177 Fun Facts About Christmas Bible

Which angel told Mary that she would conceive and bear a son?

Gabriel: Luke 1:26-31 says the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth and told Mary she would conceive and bear a son to be named Jesus.

In which town of Galilee was Mary living when the angel visited her?

Nazareth: Luke 1:26-27 says Gabriel was sent to 'a city of Galilee, named Nazareth', to a virgin betrothed to Joseph of the house of David.

Where did Mary lay the newborn Jesus after wrapping him in swaddling clothes?

A manger: Luke 2:7 says Mary 'wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn'.

In Luke, which Roman emperor ordered the census that sent Joseph to Bethlehem?

Augustus: Luke 2:1 says 'there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed'; Joseph went to Bethlehem as a descendant of David.

According to Luke, the registration took place while which man was governor of Syria?

Quirinius: Luke 2:2 calls it 'the first census, when Quirinius was governor of Syria'. Josephus dates his census to AD 6, about a decade after Herod's death, so the chronology is disputed.

In Luke, which group is told of Jesus's birth by an angel that night?

Shepherds: Luke 2:8-11 says shepherds 'abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night' were told by an angel that a Saviour was born in Bethlehem.

Which Latin hymn of the Mass opens with the angels' words from Luke 2:14?

Gloria in excelsis Deo: the hymn opens with the angels' song of Luke 2:14, 'Glory to God in the highest', and is also called the Greater Doxology.

What three gifts did the Magi bring to the infant Jesus?

Gold, frankincense and myrrh: Matthew 2:11 lists the three gifts; a traditional reading makes gold a king's tribute, frankincense worship of God, and myrrh an anointing for burial.

Which psalm says 'the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts'?

Psalm 72: verse 10 reads 'the kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts', a verse that helped turn Matthew's Magi into kings.

Relics said to be the bones of the Magi are enshrined where?

Cologne Cathedral: Archbishop Rainald von Dassel brought the relics to Cologne in 1164, and the gilded Shrine of the Three Kings behind the high altar was made to hold them.

In Matthew's account, in what kind of building did the Magi find the child with his mother?

A house: Matthew 2:11 says the Magi 'were come into the house' and saw the child with Mary; crib scenes that put them at the manger merge two separate episodes.

The Greek word magos comes from Old Persian and referred to the priestly caste of which religion?

Zoroastrianism: magos comes via Old Persian magus, the priestly class of the Zoroastrian religion of Persia; some translations render Matthew's magoi as 'astrologers' or 'wise men'.

In Matthew, Herod ordered the killing of the boys around Bethlehem up to what age?

Josephus catalogued many of Herod's crimes, including the murder of three of his own sons, but never mentions this one.

Matthew links the massacre to 'Rachel weeping for her children', a line from which prophet?

Jeremiah: Matthew 2:18 quotes Jeremiah 31:15, 'Rachel weeping for her children', and the verses that follow in Jeremiah turn to hope and restoration.

To which country did Joseph take the family to escape Herod?

Egypt: Matthew 2:13-15 has the angel tell Joseph to 'flee into Egypt', where the family stayed until Herod's death, fulfilling 'Out of Egypt have I called my son'.

The name Immanuel, which Matthew quotes from the prophets, means what?

God with us: Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14 and adds 'which being interpreted is, God with us'; the Hebrew Immanu-El joins immanu, 'with us', and El, 'God'.

Matthew's genealogy of Jesus is arranged in three sets of how many generations?

Fourteen is the gematria, or numerical value, of the name David in Hebrew letters.

Luke's genealogy works backwards from Jesus to which man?

Adam: Luke 3:23-38 runs from Joseph back through David and Abraham to 'Adam, which was the son of God', whereas Matthew starts with Abraham.

Besides Mary, which four women appear in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus?

Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba: Matthew 1 lists Tamar, Rahab and Ruth by name and Bathsheba only as 'the wife of Uriah'; each story involves a scandal or an outsider.

In Matthew 13:55, what do the people of Jesus's home town call him?

The carpenter's son: in Matthew 13:55 the people of his home town ask 'Is not this the carpenter's son?', naming Joseph's trade; Mark 6:3 calls Jesus himself 'the carpenter'.

How does the angel deliver every message to Joseph in Matthew's Gospel?

In dreams: every angelic message to Joseph in Matthew (1:20, 2:13, 2:19, 2:22) comes 'in a dream', echoing the Old Testament Joseph, another son of a Jacob, whose dreams took him to Pharaoh's court.

The name Jesus is a Greek form of which Old Testament name?

Joshua: Jesus renders the Hebrew Yeshua, a late form of Yehoshua (Joshua), from the root y-sh-ayin, 'to save', which is why the angel says the child 'shall save his people from their sins'.

Which priest was struck mute for doubting the angel who announced his son's birth?

Zechariah: Luke 1:20 has Gabriel strike the priest Zechariah dumb for doubting; his speech returned only when he wrote 'His name is John' at the boy's circumcision.

