Sample pickThe Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, moves to January 2 when New Year's Day falls on which day?
Holiday Trivia Questions for Work, From Many Traditions: how it works
A question is on the card before the party starts. Read it to the room, tap the choice most tables call, then press Check answer for the right one and a line on why. These 80 holiday trivia questions for work draw on Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Nowruz and New Year customs from Spain to Japan, so no team needs one upbringing to score.
Run the office round from one screen
Share your screen on a call, or hold up one phone in the break room. Pick a Topic, or leave all five on. Read the question aloud, give teams a moment to write, tap the choice most of them picked, then press Check answer. The card names the answer, gives the reason and links the Wikipedia article it was checked on, which settles most arguments. Exam mode asks 20 questions and scores them at the end, topic by topic.
What the five topics cover
Winter festivals around the world runs from dreidels to the straw goat of Gävle. Holiday food asks what goes into latkes, lutefisk and a king cake. Holiday music history is about who wrote a song, where and when. New Year customs is the longest topic at 20 questions, from Spain's twelve grapes to Chile's suitcases. Trees, trimmings and winter mixes poinsettias, snowflakes and the rules of a white elephant swap.
Tips
No screen in the room? Print question sheet gives 20 questions with a name and score line, and Print answer key repeats every reason.
Mix departments on each team. The hard questions reward whoever grew up with Hogmanay, Yalda Night or Dongzhi.
Short on time? Pick one Topic. New Year customs has 20 questions, enough for a full round by itself.
Questions and answers
Are these questions fair for a mixed office?
They are written to be. Beside Christmas trees and carols, the bank covers Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Dongzhi, Yalda Night, Nowruz, Songkran, Rosh Hashanah and New Year customs from more than a dozen countries. Nothing asks what a faith teaches, and no tradition is the butt of a joke.
How hard are the questions?
Mixed on purpose: 22 easy, 37 medium and 21 hard, by the editors' judgment. Easy ones, such as how many nights Hanukkah lasts, put every table on the board. Hard ones, such as what Danes jump off at midnight, split the room. Every question has four choices.
Where do the answers come from?
Every answer was read on September 19, 2026 in the Wikipedia article linked beneath it, down to the sentence that states the fact. When an article hedged, the question was reworded or cut. Sales figures, records and anything else that shifts from one December to the next stay out.
A dreidel is a spinning top played with at Hanukkah. How many sides does it have?Wikipedia: Dreidel
At the Dongzhi winter solstice festival, families make and eat tangyuan. What are they?Wikipedia: Dongzhi
Boxing Day falls on which date?Wikipedia: Boxing Day
Diwali is known as the festival of what?Wikipedia: Diwali
Each Advent the Swedish town of Gävle builds a giant straw figure of which animal?Wikipedia: Gävle goat
How many nights does Hanukkah last?Wikipedia: Hanukkah
In Alpine folklore, which horned figure goes with Saint Nicholas on his visits to children?Wikipedia: Krampus
In Catalonia, children beat the Tió de Nadal with sticks so that it gives out presents. What is it?Wikipedia: Tió de Nadal
In Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas arrives each year by steamboat from which country?Wikipedia: Sinterklaas
In Italian folklore, who brings children gifts on the night of January 5, riding a broomstick?Wikipedia: Befana
In Oaxaca, Mexico, December 23 is a night for carving which vegetable into prize-winning scenes?Wikipedia: Night of the Radishes
In the Welsh custom of Mari Lwyd, what is carried from house to house on a pole?Wikipedia: Mari Lwyd
Kwanzaa has one principle for each of its days. How many principles are there?Wikipedia: Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa was first celebrated in which year?Wikipedia: Kwanzaa
On Saint Lucy's Day in Sweden, what do girls dressed as Lucy carry in procession?Wikipedia: Saint Lucy's Day
