Quiz: Here We Come A-Caroling

Test your knowledge of the origins and contemporary renditions
of Christmas carols.

Then discuss your favorite Christmas carols with other Beliefnet members.

Q1. What carol was originally denounced by church authorities for its "total absence of the spirit of religion"?
1. "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen'"
2. "O Holy Night"
3. "Joy to the World"
4. "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"
Q2. Which rock star did not record the song shown?
1. Bob Seger / "Little Drummer Boy"
2. Sting / "I Saw Three Ships"
3. Whitney Houston / "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
4. Ricky Martin / "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming"
Q3. How many gifts would you have if you were given all the gifts mentioned on the 12th day in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?
1. 92
2. 80
3. 78
4. 76
Q4. On what day did King Wenceslas take food and wood to a poor peasant?
1. The Feast of Stephen
2. The Feast of Saint Agnes
3. The Feast of Saint Nicholas
4. Michaelmas
Q5. Which boy band wrote and recorded the song "The Birth of Christ" for the fund-raising album "A Very Special Christmas 2"?
1. Backstreet Boys
2. Boyz II Men
3. 'N Sync
4. 98 Degrees
Q6. Which composer said "I did think I did see all Heaven before me and the great God himself" while writing his oratorio "Messiah"?
1. Beethoven
2. Bach
3. Mozart
4. Handel
Q7. What carol has the same tune as "Greensleeves"?
1. "What Child Is This?"
2. "Ding Dong! Merrily on High"
3. "The Holly and the Ivy"
4. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"
Q8. What carol was composed on the fly before Midnight Mass for voices and guitar because the church organ was broken?
1. "O Little Town of Bethlehem"
2. "Silent Night"
3. "Who Is He in Yonder Stall"
4. "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"
Q9. Felix Mendelssohn composed "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" as part of a cantata commemorating:
1. Charlemagne
2. Pope Leo X
3. Bible printer Johannes Gutenberg
4. A beautiful Italian soprano
Q10. What popular song was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas?
1. "I Wonder as I Wander"
2. "Deck the Halls"
3. "Go, Tell It on the Mountain"
4. "Jingle Bells"
Q11. Which carol was a "catechism song" to help young Catholics learn the basics of their faith?
1. "The First Noel"
2. "The Twelve Days of Christmas"
3. "I Saw Three Ships"
4. "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night"


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