John the Baptist's mother, described by Luke as a relative of Mary, was called what?

Elizabeth: Luke 1:5 names Zechariah's wife Elizabeth, 'of the daughters of Aaron', and in Luke 1:36 Gabriel calls her Mary's kinswoman, already expecting John.

John the Baptist's father served as a priest in which division of the priesthood?

Abijah: Luke 1:5 says Zechariah was 'of the course of Abia', the eighth of the 24 priestly divisions listed in 1 Chronicles 24; Elizabeth too was 'of the daughters of Aaron'.

Mary's song of praise in Luke 1 is known by which Latin name?

Magnificat: Mary's song in Luke 1:46-55 takes its name from the Vulgate's opening 'Magnificat anima mea Dominum'; it echoes Hannah's song in 1 Samuel 2 and is sung at Vespers and Evensong.

Which canticle did John the Baptist's father sing at his son's circumcision?

Benedictus: after regaining his speech at John's circumcision, Zechariah prophesied 'Blessed be the Lord God of Israel' (Luke 1:68-79), a canticle sung every morning at Lauds.

Which righteous man in Jerusalem was promised he would not die before seeing the Messiah?

Simeon: Luke 2:25-26 says the Holy Spirit promised the righteous Simeon he would not die before seeing 'the Lord's Christ'; he also told Mary a sword would pierce her soul.

Which Latin canticle, sung at Compline and Evensong, is taken from Luke 2:29–32?

Nunc dimittis: Simeon's canticle in Luke 2:29-32 is named from the Vulgate's opening 'Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine', 'Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord'.

Anna the prophetess, who spoke about the infant Jesus in the Temple, belonged to which tribe?

Asher: Luke 2:36 introduces 'one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser', a widow of eighty-four who never left the Temple.

At the Presentation in the Temple, what did Mary and Joseph offer, using the option the Law allowed for the poor?

Leviticus 12 let a mother who could not afford a lamb bring a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons instead.

How many days after his birth was Jesus presented in the Temple in Jerusalem?

Leviticus required forty days of purification for the mother after the birth of a boy.

The Feast of the Presentation, forty days after Christmas on 2 February, is popularly known by what name?

Candlemas: the 2 February feast takes its popular name from the blessing and procession of candles, recalling Simeon's 'light to lighten the Gentiles'; it is traditionally the last day for Christmas decorations.

According to Luke 2:21, Jesus was circumcised and named on which day after his birth?

The eighth day: Luke 2:21 says 'when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus'; hence 1 January was long the Feast of the Circumcision.

Advent begins on the Sunday closest to the feast day of which apostle, 30 November?

Andrew: 30 November is St Andrew's Day, and Advent Sunday is the Sunday nearest it, so it falls between 27 November and 3 December.

On which Sunday of Advent is the rose-coloured candle lit?

The third: the rose candle is lit on Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, named from the Latin introit 'Rejoice'; the other candles are violet, though some Lutherans use blue.

Johann Hinrich Wichern, credited with the Advent wreath, ran a mission school in which city?

Hamburg: Wichern ran the Rauhes Haus, a home for poor children in Hamburg, where in 1839 he built a wagon wheel with a candle for every day of Advent because the children kept asking whether Christmas had come.

The seven 'O Antiphons' sung at Vespers from 17 to 23 December were combined into which hymn?

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: the Latin 'Veni, veni, Emmanuel' versifies the seven O Antiphons, whose Latin initials read backwards spell 'Ero cras', 'Tomorrow I will be there'.

In the Western church, 6 January commemorates the visit of the Magi under which feast name?

Epiphany: 6 January, the Epiphany, celebrates the 'manifestation' of Christ to the Gentiles in the Magi's visit; Eastern churches keep Christ's baptism the same day as Theophany.

How long before Christmas does the Feast of the Annunciation fall?

Nine months: the Annunciation, marking Christ's conception, is kept on 25 March, nine months to the day before 25 December; in England 25 March was New Year's Day until 1752.

Luke says Elizabeth was in which month of her pregnancy at the Annunciation?

The sixth: Luke 1:36 has Gabriel say of Elizabeth 'this is the sixth month with her', which is why John the Baptist's nativity is kept on 24 June, six months before Christmas.

The earliest document to put Jesus's birthday on 25 December is a Roman calendar known as what?

The Chronograph of 354: this illustrated Roman almanac, compiled by Furius Dionysius Filocalus, records in its list of martyrs' days 'VIII kal. Ian. natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae', Christ born on 25 December.

Some Eastern churches keep Christmas on 7 January because they follow which calendar?

Julian: churches such as the Russian and Serbian Orthodox keep the Julian calendar, which between 1900 and 2100 runs thirteen days behind the Gregorian, so their 25 December falls on the civil 7 January.

On which date does the Byzantine Nativity Fast before Christmas begin?

15 November: the Byzantine Nativity Fast, also called the Philip's Fast because it follows the feast of St Philip on 14 November, runs from 15 November to 24 December.

