.
+6
Level 89
Dec 9, 2017
That should be a nursery rhyme.
+1
Level 41
Jan 2, 2019
They're not red though.
+1
Level 81
Dec 17, 2020
Fits with the music - nice :)
+1
Level 37
Dec 6, 2014
Hi does anyone know how to put a photo next to your quiz? Like how this quiz has the nativity scene?
+4
Level 84
Dec 6, 2014
The JetPunk team does it when the quiz gets to be in the Home page. As user (either suscribed or casual), you can't. At least, that's what I remember when I asked them.
+2
Level 65
Dec 11, 2017
I think it has something to do with copyright issues
+5
Level 84
Dec 7, 2014
People put garland around a tree? What's the point of that; it's already a tree. I was confused by that clue; at least where I live, garlands are used to decorate doorways and other portions of homes and businesses, but never a tree. Maybe it's different elsewhere?
+1
Level 77
Dec 7, 2014
In Scandinavia it's pretty common to put garlands around trees. Then it's usually silver, gold, red, blue, whatever colour sort of tinsel garlands and not the leafy kind.
+1
Level 88
Dec 17, 2020
I think it's fairly common in the USA as well. My family used to put garlands made of beads and others made of tinsel on our tree in addition to lights and other decorations.
+3
Level 68
Dec 25, 2023
Americans decorate their tree with Judy Garland.
+2
Level 82
Dec 9, 2017
The same reason Ed Gein liked to wear human skin, I guess.
+2
Level 51
Dec 10, 2017
omg. Too funny. And Merry Xmas.
+4
Level 91
Dec 8, 2014
Consider adding "Three Kings Day" or "Day of the Kings" for January 6? Everywhere I've lived that celebrated it called it that more often than the current answer. (Actually "Dia de los Reyes," but same thing).
+2
Level 74
Apr 3, 2016
I agree! Please allow Three Kings Day. I've never heard it called Ephiphany.
+4
Level 41
Dec 9, 2017
what about allowing Twelfth Night??
+2
Level 37
Dec 11, 2017
Three Kings' Day (or Dia De Los Reyes) is the celebration of the Epithany in Latin cultures. They are both celebrated on January 6th.

It's just a difference in culture, such like "Mardi Gras" and "Carnival"

are different words for the same event.

+1
Level 67
Oct 7, 2019
Yes, I tried three kings I had never heard of this epiphany.
+3
Level 46
Dec 9, 2014
Thank you Hunger Game, Only reason I got cornucopia
+3
Level 69
Feb 14, 2018
I've never seen a cornucopia at Christmas; I thought that was strictly a Thanksgiving thing, because of it being filled with harvested foodstuffs.
+3
Level 27
Nov 29, 2020
Same! I knew what it was but thought it was a Thanksgiving thing.
+1
Level 68
Dec 25, 2023
It's actually originally a Greek thing completely unrelated to either Christmas or Thanksgiving.

Zeus was hidden in a cave in Crete from his father Cronus who would have otherwise devoured him, and there nursed by the goat Amaltheia. While playing with Amaltheia, he accidentally broke off one of her horns, which after that would provide unending food.

