It's time for another quiz! I suck at these for the most part, but who cares, right? It's not like someone is keeping score. (Shhhh...I'm totally, secretly, keeping score!!)
For many Americans, the Christmas season is marked by good cheer, gift-giving, and ... the spreading of myths and urban legends. See if you can separate yuletide myth from fact. Questions and answers provided by the Discovery Channel.
1. The modern-day image of Santa Claus--a chubby, bearded man in a red-and-white suit--was created by the Coca-Cola Company.
(a) true or (b) false
I'm going to say (a) on this one because Santa is seriously, like, the greatest marketing tool to ever be created! The Easter bunny tries, but you can only eat so much candy, plus hard boiled eggs are relatively inexpensive.
2. The day after Thanksgiving is the biggest shopping day of the year in the United States.
(a) true or (b) false
This one has to be (a). Too many people are hung over after the St. Patty's day, Easter (Let me explain the cause and effect relationship behind this one: Kids eat large amounts of sugar and parents drink large amounts of alcohol to cope.) the 4th of July, Christmas and New Year's so Thanksgiving does make sense.
3. Christians celebrate Christmas on December 25 because that's when Jesus was born.
(a) true or (b) false
Was it Jesus or Santa? Just kidding, Jimmy Buffett was born on December 25th, but I don't think that is why we celebrate Christmas, maybe New Years though. Ok (a) it is!
4. The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) tracks Santa and his reindeer across the sky every year on Christmas Eve.
(a) true or (b) false
Ok, do you remember in high school when you would take a true or false test and you had too many answers of the same type in a row and you would start to get suspicious. Well, I'm starting to get suspicious so I am going with (b) on this one. Doesn't NORAD have more important things to do anyway like spy on Paris Hilton? I know she is somewhere doing something that we all need to know about or else we'll all die.
5. The story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was created as a holiday promotion for a department store.
(a) true or (b) false
Is nothing sacred? Is Rudolph another sell out? Probably, so the answer is once again (a). It doesn't really matter anyway because I heard his nose is red from experimenting with prohibited substances.
6. Abbreviating Christmas as Xmas "takes the Christ out of Christmas."
(a) true or (b) false
No, no, no, I do not believe this is true. I use x-mas when I have written too large or repeatedly misspelled Christmas when writing it out the long way (It is a big word, ok. Don't act like you're better than me.) I think you might be able to use x-mas when writing to pirates or enemies too, but I could be making that up. This one is (b). Yep. (b)
7. The poinsettia plant is highly toxic and eating the leaves can kill a person or pet.
(a) true or (b) false
Ha, ha. Those ladies from The View warned me about the elusive and poisonous poinsettia, but I read in the paper that this is not true at all, and if life has taught be anything, it is to always believe what you read before what you hear, because if someone actually took the time and energy to write it down, it must be true. So, a big fat (b) to this one.
8. It was once against the law to publicly celebrate Christmas in Massachusetts.
(a) true or (b) false
Those funny Massachusons! They are a wacky butch. Seriously though, there are a lot of strict laws in the Middle East so (a) because the oppression of an entire race of people is no laughing matter.
9. President Theodore Roosevelt would not allow Christmas trees in his home--not even in the White House.
(a) true or (b) false
Yes, this one is (a) true. Teddy Roosevelt was a strict conservationist. Plus, if you ever saw the movie poltergeist, you should know that you are always taking a chance when allowing a tree into or near your home.
10. The real St. Nicholas was a bishop in the early 4th century who hailed from a region known today as Turkey.
(a) true or (b) false
Humm, this makes me rethink my answer to question 1. Although, question 1 includes the words "modern day Santa" and question 10 mentions a saint from the 4th century which is very long time ago, even before the 70's. Notice how the words "jolly" are not mentioned before St.Nicholas. I bet he was an angry saint like Martha Stewart or Cybil Shepard playing Martha Stewart. Anyway, the answer is (a).
Here are the correct answers:
1) b. false, 2) b. false, 3) b. false, 4) a. true, 5) a. true, 6) b. false, 7) b. false, 8) a. true 9) a. true and 10) a. true
My score was a 60%, but in my defense, I haven't had any caffeine yet today.
To take the quiz on msn click here! The online quiz includes detailed answers, where I, do not.
Leicester Square in London, England 