On Yalda Night, the longest night of the year in Iran, which two red fruits are most significant?Wikipedia: Yalda Night
Holiday food 16
A king cake, eaten around Epiphany and carnival season, usually hides what inside?Wikipedia: King cake
A modern British mince pie is filled with mincemeat. What is mincemeat mostly made of?Wikipedia: Mince pie
Eggnog is made with milk, cream, sugar and what else?Wikipedia: Eggnog
The French Christmas cake called a bûche de Noël is made to look like what?Wikipedia: Yule log (cake)
In Japan, a Christmas cake is a sponge cake with whipped cream and which fruit?Wikipedia: Christmas cake
In Japan, which noodles are traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve?Wikipedia: Toshikoshi soba
In the American South, Hoppin' John is eaten on New Year's Day for luck. What is its main ingredient, besides rice?Wikipedia: Hoppin' John
Latkes, eaten at Hanukkah, are pancakes made mainly from which vegetable?Wikipedia: Latke
Lutefisk, a Christmas dish in Norway and Sweden, is dried whitefish treated with what?Wikipedia: Lutefisk
Oliebollen, deep-fried dough balls dusted with powdered sugar, are a New Year's Eve treat in which country?Wikipedia: Oliebol
Panettone, the tall sweet bread sold in boxes at Christmas, comes from which Italian city?Wikipedia: Panettone
Sufganiyot are eaten around the world at Hanukkah. What are they?Wikipedia: Sufganiyah
Tourtière is served in Quebec at Christmas and New Year. What kind of dish is it?Wikipedia: Tourtière
What is the traditional flavor of a red and white candy cane?Wikipedia: Candy cane
What was it common to stir into a British Christmas pudding, to be kept by whoever found it in their serving?Wikipedia: Christmas pudding
Which Brothers Grimm fairy tale, with its edible house in the forest, is linked to the first gingerbread houses in Germany?Wikipedia: Gingerbread house
Holiday music history 16
The carol "Do You Hear What I Hear?" was written in October 1962 as a plea for peace during which crisis?Wikipedia: Do You Hear What I Hear?
"Carol of the Bells" is based on a New Year song from which country?Wikipedia: Carol of the Bells
"The Christmas Song", which opens with chestnuts roasting on an open fire, was first recorded in 1946 by whose trio?Wikipedia: The Christmas Song
Counting every repeat, how many gifts are given in total in "The Twelve Days of Christmas"?Wikipedia: The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
The German carol "O Tannenbaum" is sung to a Tannenbaum. What is that?Wikipedia: O Tannenbaum
In "The Twelve Days of Christmas", what is given on the fifth day?Wikipedia: The Twelve Days of Christmas (song)
In December 1965, two astronauts played which song from orbit on a smuggled harmonica and sleigh bells?Wikipedia: Jingle Bells
The melody of "Deck the Halls" comes from a winter carol of which nation?Wikipedia: Deck the Halls
The score of the ballet The Nutcracker is noted for its use of which keyboard instrument?Wikipedia: The Nutcracker
"Silent Night" was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in which country?Wikipedia: Silent Night
Under what title was "Jingle Bells" first published in 1857?Wikipedia: Jingle Bells
Which orchestral piece by Leroy Anderson ends with a trumpet imitating the whinny of a horse?Wikipedia: Sleigh Ride
Which Scottish poet wrote down the words of "Auld Lang Syne" in 1788?Wikipedia: Auld Lang Syne
Who composed the music for the ballet The Nutcracker?Wikipedia: The Nutcracker
Who wrote the song "White Christmas"?Wikipedia: White Christmas (song)
The winter song "Let It Snow" was written in July 1945 during what?Wikipedia: Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
New Year customs 20
Around 2000 BC, which ancient people made new year promises to return borrowed farm equipment and pay their debts?Wikipedia: New Year's resolution
At Chinese New Year, what is inside the red envelopes that are handed out?Wikipedia: Red envelope
At midnight on New Year's Eve, Buddhist temples across Japan ring their bells how many times?Wikipedia: Japanese New Year
At Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, apples are dipped in what to stand for a sweet year ahead?Wikipedia: Rosh Hashanah
Hogmanay is the word for the last day of the old year in which country?Wikipedia: Hogmanay
