School Visits

The English Heritage Schools Christmas Quiz

Do you know your Jingle Bells from your baubles?  Time to test your knowledge with our fantastically festive Christmas quiz! Have a pen or pencil and paper ready to write down your answers, and get quizzing - you can check your answers to see how many you get right at the bottom of this page. 

We'd love to know how you get on - share your class scores with us on Twitter @EHEducation!

 

1.  What Christmas nickname did the people of York give to Clifford’s Tower? 
A) The Christmas cracker
B) The minced pie
C) The Christmas pudding 

2.  Today, we open our Christmas presents on the morning of Christmas day. In Stuart England, what day were gifts traditionally exchanged?
A) 24 December
B) 26 December
C) 1 January

3.  After Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria changed the place where she and her family gathered each year for Christmas. At which famous English Heritage site did they celebrate?
A) Osborne 
B) Kenilworth Castle
C) Audley End House and Gardens

4.  Which famous king was crowned on 25th December in 1066?
A) Henry VIII
B) William I 
C) Richard III

5.  Before the invention of plastic decorations, evergreens were cut and brought inside to decorate homes for Christmas. It is traditional to remove all of these decorations after Twelfth Night, but when is Twelfth Night?
A) 5 January
B) 12 January
C) 19 January

6.  In this video on the English Heritage YouTube channel, Mrs Crocombe bakes a Christmas cake – but which English Heritage site is she cooking at?
A) Eltham Palace
B) Audley End House and Gardens
C) Belsay Hall, Castle and Gardens

7.  Which famous historical figure banned the celebration of Christmas?
A) Oliver Cromwell
B) Guy Fawkes
C) Florence Nightingale

8.  Why did the British confectioner, Tom Smith, invent Christmas crackers in 1848?
A) He had lots of small toys to get rid of
B) He liked writing cheesy jokes
C) To help him sell more sweets

9.  The Tudors made a kind of wreath called a Christmas bough to decorate their homes, but what was the main plant it was made of? 
A) Ivy
B) Mistletoe
C) Holly 

10. Which famous author wrote the classic Christmas story, A Christmas Carol?
A) Lewis Carroll
B) Charles Dickens 
C) Cressida Cowell 

  • Check your answers here:

    1. B) The minced pie

    2. C) 1 January

    3. A) Osborne, Queen Victoria's home on the Isle of Wight

    4. B) William I or William the Conqueror!

    5. A) 5 January 

    6. B) Audley End House and Gardens

    7. A) Oliver Cromwell

    8. C) To help him sell more sweets!

    9. C) Holly 

    10. B) Charles Dickens