+3
Level 51
Aug 6, 2015
The ring-shaped plant decoration perplexed me for quite some time. I was trying to think of some kind of ring that's used to decorate a plant. lol
+2
Level 69
Feb 14, 2018
Same here! I'm like, okay, you decorate your tree, you decorate your mantle, you maybe decorate your door, your front yard… but who the hell decorates their house plants?? And specifically with ring-shaped things?!
+3
Level 37
Dec 17, 2020
it should be changed to ring-shaped decorative plant.
+1
Level 75
Dec 17, 2020
Much better!
+2
Level 43
Sep 21, 2017
I love Christmas and I'm Jewish, is that weird?
+2
Level 82
Nov 18, 2017
No.
+5
Level 82
Dec 9, 2017
It's not really a Christian holiday anyway, neither in its original pagan form nor in its contemporary capitalist and commercialized one. And the various family, community and cultural traditions attached to it are mostly faith independent.
+1
Level 48
Dec 11, 2017
I know it's all in vogue in invoke its pagan origins, and I am always among the first to point out it was unlikely Dec 25 would have been the actual birthday, but Christmas - Christ's Mass - is as Christian as it gets. Regardless how faithfully observant the faithful are, or how many non-faithful like to decorate and shop it is a Christian holiday.
+2
Level 71
Dec 26, 2023
The name doesn't make the actual occasion, as celebrated, more Christian. Putting the Christ back in Christmas makes about as much sense as putting the Thor back in Thursday. Thursday, of course, Thor's Day, being about as Norse as it gets.
+4
Level 82
Apr 24, 2019
It's a pagan holiday with a Christian and Capitalist veneer.
+1
Level 79
Jan 23, 2024
It is indeed, and a very inclusive one for all people in the Western world. Easter has always been a bigger Christian festival, although many civilisations also have a spring / equinox celebration too.
+3
Level 68
Dec 25, 2023
It's extremely christian - in the sense that it is completely unoriginal and "borrowed" from various other cultures.
+1
Level 48
Dec 11, 2017
If not for Jewish people we wouldn't have half of our best known Christmas carols.
+1
Level 77
Dec 17, 2020
Examples: "White Christmas," by Irving Berlin"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "A Holly Jolly Christmas," and "Run Rudolph Run," by Johnny Marks"The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" by Robert Wells and Mel Tormé"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," by Edward Pola and George Wyle"Santa Baby," by Joan Javits and Philip Springer"Silver Bells," by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans
+2
Level 81
Dec 17, 2020
"carols" - this word once meant hymns, not sure about now
+2
Level 69
Feb 14, 2018
I'm a Buddhist and I hate Christmas with a fiery passion. But it has nothing to do with religion – it's all about the insane relatives and the domestic drama.
+2
Level 71
Mar 5, 2018
I think you should follow the 'Eightfold Path'
+4
Level 82
Dec 17, 2020
Buddhist in progress*
+2
Level ∞
Nov 12, 2023
Buddhism, the religion of hate.
+1
Level 79
Jan 23, 2024
Ha ha, maybe a buddhist like Monkey.
+3
Level 68
Dec 17, 2020
Who cares? I'm not in the least bit religious, but you can always count me in for food, booze and presents!
+2
Level 85
Dec 9, 2017
Isn't a cornucopia a Thanksgiving-thing more than a Christmas-thing?
+1
Level 27
Nov 29, 2020
That's what I think too!!!
+2
Level 32
Dec 18, 2020
No Idea about Thanksgiving (I'm a Brit) but Dickens in Christmas Carol compares the ghost of Christmas past's horn to a Horn of Plenty.
+1
Level 68
Dec 25, 2023
It's an Ancient Greek thing.
+5
Level 76
Dec 10, 2017
There is actually no evidence at all that there were three wise men. The Bible makes no reference to the number of wise men; merely that they brought three gifts i.e. gold, frankincense and myrrh. For all we know there may have been a fourth who only remembered at the last second but the shops were closed so ended up tagging onto the end of the myrrh
+1
Level 68
Dec 17, 2020
To be honest, even if the bible did say three, I wouldn't count that as good evidence that any of it happened!
+1
Level 79
Jan 23, 2024
Whether it actually happened (or not) isn't really the point of the story.

Anyway, what are they doing creeping around a cow shed at two o'clock in the morning? That doesn't sound very wise to me.