In a Finnish and German New Year's Eve custom, fortunes are read from the shape made by dropping what into cold water?Wikipedia: Molybdomancy
In Chile, what do people who hope to travel in the coming year carry through the streets on New Year's Eve?Wikipedia: New Year's Eve
In Denmark, what do people jump off at midnight to leap into the new year?Wikipedia: New Year's Eve
In Italy, lentils are eaten on New Year's Eve because their shape is said to look like what?Wikipedia: Cotechino
In Russian tradition, Ded Moroz brings New Year presents with Snegurochka, the Snow Maiden. How is she related to him?Wikipedia: Ded Moroz
In Scottish and Northern English folklore, who is the first-foot?Wikipedia: First-foot
In Spain, what do people eat with each of the twelve clock strikes at midnight on December 31?Wikipedia: Twelve Grapes
In the legend of the Chinese zodiac, which animal won the race and so got the first year of the cycle?Wikipedia: Chinese zodiac
In the Philippines, many families set out twelve fruits for the new year. What shape should the fruits be?Wikipedia: New Year's Eve
January is named after Janus, the Roman god of what?Wikipedia: January
The Line Islands sit in the farthest forward time zone on Earth, UTC+14. Which Pacific nation do they belong to?Wikipedia: Line Islands
Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is tied to which event in the sky?Wikipedia: Nowruz
The Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, moves to January 2 when New Year's Day falls on which day?Wikipedia: Rose Parade
Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year held in April, is known for public what?Wikipedia: Songkran (Thailand)
The Times Square ball drop in New York was first held to welcome which year?Wikipedia: Times Square Ball
Trees, trimmings and winter 12
A Christmas cracker snaps when two people pull it apart. What does it usually hold, besides a small gift and a joke?Wikipedia: Christmas cracker
A single snowflake crystal usually grows with how many arms?Wikipedia: Snowflake
The bright red parts of a poinsettia are often taken for petals. What are they really?Wikipedia: Poinsettia
The custom of bringing a decorated tree indoors in winter developed mainly in which country?Wikipedia: Christmas tree
The first commercially available Christmas card went on sale in 1843 in which city?Wikipedia: Christmas card
The first known Christmas tree lit by electricity was shown in December 1882 in which city?Wikipedia: Christmas lights
How does mistletoe get most of its water and nutrients?Wikipedia: Mistletoe
In a white elephant gift exchange, what can you do on your turn instead of unwrapping a new present?Wikipedia: White elephant gift exchange
In early January, about two weeks after the December solstice, Earth reaches which point in its orbit?Wikipedia: Apsis
In the Northern Hemisphere, the winter solstice, the day with the least daylight, falls in which month?Wikipedia: Winter solstice
The North American air defense command NORAD has tracked a certain sleigh every December 24 since which year?Wikipedia: NORAD Tracks Santa
Reindeer are unusual among deer for which reason?Wikipedia: Reindeer
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the editors; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer was checked on 2026-09-19 against the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) named and linked beside the question: the article text was fetched that day and the sentence that states the fact was read before the question was kept. Every extra claim in an explanation was checked the same way. Questions were dropped or reworded when the article hedged: which one country holds the Junkanoo parade, whether a carol was the very first song broadcast from space, the summer in which a sleigh piece was begun, and which instrument plays one ballet dance. Left out on purpose: records and rankings that change, sales figures, living people, and film, TV, brand and franchise names. The bank covers many traditions (Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Dongzhi, Yalda Night, Nowruz, Songkran, Rosh Hashanah, Chinese and Japanese New Year and others) and asks about customs, food and music, not about scripture or doctrine. Levels are an editor's judgment for a mixed adult office group. Licence: own work