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May Day Trivia Quiz

After the dark days of winter, May inspires us with hope of warmer days, fruitful fields, better working conditions, and happier times. This quiz visits a number of world May Day celebrations.

A multiple-choice quiz by lesann847. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
lesann847

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
338,105

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
445

Last 3 plays: Guest 90 (3/10), Guest 81 (3/10), Guest 46 (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which Roman goddess inspired May Day celebrations in pre-Christian times? Hint

Flora

Vesta

Juno

Minerva

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Question 2 of 10

2. In the Celtic calendar, May Day is known as which of the following? Hint

Maius

Lammas

Beltane

Samhain

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which of the following is not a traditional British May Day activity? Hint

Dancing around a maypole

Morris dancing

Eating a salad of flowers

Crowning a May Queen

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Question 4 of 10

4. Which of the following Bram Stoker stories takes place on Walpurgisnacht (the night of April 30 into the wee hours of May 1)? Hint

The Gipsy Prophecy

Under the Sunset

A Dream of Red Hands

Dracula's Guest

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Question 5 of 10

5. In Estonia, May 1 is called Kevadp�ha. What does Kevadp�ha mean? Hint

Witches Day

Spring Day

Workers Day

Carnival

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Question 6 of 10

6. The Pilgrims of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies celebrated May Day by which of the following methods? Hint

Preparing May baskets

Going to church

Planting seeds

Cutting down maypoles

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Question 7 of 10

7. Hawaiians call May Day by what name? Hint

Mele Kalikimaka

May Day

Kala mai ia'u

Lei Day

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Question 8 of 10

8. Commemoration of the Haymarket affair is generally thought to have inspired May Day celebrations in honor of workers' rights. In what city did events take place? Hint

Moscow

New York

Chicago

London

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Question 9 of 10

9. May Day was a major national holiday in the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower tried to take back the holiday and called May 1 by what name? Hint

Democracy Day

United States Day

Americanization Day

Law Day

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Question 10 of 10

10. Not content with one new designation for May Day, Eisenhower also proclaimed May 1 as which of the following? Hint

Loyalty Day

Bill of Rights Day

Patriotism Day

Freedom Day

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Most Recent Scores

Today : Guest 90: 3/10
Today : Guest 81: 3/10
Apr 24 2024 : Guest 46: 7/10
Apr 24 2024 : Guest 72: 4/10
Apr 24 2024 : Guest 165: 6/10
Apr 23 2024 : Guest 86: 0/10
Apr 23 2024 : Guest 81: 4/10
Apr 23 2024 : Guest 2: 5/10
Apr 23 2024 : Guest 37: 2/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which Roman goddess inspired May Day celebrations in pre-Christian times?

Answer: Flora

Flora also had a second festival, on the 13th of August, when grain from springtime flowers ripened.

2. In the Celtic calendar, May Day is known as which of the following?

Answer: Beltane

In springtime, the Beltane festivities were marked with bonfires, drawing down the heat of the sun to warm the earth for blooming.

3. Which of the following is not a traditional British May Day activity?

Answer: Eating a salad of flowers

It's been suggested that Britons dispense with this bank holiday. This suggestion has been met with vigorous disapproval.

4. Which of the following Bram Stoker stories takes place on Walpurgisnacht (the night of April 30 into the wee hours of May 1)?

Answer: Dracula's Guest

"Dracula's Guest" was written to be the first chapter of "Dracula," but Stoker's publisher thought the manuscript was too long. "Dracula's Guest" was published as a short story in 1914.

5. In Estonia, May 1 is called Kevadp�ha. What does Kevadp�ha mean?

Answer: Spring Day

Volbri�� is celebrated throughout the night of 30 April and into the wee hours of 1 May; "Spring Day" (Kevadp�ha), May 1, is a public holiday. Volbri�� night originally stood for the gathering and meeting of witches.

6. The Pilgrims of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies celebrated May Day by which of the following methods?

Answer: Cutting down maypoles

Merry Mount Colony erected a maypole, and Capt. Miles Standish with a party of Pilgrims traveled there (present day Quincy, Massachusetts) and cut it down. They denounced "that Stinking Idol reviving feasts of ye Roman goddess Flora or ye beastly practices of ye mad Bacchanalians".

The Puritans purged the New England coast of "joylitty", prohibiting celebrations of May Day and also Christmas-another Roman "corruption" and survival from heathen days.

7. Hawaiians call May Day by what name?

Answer: Lei Day

"Kala mai ia'u" means "excuse me." "Mele Kalikimaka" is the name of the Hawaiian Christmas Song. Don Blanding wrote a newspaper article suggesting that a holiday be created centered around the Hawaiian custom of making and wearing leis. Grace Tower Warren is responsible for the phrase, "May Day is Lei Day."

8. Commemoration of the Haymarket affair is generally thought to have inspired May Day celebrations in honor of workers' rights. In what city did events take place?

Answer: Chicago

On May 1, 1886, organizers and workers began agitating for an eight-hour work day. Thousands walked off their jobs.

A peaceful crowd gathered on the evening of May 4, and Mayor Carter H. Harrison, instructed police not to disturb the meeting. However, when a speaker urged the dwindling crowd to "throttle" the law, 176 officers under Inspector John Bonfield marched to the meeting and ordered it to disperse.

Someone hurled a bomb at the police, killing one officer instantly. Police drew guns, firing wildly. Sixty officers were injured, and eight died; an unknown number of the crowd were killed or wounded.

Source: Encyclopedia of Chicago

9. May Day was a major national holiday in the Soviet Union. During the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower tried to take back the holiday and called May 1 by what name?

Answer: Law Day

Eisenhower declared Law Day honored "national dedication to the principle of government under law." "Americanization Day" was first observed May 1, 1921, but Eisenhower did not institute the holiday.

10. Not content with one new designation for May Day, Eisenhower also proclaimed May 1 as which of the following?

Answer: Loyalty Day

Eisenhower proclaimed Loyalty Day as a "special day for the reaffirmation of loyalty to the United States and for the recognition of the heritage of American freedom."

Source: Author lesann847

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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