“Just Like the Ones I Used to Know...”
1. According to Billboard, this is the oldest English-language Christmas carol, dating back to the 1650s:
A. “Silent Night”
B. “Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”
C. “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”
D. “The Holly and the Ivy”
Answer: C, “God Rest Ye Merry.” Read this article. I really like that song. And notice that no, it’s not “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen.” One of the most important commas in all of commadom.
2. There is a theory these days holding that “O Come, All Ye Faithful” was written with secret political intent, as a rallying crying for what cause?
A. The Stuart Restoration of 1660
B. The attempted Stuart retaking of the throne in 1745 under “Bonnie Prince Charlie”
C. The consolidation of the Austrian Empire in 1804
D. Napoleon’s return from exile in Elba in 1815
Answer: B, the Bonnie Prince Charlie episode. So says Bennett Zon, the head of the Music Department at Durham University. What, you know better?
3. According to a 2015 tally by FiveThirtyEight, what is the most covered Christmas song of all time?
A. “Silent Night”
B. “White Christmas”
C. “Jingle Bells”
D. “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
Answer: A, “Silent Night.” Followed by “White Christmas,” second, and “Jingle Bells,” third. “Have Yourself” was seventh.
4. According to a 2021 YouGov poll, what do Americans think is the worst Christmas song of all time?
A. “Baby, It’s Cold Outside”
B. “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”
C. “All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth”
D. “Santa Baby”
Answer: D, “Santa Baby.” It nosed out “Grandma” by one percentage point, so, within the margin of error. Still, it was liked overall by 68 percent–32 percent. Great trivia here: It was co-written by Phil Springer, who, first of all, is still alive (!) and second of all went on to write songs with Utah GOP Senator Orrin Hatch, who was something of a tunesmith. And there’s more politics to this: The co-composer was Joan Javits, the niece (I think) of longtime liberal Republican New York Senator Jacob Javits. And I don’t see what’s so bad about it. It’s a fine song.
5. And according to a 2021 ranking by SmoothRadio.com, what is the best country Christmas song of all time?
A. “Jingle Bell Rock,” by Bobby Helms
B. “Blue Christmas,” by Elvis Presley
C. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” by Brenda Lee
D. “Christmases When You Were Mine,” by Taylor Swift
Answer: C, “Rockin’ Around.” Great song, great guitar, pretty cool sax solo. Brenda Lee was 13 when she record this!
6. Which of these artists has never recorded a Christmas song?
A. Snoop Dogg
B. They Might Be Giants
C. Bee Gees
D. Foo Fighters
Answer: Surprisingly, C, Bee Gees. Look it up! Snoop appears to have done a number of holiday tunes. They Might Be Giants made a Christmas E.P. with five songs, and Foo Fighters recorded Chuck Berry’s classic “Run Rudolph Run,” also covered by Keith Richards and Dave Edmunds.