+2
Level 78
Dec 19, 2020
Gold is expensive. That was a gift from at least two people. I also like to think that the other two gifts had at least two people going in on them together as well.
+2
Level ∞
Nov 12, 2023
Some of the wise men around the office chipped in and got you this gold.
+1
Level 68
Dec 25, 2023
Maybe they were loaded. They are sometimes referred to as kings, after all.
+1
Level 56
Dec 11, 2017
I always thought it was gold, frankincense and mirth!
+1
Level 69
Feb 14, 2018
I personally think mirth would have been a way more practical present. Everyone can use a little mirth; babies in particular really enjoy it! What the hell are you supposed to do with frankincense, especially when you live in a barn?
+2
Level 45
Dec 15, 2018
Trade it to get some cash for better accommodation? :P More seriously though I think it’s meant to be a symbol pointing towards Jesus’ divine status, as it was often burned in worship, meaning that he’d be worshipped somehow later... or so I learned in my church school days *shrugs*
+1
Level 78
Dec 19, 2020
They had gold to get better accommodations. The other two presents were given to make the new accommodations smell better.
+1
Level 48
Dec 11, 2017
I eventually came up with Yule but not before trying Festivus and Krampusnacht.
+3
Level 61
Dec 12, 2017
Did ok with this quiz and only missed one. Not trying to be controversial but just curious as to why crèche should be used for nativity as this is something I've never heard, I always thought a crèche was a drop off child care service.
+2
Level 77
Dec 14, 2017
A fun fact that I just learned about the three wise men is that there were probably a lot more than just three wise men to show up. The bible does not say there were three magi, just that there were three gifts presented. Also, according to Matthew 2:1 the wise men arrived in Jerusalem. So, every time they have a nativity scene with three wise men it is incorrect. There were probably hundreds of them as well as being there much later than the night Jesus was born.
+1
Level 71
Mar 5, 2018
How can you find that many 'Wise' men?
+2
Level 82
Apr 24, 2019
These other guys showed up to God's birthday party and didn't bring gifts? Not very wise.
+2
Level 84
Dec 17, 2020
People confuse the story from Luke 2 -- in which a chorus of angels alerted local shepherds to the birth of Christ -- with the story from Matthew 2 -- in which the wisemen presented themselves almost two years later. Wisemen should never be in a nativity scene. The star that they were following didn't appear until Jesus was born. When they finally arrived in Jerusalem, they asked Herod where to find the new king and his chief priests said that he would be born in Bethlehem. When the wisemen didn't return, Herod ordered the death of all boys under the age of 2.

And yes, there is no reason to believe that only three wisemen made the 12-23 month journey. That fallacy is based entirely on the fact that they only presented three types of gifts.

+2
Level 85
Dec 18, 2020
The difference in time and location is underscored by the biblical accounts themselves: the shepherds saw Jesus as a newborn in a manger (Luke 2:12), whereas the magi visited Jesus and Mary in a house (Mat. 2: 11).
+1
Level 9
Mar 20, 2018
Was anyone else surprised when eggnog and stocking received a higher percentage than nativity and manger? Maybe it's just because I'm Catholic, but I was very surprised.
+1
Level 45
Dec 15, 2018
Stocking I’m not so surprised at, but eggnog definitely... I’ve literally never known anyone who drinks it?! But yeah manger I’d expect more people to have known too, because of all the carols it’s mentioned in :|
+1
Level 84
Dec 17, 2020
I wait all year for eggnog to come back, and this year it's always sold out, supposedly because of COVID.
+1
Level 71
Dec 26, 2023
"All the carols" like... Away in a Manger.

Any others?

+1
Level 75
Jan 15, 2020
Maybe advocaat should be accepted for eggnog?
+1
Level 67
Feb 11, 2020
I agree. While it isn't eggnog proper, it is still a variation of it.
+1
Level 67
Feb 11, 2020
As a Jew, I did a lot worse than I thought I was going to.
+1
Level 67
Dec 17, 2020
Jesus said the same thing.
+1
Level 81
Dec 17, 2020
Well his disciples anyway
+2
Level 69
Dec 17, 2020
Disappointed that you accept 'Myr', but not 'Frank'.
+2
Level 67
Dec 17, 2020
I don't suppose there'll be much kissing going on under the misteltoe this Christmas :(
+3
Level 67
Dec 17, 2020
Actually, in the US, the Bible Belt is where they've had the biggest problems with people not honoring the mask and social distance protocols, so don't count us out just yet!
+1
Level 78
Dec 19, 2020
If you're in quarantine or can't go anywhere since everything is closed, you have nothing better to do than kiss (someone who lives in your house) under the mistletoe.
+1
Level 65
Dec 17, 2020
How about sledge in addition to sleigh?
+1
Level 53
Dec 19, 2020
Wassail I get but not Magi. Haven't heard that term until today.