Answers to the Christmas Quiz

As promised, here are the answers to the Christmas quiz. I hope you did well. Email me and let me know how you did. (The picture is of the grotto at the traditional site of the manger).

1. The name of the mother of Jesus is –

A. Eve

B. Martha

C. Mary

D. Deborah

2. Jesus was born in what town?

A. Nazareth

B. Jerusalem

C. Rome

D. Bethlehem

3. Joseph was a –

A. Fisherman

B. Carpenter

C. Tax collector

D. We don’t know

Technically, however, Joseph may not have been a carpenter in the modern sense of the word. The

word used for carpenter refers to someone who would be a day laborer, which would include many

types of labor, and not just carpentry. In any case, it demonstrates that Jesus grew up in a family that

was most likely impoverished.

4. Why didn’t Joseph and Mary stay at the inn?

A. They couldn’t afford to

B. There was no room

C. They didn’t have a reservation

D. None of the above

Once again, there is somewhat of a technicality to this answer. The inn was most likely not what we

would envision as we travel. According to many scholars, the word for inn actually refers to a stable

area attached to a family’s home. Because the extended family of Joseph would be returning to

Bethlehem to register for the census, the family home would be crowded with guests. Joseph and

Mary may have stayed in an attached stable area, but they would have been surrounded by family.

5. To get to Bethlehem, Mary and Joseph traveled by –

A. Colt

B. Mary rode a donkey and Joseph walked

C. Caravan

D. We don’t know

Though a donkey is shown in most nativity displays, the Scripture gives no mention of any kind of

animal in Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

6. After his birth, Jesus was placed in a –

A. Manger

B. Basket

C. Crib

D. Bed

7. A manger is –

A. Wooden table

B. Feeding trough

C. Stable

D. Small bed

8. What animals were in the barn when Jesus was born?

A. Cows, donkeys, and sheep

B. Sheep, goats, and cows

C. Horses, cows, and donkeys

D. The Bible doesn’t say

Again, though animals are shown in nativity displays, Scripture mentions no animals, though one

could assume some would be present as Jesus was in a stable.

9. From which direction did the three kings that visited Jesus come?

A. The west

B. The east

C. The Orient

D. None of the above

Matthew 2:1. Probably from modern day Iraq or Iran. Although the east is the Orient, the Bible

doesn’t mention the Orient; we get that from the song We Three Kings (of Orient Are).

10. The shepherds were told by the angels to look for which sign?

A. A star over Bethlehem

B. A tree with a star on top

C. A babe in a manger

D. None of the above

Luke 2:12 tells us the angels gave this sign to the shepherds – “And this will be a sign for you; you

will find a baby wrapped in clothes, and lying in a manger” (NASV).

11. The words of the angels were –

A. Glory, Glory, Hallelujah

B. Joy to the World, the Lord is Come

C. King of Kings, and Lord of Lords

D. Glory to God in the highest

Luke 2:14.

12. The three gifts given to Jesus were –

A. Gold and silver

B. Gold, jewels, and silver

C. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh

D. None of the above

Matthew 2:11.

14. How many wise men came to see Jesus?

A. One

B. Two

C. Three

D. The Bible doesn’t say

Again, nativity scenes show three magi, though the Bible doesn’t give us a number. The number three

probably comes from three gifts.

16. The wise men met Jesus in –

A. A manger

B. A stable

C. A house

D. The Bible doesn’t say

Though nativity scenes show the shepherds and magi together, the Bible is clear that the magi and the

shepherds did not arrive at the same time. Matthew 2:11 says “And they came into the house and saw

the Child with Mary His mother.” This reinforces the idea that the inn was an attached stable to the

family home. By this point in the nativity story, most of the extended family had probably departed for

home, thus leaving room for Mary and Joseph to come into the house. Staying longer because of the

recovery from childbirth, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus most likely had a longer stay in Bethlehem than the

rest of their relatives.

17. Joseph and Mary were told to go to Bethlehem by –

A. Herod

B. An angel

C. Caesar Augustus

D. The Bible doesn’t say

Luke 2:1.

18. The infant Jesus was taken to Egypt –

A. Because Joseph was told in a dream to take him there

B. To meet the pharaoh

C. To go to school

D. The Bible doesn’t say

Matthew 2:13.

19. The Bible says the little drummer boy met Jesus –

A. In a house

B. While Jesus was still in the manger

C. In Nazareth

D. None of the above

Though he appears in a song by the same name, the little drummer boy does not appear in Scripture.

20. In which gospels do we find the stories of the birth of Jesus

A. Matthew

B. Mark

C. Luke

D. John

This may seem a little tricky since this question has two answers, but I never said a question could

only have one answer.

21. Immanuel means –

A. Good news

B. Jesus

C. God with us

D. None of the above

Matthew 1:23.

22. Christmas is celebrated on December 25^th because the Bible tells us to

True

False

The Bible never mentions the date of the birth of Jesus. December 25^th was chosen during the reign of

the Roman Emperor Constantine. As the first Christian Emperor Constantine sought to Christianize

the empire, so he chose December 25^th because it was the date of a large pagan celebration based on

the winter solstice. The modern controversy about Christ being removed from Christmas is not really

a new controversy after all, as the date of December 25^th carries with it non-Christian origins.

23. The wise men followed the star all the way to Bethlehem

True

False

This is a tricky question. The magi, we are told in Matthew 2:1-2, stopped in Jerusalem and asked

Herod “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?” Verse 8 tells us that Herod sent the magi

to Bethlehem, although verse 9 tells us that “the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before

them, until it came and stood over where the Child was.” So technically, they did not follow the star

all the way to Bethlehem.

24. Jesus was given his name by his mother.

True

False

Matthew 1:21 tells us that the angel tells Joseph to give the name of Jesus.

25. Herod was happy to hear of the birth of Jesus.

True

False

Matthew 2:3 says “And when Herod the king heard it (the news of the birth of Jesus), he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.” When the magi came and asked Herod about the location of the

newborn king of the Jews, they probably had no idea the extent of his paranoia. Notoriously

suspicious of threats to his throne, Herod was extremely worried about news of the birth of One who

would be a threat to his rule.