Which saint is credited with staging the first nativity scene, at Greccio in 1223?

Francis of Assisi: at Greccio in 1223 he had a manger prepared with hay, an ox and an ass for Christmas Mass; Thomas of Celano and later Bonaventure described the scene.

The crib's ox and donkey allude to 'the ox knoweth his owner', a verse from which prophet?

Isaiah: the verse is Isaiah 1:3, 'The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib'; the apocryphal Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew also puts the two animals at the manger.

Which Mexican Christmas tradition runs for nine nights, from 16 to 24 December?

Las Posadas: from 16 to 24 December, processions in Mexico re-enact Mary and Joseph asking for lodging, the nine nights standing for the months of Mary's pregnancy; the custom goes back to sixteenth-century Augustinian friars.

A Christingle is a lit candle set into which fruit?

An orange: the orange stands for the world, the red ribbon for Christ's blood and the candle for the light of the world; the custom began in Marienborn, Germany, in 1747.

26 December is the feast of which saint, the first Christian martyr?

In Ireland and the Isle of Man the day was traditionally marked by hunting the wren.

On which day of December do Western churches keep the Feast of the Holy Innocents, or Childermas?

The 28th: Western churches keep the Holy Innocents on 28 December and the Eastern churches on the 29th; the Byzantine liturgy counts 14,000 victims, though Bethlehem's size suggests perhaps twenty boys.

What does the Irish name Nollaig na mBan, for 6 January, mean?

Women's Christmas: Nollaig na mBan, 'Christmas of the women', marks 6 January in Ireland, traditionally a day off for women after the Christmas work; the day is also called Little Christmas.

Which Roman emperor originally commissioned the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem?

Constantine: the emperor and his mother Helena commissioned the basilica over the grotto in about 327, and it was dedicated in 339; the present building is largely a sixth-century rebuilding.

Herod the Great was born in which region?

Idumea: Herod's father Antipater was an Idumean, from the region south of Judea whose people had been forcibly converted to Judaism under John Hyrcanus, so Herod's Jewishness was questioned.

In Luke 1:15, the angel says John the Baptist must never drink what?

Wine or strong drink: Gabriel tells Zechariah the child 'shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost' (Luke 1:15).

Pope Sixtus III introduced Midnight Mass to Rome in the 430s at which basilica?

Santa Maria Maggiore: Sixtus III, pope from 432 to 440, rebuilt the basilica after the Council of Ephesus of 431 and began the Roman Midnight Mass there, echoing the night vigil Egeria saw at Bethlehem around 383.

Which American town's Puritan rulers banned celebrating Christmas in 1659?

Boston: in 1659 the Massachusetts Bay General Court, sitting in Boston, made celebrating Christmas a finable offence; the law was repealed in 1681, but the holiday stayed unfashionable there until the mid-1800s.

Saint Nicholas, whose secret gift-giving lies behind Santa Claus, was bishop of which city?

Myra: Nicholas was bishop of Myra in Lycia, in modern Turkey, in the early fourth century; his best-known legend has him dropping gold through a window on three nights to pay three sisters' dowries.

What does the Hebrew name Bethlehem literally mean?

House of bread: the Hebrew Beit Lehem joins bayit, 'house', and lehem, 'bread'; the Arabic form Bayt Lahm, from the same Semitic root, reads instead as 'house of meat'.

What title do the Magi use for the newborn child when they reach Jerusalem?

King of the Jews: Matthew 2:2 has the Magi ask 'Where is he that is born King of the Jews?', the title that so troubled Herod 'and all Jerusalem with him'.

Luke 2:7 describes Jesus as Mary's what?

Firstborn son: Luke 2:7 reads 'And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes', the word prototokos prompting long debate about whether Jesus had siblings.

Kepler linked the Star of Bethlehem to a triple Jupiter–Saturn conjunction in which year?

7 BC: Kepler, after watching the 1603 conjunction, noted that Jupiter and Saturn met three times in Pisces in 7 BC; Halley's Comet, seen in 12 BC, is another candidate.

Which Old Testament seer prophesied 'There shall arise a star out of Jacob'?

Origen cited Balaam's prophecy in Numbers as foretelling the star at Jesus's birth.

In Matthew, the Magi say they saw the star where?

In the east: Matthew 2:2 has the Magi say 'we have seen his star in the east', a phrase modern versions render 'at its rising'.

After visiting Jesus, why did the Magi return home by another route?

A dream warned them not to go back to Herod: Matthew 2:12 says the Magi, 'being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod', went home another way; Herod had asked them to report back.

Before Cologne, the supposed relics of the Magi were kept from 344 in which Italian city?

Milan: Bishop Eustorgius is said to have brought the relics from Constantinople to Milan in 344, where they lay in the basilica of Sant'Eustorgio until Frederick Barbarossa's army carried them off in 1164.

In which city did Herod the Great die of the illness later called 'Herod's Evil'?

