A Presidential Christmas Trivia

Okay, I’ll admit it’s the weekend after Christmas and I’m not quite ready to let go of the season. These unhurried days spent with my family are priceless. Of course there’s the food, the caroling, and the romping around in the Colorado snow that typifies this holiday break. But I also enjoy a good trivia game.

With that in mind, here’s a White House oriented, Christmas-themed trivia game just for fun.

Special thanks to historian David Barton for assembling his comprehensive “Christmas With the Presidents” from which these questions are derived.

1) During whose presidency did the tradition of putting a decorated tree inside of the White House begin?

Benjamin Harrison
Abraham Lincoln
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin D. Roosevelt

2) Who was the first U.S. President to ban the Christmas tree from inside of the White House for environmental reasons?

Bill Clinton
Richard Nixon
Teddy Roosevelt
Barack Obama

3) Which president authorized the first official White House ornament and permitted copies to be sold to the general public?

Herbert Hoover
Ulysses S. Grant
Harry S. Truman
Ronald Reagan

4) In what year was the official White House Christmas card created with help from the Hallmark Card company?

1923
1953
1969
1981

5) The first White House Christmas card to contain a scripture verse cited this passage from Psalm 27: “Thy face, Lord, do I seek. I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the Land of the Living.” Which First Lady picked that reference?

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
Laura Welch Bush
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Mary Todd Lincoln

6) Which president started the annual lighting of the National Christmas Tree on the White House lawn?

Calvin Coolidge
James Madison
Zachary Taylor
John F. Kennedy

7) Which president, after gathering his grandchildren around the White House Christmas tree, read Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” to them?

Lyndon B. Johnson
Gerald Ford
William Taft
Franklin D. Roosevelt

Bonus question:

In 1659, which state passed a law providing a fine for anyone who celebrated Christmas? (“Whosoever shall be found observing any such day as Christmas . . . shall pay for each offense five shillings as a fine to the country.” Thankfully, the law was later repealed!)