christmas Trivia Quiz # 794

Her daughter's name was Katie.

Hilda is the rather maternal wife of the over-sensitive David Lee, who had idolized his mother and deeply resented his father’s treatment of her. Hilda had been urging David to forgive his father, and was both stunned and outraged by the old man’s outburst. She approached him after the others had left and took him to task for his malicious behavior. When Lee expressed unrepentant satisfaction at his behavior, Hilda told him that she was afraid, not of him, but for him. As it turns out, her fears were justified.

JACK: "Christmas time is buzzing in my skull. Will it let me be? I cannot tell. There's so many things I cannot grasp. When I think I've got it, and then at last through my bony fingers it does slip. Like a snowflake in a fiery grip. Something here I'm not quite getting, though I try, I keep forgetting. Like a memory long since past. Here in an instant, gone in a flash. What does it mean? What does it mean?"

She was furious that Grant had arranged everything, including her dress, and refused to marry him. However, Michelle (who had no reason to like Grant herself) persuaded her that if she loved him, she ought to accept it and get married.

Peter Sarstedt sings, in a bitter, sarcastic way, the story of a young lady, presumably a childhood sweetheart, who, without conscience, wheedled her way into the European jet set. It reminds one of Dylan’s scathing attack on someone unknown in “Like A Rolling Stone” or the innuendo featured in Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain”.



I’m unsure as to why this song didn’t reach the same levels of success in America that it did elsewhere. Perhaps it was because of distribution or promotion difficulties but I vividly remember it as being popular in Calgary, Canada at the time as well. There’s an Australian website that lists the top hits each year based on a record’s performance in three major markets – America, The U.K. and Australia. Even with its abysmal performance in America, this song achieved enough recognition in the other two markets for it to be ranked the NINTH biggest song of the year! Amazing stuff!



Sarstedt was born in India and moved to England with his family as a child in the 1950s. He had a few minor successes following this hit but not in America - this would be his only Billboard chart entry. After living in Denmark for several years, he returned home in the mid-1990s and has been a staple on the British oldies and cabaret circuit ever since.

Chapter 3 (regarding 'Christmas Present'): 'Scrooge looked about him for the Ghost, and SAW IT NOT.' (My capitals)



Chapter 4 (regarding 'Christmas Yet To Come'): Scrooge '...saw an alteration in the Phantom's hood and dress. It shrunk, collapsed, and dwindled down into a bedpost'.



Chapter 1 (regarding 'Jacob Marley'): '...after listening for a moment, joined in the mournful dirge; and floated out upon the bleak, dark night'.



Chapter 2 (regarding 'Christmas Past'): '...dropped beneath it,...Scrooge pressed it down with all his force, he could not hide the light, which streamed from under it, in an unbroken flood upon the ground'.

To quote the novel:

"'...Have you had many brothers, Spirit?'

'More than eighteen hundred,' said the Ghost.

'A tremendous family to provide for,' muttered Scrooge.

Hans actually reads the message aloud, which is pretty funny, even considering the grim visual.

Matthew 2. verses 1 - 2, and Luke 2. verse 13. The wise men saw a star which somehow guided them to Jesus (Matthew 2. verses 2 - 10), but the shepherds had first seen a single angel, followed later by a host of angels. (Luke 2. verses 8 - 15)