Jericho: Josephus says Herod died in his winter palace at Jericho in 4 BC, after a gruesome illness, and was buried at the Herodium south of Jerusalem.

Herod the Great is famous for rebuilding and expanding which structure in Jerusalem?

The Second Temple: from about 20 BC Herod rebuilt the Second Temple and doubled its platform; the Western Wall is a surviving retaining wall of that expansion.

Herod ruled Judea as a client king of which power?

Rome: the Roman Senate named Herod King of the Jews in 40 BC at Mark Antony's urging, and with Roman legions he took Jerusalem from the Hasmonean Antigonus in 37 BC.

Which son of Herod ruled Judea when Joseph returned from Egypt, prompting a move to Galilee?

Archelaus was so violent that Rome deposed him in AD 6.

'Out of Egypt I called my son', cited by Matthew, comes from which prophet?

The quotation is Hosea 11:1, cited in Matthew 2:15.

Which historian recorded many of Herod's misdeeds but never mentions the Massacre of the Innocents?

Josephus did record Herod's murder of three of his own sons.

Which words open Gabriel's greeting to Mary in the Douay-Rheims translation of Luke 1:28?

Hail, full of grace: the Douay-Rheims, following the Vulgate's 'Ave gratia plena', opens Gabriel's greeting 'Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee'; the King James has 'Hail, thou that art highly favoured'.

Where did Mary go 'with haste' after the Annunciation?

The hill country of Judah: Luke 1:39 says Mary 'went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda', to the house of Zacharias, to greet Elizabeth.

What happened when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting at the Visitation?

The babe leaped in her womb: Luke 1:41 says that when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting 'the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost'.

By which older name does Genesis also call Bethlehem?

Ephrath: Genesis 35:19 and 48:7 both gloss the place name as 'Ephrath, which is Bethlehem', and the town's people are called Ephrathites in 1 Samuel 17:12.

Bethlehem lies roughly how far south of Jerusalem?

10 km (6 miles): Bethlehem sits about 10 km south of Jerusalem in the Judean hills, at roughly 775 m above sea level.

A bulla found in Jerusalem in 2012 naming Bethlehem was written in which script?

Ancient Hebrew: the clay bulla, found in the City of David in 2012, reads in ancient Hebrew script 'In the seventh [year], Bethlehem, [to the kin]g', the earliest mention of Bethlehem outside the Bible.

In which Old Testament book does the angel Gabriel appear to explain visions to a prophet?

Daniel: Gabriel is named only in Daniel in the Hebrew Bible, explaining the ram-and-goat vision in Daniel 8:16 and the seventy weeks in Daniel 9:21.

Which Greek word does Matthew use for Joseph's trade?

tektōn: Matthew 13:55 calls Jesus 'the tektōn's son' and Mark 6:3 calls Jesus himself a tektōn, a word covering any builder or craftsman in wood or stone.

Which Byzantine emperor rebuilt the Church of the Nativity after a sixth-century fire?

Justinian: after the church was burned in the Samaritan revolt of 529, Justinian rebuilt it on a larger plan, adding a narthex and replacing Constantine's octagonal sanctuary with a cruciform east end.

In 2012 the Church of the Nativity became the first World Heritage Site listed under which state?

Palestine: UNESCO inscribed the Church of the Nativity and its pilgrimage route in June 2012, months after admitting Palestine as a member state in 2011, making it the first Palestinian World Heritage Site.

Frankincense is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of which genus?

Boswellia: frankincense, also called olibanum, is tapped from Boswellia trees such as Boswellia sacra of Oman, Yemen and Somalia, and burned as incense since antiquity.

Myrrh is a gum-resin extracted from thorny trees of which genus?

Commiphora: myrrh is the gum-resin of thorny Commiphora trees, chiefly Commiphora myrrha of the Horn of Africa and Arabia, and was prized for embalming and perfume.

The 'almah' prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 was addressed to which king of Judah?

Ahaz: Isaiah 7 has the prophet offer the sign of the child Immanuel to King Ahaz of Judah during the Syro-Ephraimite crisis of the 730s BC.

Which Greek Old Testament rendered the Hebrew 'almah' as 'parthenos' (virgin)?

The Septuagint: the Greek Septuagint translated Isaiah 7:14's almah, 'young woman', as parthenos, 'virgin', and Matthew 1:23 quotes that Greek reading as a prophecy of the Virgin birth.

Herod the Great built a harbour using hydraulic cement at which city?

Caesarea Maritima: Herod built the city and its artificial harbour, Sebastos, between about 22 and 10 BC, sinking huge blocks of hydraulic concrete made with volcanic ash shipped from Italy.

Luke's genealogy traces Jesus's descent from David through which son?

Nathan: Luke 3:31 runs the line from David through his son Nathan, whereas Matthew 1:6 goes through Solomon; the two genealogies only reconverge at Shealtiel and Zerubbabel.

What is the Italian word for a nativity scene?

