Take our 12-Question Christmas Quiz and test your knowledge of Christmas-related Americana.

(Answer key may be found at the bottom)

1. In which one of the following years did Congress declare Christmas to be a federal holiday?

a. 1776
b. 1781
c. 1870
d. 1890

2. The iconic rosy-cheeked picture of Santa Claus was originally created as an advertisement for which one of the following?

a. Budweiser Beer
b. Coca Cola
c. Rockefeller Center
d. Radio City Rockettes

3. Which one of the following U.S. cities outlawed the celebration of Christmas, from 1659 to 1681?

a. Boston, MA
b. Charleston, SC
c. Greenwich, CT
d. Roanoke, VA

4. Who was the first U.S. President to spend Christmas in the White House?

a. George Washington
b. John Adams
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. James Madison

5. Which one of the following newspapers first published the poem "'Twas The Night Before Christmas"?

a. New York Times
b. Washington Post
c. Boston Herald
d. Troy Sentinel

6. Which one of the following states was the first to see the opening of retail Christmas tree lots, in 1851?

a. Maine
b. New York
c. Virginia
d. West Virginia

7. In which one of the following years did the official Christmas tree tradition at Rockefeller Center begin?

a. 1803
b. 1863
c. 1903
d. 1933

8. Which of the following was the first state to designate Christmas as a public holiday?

a. Alabama
b. Connecticut
c. Pennsylvania
d. South Carolina

9. Which of the following was the last of the 48 contiguous states to designate Christmas as a public holiday?

a. Arizona
b. Alaska
c. Oklahoma
d. West Virginia

10. Which U.S. President was the first to send out official White House Christmas cards?

a. John Adams
b. Calvin Coolidge
c. William McKinley
d. Ronald Reagan

11. Who was the first President to broadcast a Christmas message via short-wave radio?

a. Franklin D. Roosevelt
b. Dwight D. Eisenhower
c. Herbert Hoover
d. Harry S. Truman

12. Which one of the following First Ladies established the custom of decorating an official tree in the White House, a tradition which endures today?

a. Abigail Adams
b. Frances Cleveland
c. Lou Henry Hoover
d. Jacqueline Kennedy

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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from everyone at the Center for Individual Freedom!

Answers: 1(c); 2(b); 3(a); 4(b); 5(d); 6(b); 7(d); 8(a); 9(c); 10(b); 11(b); 12(c)