Bells on top of sheet music for the song Jingle Bells

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How Well Do You Know Your Christmas Carols?

Test your holiday music knowledge — and stream some festive tunes

Lauren Vespoli and Jennifer Ortiz,

Updated December 11, 2023

AARP

Published November 23, 2020

/ Updated December 11, 2023

15 Questions

Nothing signals the start of the holiday season like Christmas music — and behind every catchy carol is a great story. You might be able to sing “Last Christmas” from memory, but how well do you really know these classic holiday tunes? Bonus fun: Listen to all these classics, and more, on our AARP Spotify Playlist!

How Well Do You Know Your Christmas Carols?

[ {
 "question" : "Which Christmas song is also the best-selling single of all time?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "“Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“White Christmas” by Bing Crosby",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Blue Christmas” by Elvis",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Bing Crosby’s rendition of “White Christmas,” written by Irving Berlin and released in 1942, has sold 50 million copies, making it the best-selling single ever, according to The Guinness Book of World Records.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "“Do You Hear What I Hear” was originally written as a call for peace during which conflict?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "The Vietnam War",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "The Cuban Missile Crisis",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "The assassination of President John F. Kennedy",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Noël Regney and Gloria Shayne Baker wrote the song in October 1962, during the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Regney was inspired to write the lyrics “Pray for peace, people everywhere” after seeing babies being pushed in strollers on the streets of New York City.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "How long did it take Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You” to reach number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "6 years",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "10 years",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "15 years",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "25 years",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Carey’s holiday anthem hit number 1 in 2019, 25 years after its 1994 release — the longest journey from release to No. 1 on the Hot 100 of any song in history. It was also Carey’s 19th number 1 hit, making her second only to The Beatles, who have 20.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "“O Holy Night” made history as:\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "The first song ever broadcast from space",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "The first Christmas song broadcast on the radio",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "The first English-language Christmas carol",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "The first Christmas carol written by a woman",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "On Christmas Eve, 1906, Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden aired the world’s first radio broadcast, during which he played “O Holy Night” on his violin. (“Jingle Bells” was the first song broadcast from space, during NASA’s Gemini 6A space flight in December 1965.)\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Which of the following classic Christmas songs was written by a Jewish songwriter?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "“White Christmas”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Silver Bells”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“The Christmas Song”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "All of the above",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Many of the most popular American Christmas carols were written by Jewish songwriters, including Irving Berlin (“White Christmas”) and Mel Tormé (“The Christmas Song”). Their comforting lyrics struck a chord with soldiers fighting overseas in World War II, who helped popularize the holiday music genre.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "How old was Brenda Lee when she recorded her holiday hit “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "21",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "30",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "13",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "10",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Lee was just 13 years old when she recorded the song in Nashville in 1958.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Which of the following is not included in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "12 drummers drumming",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "7 stags a-leaping",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "11 pipers piping",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "3 French hens",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "There are seven swans a-swimming and 10 lords a-leaping, but unfortunately, no stags in this 18th-century English carol.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Which of these songs was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "“Santa Baby”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Baby It’s Cold Outside”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "The Catholic Archdiocese of Boston condemned “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” for implying a link between sexuality and Christmas. Radio stations banned it in several markets until the song’s 13-year-old singer, Jimmy Boyd, met with church leaders to explain the lyrics.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Which is the most-covered Christmas song of all time?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "“The Christmas Song”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Winter Wonderland”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Silent Night”",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Last Christmas”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "According to the music licensing company Music Reports, there are 137,315 recorded versions of “Silent Night,” making it the most-covered Christmas song of all time, followed by “White Christmas,” “Jingle Bells” and “The Christmas Song.”\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "What was the first song to mention Santa Claus?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "“Up on the Housetop”",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Santa Baby”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Here Comes Santa Claus”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Written in 1864 by pastor Benjamin Hanby, “Up on the Housetop” is the first song to mention Santa Claus, and was likely inspired by Clement C. Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas.”\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "What is the oldest Christmas carol still sung today?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "“Good King Wenceslas”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Joy to the World”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“Lo, How a Rose E’er Blooming”",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Translated from Latin in 1851, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” dates back more than 1,200 years, originating in monastic chants sung during Advent.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "The singer of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” also voiced what famous mascot?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Tony the Tiger",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Mr. Peanut",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Smokey Bear",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Kool-Aid Man",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Thurl Ravenscroft, who sang the classic song from the 1966 animated holiday special How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, also lent his booming bass to General Mills for more than 50 years as Frosted Flakes mascot Tony the Tiger.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Which Christmas carol is played by an orchestra at Carnegie Hall in the 1992 film “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York?”\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Carol of the Bells",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "O Come all Ye Faithful ",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Silver Bells",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Joy to the World",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Kevin McCalister sneaks his way into the venue and observes from a secret lair in the attic near the lights with a new friend.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer was initially an ad for what business?\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Sears",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Montgomery Ward",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "JC Penney",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Macy’s",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Adam Robert May came up with the idea for the character and penned a free children’s book. His brother-in-law put the story to music two years later.\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
}, {
 "question" : "This Christmas carol was written in July, as an attempt to cool down from the heat.\n",
 "answers" : [ {
 "answer" : "Baby It’s Cold Outside",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "The Christmas Song",
 "correctAnswer" : true
 }, {
 "answer" : "Frosty the Snowman",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 }, {
 "answer" : "Carol of the Bells",
 "correctAnswer" : false
 } ],
 "multiSelect" : false,
 "explanation" : "Mel Tormé wrote this classic, and Nat King Cole made history when he became the first Black American to record this holiday standard.&nbsp;\n",
 "hint" : "",
 "hintLink" : "",
 "questionImgCaption" : "",
 "questionImgCredit" : ""
} ]

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How Well Do You Know Your Christmas Carols?

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