Presepio: Italian presepio or presepe, from Latin praesepe, 'manger', names the nativity scene; culla is a cradle, stalla a stable and Natale Christmas itself.

Historians date the first recorded Roman celebration of Christmas on 25 December to which year?

AD 336: the Chronograph of 354, whose list of martyrs' days reflects the calendar of 336, is the earliest record of 25 December kept as Christ's birthday in Rome.

December 25 was the traditional date of which astronomical event in the Roman Empire?

The winter solstice: Roman writers such as Pliny put the winter solstice on 25 December by the Julian calendar, and the Chronograph of 354 lists that day as the birthday of Sol Invictus.

Most scholars place the actual birth of Jesus in which range of years?

6 to 4 BC: Matthew has Jesus born while Herod the Great lived, and Herod died in 4 BC, so most scholars put the birth between about 6 and 4 BC.

Which monk devised the Anno Domini system of counting years in 525?

Dionysius Exiguus: the Scythian monk drew up Easter tables in Rome in 525 counting years 'from the incarnation of our Lord'; the system spread only after Bede adopted it in the eighth century.

Handel's Messiah was first performed in April 1742 in which city?

Dublin: Messiah had its premiere at the Music Hall in Fishamble Street, Dublin, on 13 April 1742; Charles Jennens compiled the text from the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter.

Who wrote the words of 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' in 1868?

Phillips Brooks: the Philadelphia Episcopal priest wrote the words in 1868 after a visit to Bethlehem; his organist Lewis Redner composed the American tune 'St. Louis', while Britain sings 'Forest Green'.

'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' is usually sung to a melody by which composer?

The tune came from an 1840 cantata for the 400th anniversary of the printing press.

Who wrote the words of 'Hark! The Herald Angels Sing' in 1739?

It first appeared as 'Hymn for Christmas-Day' in Hymns and Sacred Poems.

'While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks' is attributed to which Poet Laureate?

Nahum Tate: the paraphrase of Luke 2 appeared in the 1700 Supplement to Tate and Brady's New Version of the Psalms; Tate was Poet Laureate from 1692 to 1715.

'Silent Night' was first performed in 1818 in Oberndorf, near which Austrian city?

Salzburg: the carol was first sung on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas church in Oberndorf, just north of Salzburg, with Franz Xaver Gruber's tune to words by the priest Joseph Mohr.

'Silent Night' was declared intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in which year?

2011: in March 2011 the Austrian Commission for UNESCO listed 'Silent Night' as intangible cultural heritage, 193 years after its first performance in Oberndorf.

'Away in a Manger' was long wrongly attributed to which religious reformer?

Martin Luther: it circulated in the 1880s as 'Luther's Cradle Hymn', supposedly sung by Martin Luther to his children, but it is an American composition first printed in the early 1880s with no link to him.

Who wrote the carol 'We Three Kings' in 1857?

John Henry Hopkins Jr.: then an instructor at New York's General Theological Seminary, Hopkins wrote both words and music in 1857 for a Christmas pageant; he later became rector of Christ Church, Williamsport.

Who is usually credited with writing 'Adeste Fideles' in the 1740s?

John Francis Wade: the earliest manuscripts of 'Adeste Fideles', from the 1740s, are in the hand of John Francis Wade, an English Catholic music copyist exiled at Douai; Frederick Oakeley's 1841 English version became 'O Come, All Ye Faithful'.

'The First Nowell' is a traditional carol from which part of England?

Cornwall: the carol is of Cornish origin, first printed in Davies Gilbert's 1823 collection Some Ancient Christmas Carols; it is number 682 in the Roud Folk Song Index.

'O Holy Night' is based on the French poem 'Minuit, chrétiens' by whom?

Placide Cappeau: the wine merchant and poet of Roquemaure wrote 'Minuit, chrétiens'; Adolphe Adam set it to music in 1847, and John Sullivan Dwight's 1855 English version became 'O Holy Night'.

Who wrote the words of 'Good King Wenceslas' in 1853?

John Mason Neale: Neale wrote the words in 1853 to the tune of the 13th-century spring carol 'Tempus adest floridum' from the 1582 Piae Cantiones; the good king is the 10th-century Duke Wenceslaus of Bohemia.

Besides the Magi's visit, Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus and which miracle?

The wedding at Cana: Western tradition reads Epiphany as three manifestations, the Magi, Christ's baptism in the Jordan and the first miracle at Cana, where John 2 has Jesus turn water into wine.

Which Gospel opens with the words 'In the beginning was the Word'?

John: the Gospel of John opens 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God', and its prologue, read at Christmas, presents the incarnation without any nativity story.

In the genealogy of David, who was the father of Jesse?

Obed: 1 Chronicles 2:12 says 'Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse', and Matthew 1:5 repeats the line, making Obed David's grandfather.

The 'X' in 'Xmas' comes from which Greek letter?

Chi: the Greek letter chi, written X, is the first letter of Christos; 'X'temmas' is recorded in 1551 and 'Xpes maesse' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle around 1100.

In Luke 1:29, how did Mary first react to Gabriel's greeting?

She was troubled: Luke 1:29 says that when she saw him 'she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be', before Gabriel said 'Fear not'.

The Greek word kataluma, translated 'inn' in Luke 2:7, may more accurately mean what?

Guest room: kataluma is the word Luke 22:11 uses for the 'guest chamber' of the Last Supper, whereas Luke 10:34 calls the Good Samaritan's inn a pandocheion, so many scholars read 2:7 as a full guest room.

Which Moabite ancestor of David, and so of Jesus, married Boaz in Bethlehem?

Ruth was David's great-grandmother.

In Genesis 35, Rachel died giving birth to which son near Bethlehem?

Benjamin: Genesis 35:16-19 says Rachel died in hard labour on the way to Ephrath, naming the boy Ben-oni, 'son of my sorrow', whom Jacob renamed Benjamin; she was buried by the road.

The word 'Advent' comes from the Latin adventus, meaning what?

Coming or arrival: Latin adventus means 'coming' or 'arrival', translating the Greek parousia used in the New Testament for Christ's coming; the season looks to both his birth and his return.

'The Little Drummer Boy' was written in 1941 by Katherine Kennicott Davis under what original title?

Carol of the Drum: Davis published it in 1941 as 'Carol of the Drum', claimed as a Czech folk arrangement; the Trapp Family Singers recorded it in 1951 and the Harry Simeone Chorale's 1958 version made it famous.

Bach's Christmas Oratorio is made up of how many parts, each a cantata for a feast day?

Six: the Christmas Oratorio, BWV 248, is six cantatas for Christmas Day, 26 and 27 December, New Year's Day, the Sunday after New Year and Epiphany, first performed in Leipzig in 1734-35.

'In the Bleak Midwinter' began as a poem by which English poet?

Christina Rossetti: the poem appeared in the American magazine Scribner's Monthly in January 1872; Gustav Holst's tune 'Cranham' for it was published in the 1906 English Hymnal, and Harold Darke set it again in 1909.

Which antiquarian popularised 'God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen' in his 1833 carol collection?

William Sandys: the London solicitor and antiquary printed the carol in his 1833 Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, alongside 'The First Nowell'; it is also known as 'Tidings of Comfort and Joy'.

Massachusetts's 1659 Puritan ban on celebrating Christmas carried a fine of how much?

Five shillings: the Massachusetts General Court's 1659 law fined anyone found 'observing any such day as Christmas' five shillings; the law was repealed in 1681 under pressure from the Crown.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, was named on Christmas Eve 1741 by a bishop of which church?

Moravian: Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf, a bishop of the Moravian Church, led the Christmas Eve 1741 service in the settlers' first house on the Lehigh River and named the place Bethlehem.

To which man does Luke address both his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles?

Theophilus: Luke 1:3 dedicates the Gospel to 'most excellent Theophilus' and Acts 1:1 opens by addressing him again; his name means 'lover of God' and many take him for Luke's patron.

Which Old Testament prophet's book does Matthew cite for the ruler who 'shall come' out of Bethlehem?

Micah: Matthew 2:5-6 has the chief priests answer Herod with Micah 5:2, 'out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel', placing the Messiah's birth in Bethlehem.

In Isaiah 9:6, the child whose 'government shall be upon his shoulder' is given which title?

Prince of Peace: Isaiah 9:6 ends its list of the child's names, 'Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father', with 'The Prince of Peace', a verse Handel set in Messiah.

In Luke 2:46, after how many days did Mary and Joseph find Jesus in the Temple?

Three: Luke 2:46 says 'after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors', and Mary asked why he had treated them so.

For which feast had the Holy Family travelled to Jerusalem when the boy Jesus stayed behind in the Temple?

Passover: Luke 2:41-42 says Jesus's parents 'went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover', and that year, when he was twelve, he stayed behind.

On learning Mary was pregnant, what did Joseph intend to do before an angel intervened in a dream?

Divorce her quietly: Matthew 1:19 says Joseph, 'not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily', until the angel told him in a dream to take Mary as his wife.

Besides washing and oiling, with what were newborns rubbed before being wrapped in biblical swaddling cloths?

Salt: Ezekiel 16:4 lists the care a newborn was denied, 'neither wast thou washed in water... thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all', showing that infants were rubbed with salt before swaddling.

On Christmas Eve 1968, Apollo 8's crew orbiting the Moon read aloud from which book of the Bible?

Genesis supplied the crew's text: Bill Anders, Jim Lovell and Frank Borman took turns reading the first ten verses of the creation story during their ninth lunar orbit.

Like the infant Jesus, which Old Testament baby survived a ruler's order to kill Hebrew boys?

Moses was hidden by his mother and then set afloat in an ark of bulrushes after Pharaoh ordered every newborn Hebrew son thrown into the river.

Before following Jesus, the apostle Matthew, traditional author of the first Gospel, did which job?

Tax collector is how Matthew 9:9 introduces him, seated at the customs post in Capernaum; the Gospel under his name is the only one to mention the Magi.

In Colossians, Paul calls Luke, author of the fullest nativity story, 'the beloved' what?

Physician is Luke's trade in Colossians 4:14, which is why he became a patron saint of doctors, and of artists too.

What does Luke 2 say Mary did with all the things said about her newborn son?

Pondered them in her heart is Luke's phrase, and he returns to it when the boy Jesus is found in the Temple: his mother 'kept all these sayings in her heart'.

According to Luke, why did Joseph travel to Bethlehem to register rather than staying in Galilee?

He was of David's line: Luke says Joseph belonged to 'the house and lineage of David', and Bethlehem, which the Gospel calls the city of David, was that king's home town.

In the nativity stories, an angel greets both Mary and Joseph with which two-word reassurance?

Fear not runs through the birth stories: an angel says it to Mary, to Joseph in his dream, to the father of John the Baptist and to the watchers in the fields.

The church feast marking the naming and circumcision of the infant Jesus falls on which holiday?

New Year's Day closes the octave of Christmas; in the Roman calendar the date was called the Circumcision of the Lord until 1960 and is now the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

In Matthew's Gospel, what reason does the angel give Joseph for naming Mary's child Jesus?

He will save his people 'from their sins', the angel explains, and the name fits: Jesus comes from a Hebrew name meaning 'Yahweh is salvation'.

The title Christ, from the Greek christos, translates the Hebrew word Messiah and means what?

Anointed one recalls the rite of kingship in ancient Israel, where rulers were anointed with oil; the angel's message outside Bethlehem calls the newborn 'Christ the Lord'.

Complete the angel's message from Luke 2: 'I bring you good tidings of great' what?

Joy 'which shall be to all people', the angel goes on, and moments later a multitude of the heavenly host appears, praising God.

When Mary asked how she could bear a child, who did the angel say would come upon her?

The Holy Spirit, 'the Holy Ghost' in older Bibles, would come upon her, the angel said, a line echoed in the Apostles' Creed: 'conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary'.

In Luke's account of the angel's visit, Mary is told her holy child will be called by which title?

Son of God is the title the angel gives in Luke 1:35; a few verses earlier the same messenger calls the child 'the Son of the Highest', heir to the throne of David.

How does Mary describe herself when she accepts the angel's message in Luke 1?

The handmaid of the Lord, or 'servant' in modern versions; her next words, 'be it unto me according to thy word', are repeated in the Angelus prayer.

Complete the angel's assurance to Mary in Luke 1: 'For with God nothing shall be' what?

Impossible, the angel says, pointing to Mary's elderly relative, long called barren and by then well into a pregnancy of her own.

A Gospel reading for Christmas Day declares that 'the Word was made' what, 'and dwelt among us'?

Flesh is the blunt word the fourth Gospel's prologue chooses, and its Latin form gave the church the term Incarnation for what Christmas celebrates.

Matthew's Gospel opens with a family tree of Jesus that begins with which patriarch?

Abraham heads the list, and Matthew's very first verse calls Jesus 'the son of David, the son of Abraham', tying him to Israel's founding father and its greatest king.

Matthew traces the royal line of Jesus from David through which son, his successor on the throne?

Solomon carries Matthew's line on through the kings of Judah, while Luke follows a different, little-known son of David, one reason the two family trees differ.

Unable to speak, how did John the Baptist's father tell relatives the baby's name?

He wrote on a tablet, 'His name is John', and at once his speech returned, astonishing neighbours who had expected the boy to be named after his father.

The English word 'gospel' comes from the Old English godspel, translating a Greek term meaning what?

Good news renders the Greek euangelion, which the Latin Bible kept as evangelium, the root of the English word evangelist.

In the Temple, an old man warned Mary that what would 'pierce through' her own soul?

A sword, he said, and Christian art took the image literally: Mary as Our Lady of Sorrows is often shown with one or seven swords piercing her heart.

In a prophecy Handel set to music in Messiah, the people who walked in darkness have seen what?

A great light, sung as a bass solo in Messiah, leads straight into the chorus 'For unto us a Child is born', taken from the same chapter.

What duty was the father of John the Baptist performing in the Temple when an angel appeared?

Burning incense had fallen to him by lot, and the angel appeared at the right side of the altar while a crowd prayed outside.

The angel said John the Baptist would come 'in the spirit and power of' which Old Testament prophet?

Elijah, spelled Elias in older Bibles, was expected to return before the day of the Lord, so the promise marked John out as a forerunner.

In the Temple song sung over the infant Jesus, the child is called 'a light to lighten' whom?

The Gentiles, the non-Jewish nations, share the line with Israel: the same verse calls the child 'the glory of thy people Israel'.

Which 1611 translation gives the nativity story 'sore afraid' and 'no room for them in the inn'?

The King James Bible was the work of 47 scholars, all but one of them clergymen of the Church of England, working in committees.

Which scholar translated the Bible into Latin while living by Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity?

Jerome finished his Latin Bible, later called the Vulgate, in a Bethlehem monastery paid for by Paula, a wealthy Roman aristocrat.

Mary's name is a form of which Hebrew name, borne by the prophetess who sang at the Red Sea?

Miriam, the Hebrew Miryam, became Mariam in Greek and Maria in Latin; the first Miriam led Israel's women in song and dance with a timbrel.

Which New Testament book pictures a dragon waiting to devour a newborn destined to rule all nations?

Revelation 12 has a woman clothed with the sun give birth as a red dragon waits; in Catholic tradition she is widely identified with the Virgin Mary.

Which prophet travelled to Bethlehem to anoint Jesse's youngest son, a shepherd boy, as king?

Samuel was shown seven older brothers first and turned each one down, then anointed David, the youngest, who had been out keeping the sheep.

After a long search, among whom did Mary and Joseph find the boy Jesus sitting in the Temple?

The teachers were astonished at his understanding and answers, Luke says; the boy had been listening to them and asking questions of his own.

Which short description does Matthew's Gospel give of the character of Joseph, husband of Mary?

A just man, 'righteous' in modern versions; the angel who then appears addresses him by his royal ancestry: 'Joseph, thou son of David'.

Which prophet's book closes the Christian Old Testament, directly before Matthew's nativity story?

Malachi ends by promising that a prophet will be sent before the day of the Lord, a hope the Gospels attach to John the Baptist.

Luke says the widow Anna, who met the infant Jesus in the Temple, served God night and day how?

Fasting and praying, Luke says, without ever leaving the Temple; he adds that she had been widowed after only seven years of marriage.

Like John the Baptist, which judge of Israel had his birth and lifelong vow announced by an angel?

Samson was to be a Nazirite from the womb, his hair never cut; the angel's rules for John in Luke 1 follow the same pattern.

Mary's song of praise in Luke 1 closely echoes the prayer of which Old Testament mother at Shiloh?

Hannah had begged for a child and vowed to give him to God's service; her prayer, like Mary's, rejoices that the hungry are fed and the mighty brought low.

Matthew's family tree of Jesus pivots on King David and on which national disaster?

The exile to Babylon is Matthew's second hinge: he counts equal sets of generations before David, between David and the deportation, and after it.

Luke says John the Baptist's mother came from 'the daughters of' which first high priest of Israel?

Aaron's line supplied Israel's priests, so John the Baptist was of priestly descent on both sides: his father served in the Temple too.

Paul's line that God sent his Son 'made of a woman, made under the law' comes from which letter?

Galatians 4:4 says this happened 'when the fulness of the time was come', and gives the purpose: 'to redeem them that were under the law'.

Matthew quotes a prophecy of Rachel weeping for her children, heard as a voice in which town?

Ramah, 'Rama' in older Bibles, lay about five miles north of Jerusalem, and captives taken from the fallen city were assembled there before being led away.

Complete the angel's news from Luke 2: 'unto you is born this day in the city of David' what?

A Saviour 'which is Christ the Lord', the angel says; 'city of David' here means Bethlehem, though in the Old Testament the same title belongs to the stronghold of Zion in Jerusalem.

Luke's childhood story ends with the young Jesus increasing in favour with God and man, and in what?

Wisdom and stature are Luke's last words on the childhood: when Jesus next appears, at his baptism, he is about thirty.

In the rosary, the Annunciation, Visitation and Nativity belong to which set of mysteries?

Joyful is the name for the five scenes drawn from Luke's opening chapters; the set ends with the Presentation and the Finding in the Temple.

Which book of the Law set the offering Mary made in the Temple after the birth of Jesus?

Leviticus 12 asks a new mother for a lamb but allows a cheaper offering for those who cannot afford one, the option Luke records.

On hearing Mary's greeting, which title did her elderly relative give her, in Luke 1?

The mother of my Lord, she cried 'with a loud voice', adding words of blessing that Catholics still repeat in prayer.

Luke says John the Baptist grew strong in spirit as a child and lived where until his ministry?

In the wilderness, 'the deserts' in older Bibles, is where the Gospels later find him preaching in camel's hair and living on locusts and wild honey.

What reason did the father of John the Baptist give for doubting the angel's promise of a son?

His old age, and his wife's too: 'I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years' was the reply that cost him his voice until the child was named.

Complete the angel's promise to Mary about her son: 'of his kingdom there shall be' what?

No end: the phrase passed into the Nicene Creed, which says of Christ, 'whose kingdom shall have no end'.

A prophecy the Gospels apply to John the Baptist urges hearers to 'prepare ye' what?

The way of the Lord, 'make his paths straight': Matthew quotes the line of John the Baptist, and the musical Godspell gives it to him as a song.

Which Peanuts character recites the angel's nativity message on stage in A Charlie Brown Christmas?

Linus Van Pelt asks for a spotlight, drops his security blanket and recites the passage, then says: 'That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.'