Answer: 25 April 1915
The ANZACs landed on the beaches of Gallipoli as part of a plan to capture Constantinople and secure naval passage to the Black Sea for Allied ships. It was a military failure, and the months-long struggle led to significant suffering and loss of life. For both Australia and New Zealand, it was their first major participation in international war after attaining independence, and became seen by many as a symbol of maturity as a nation. April 25 was originally designated to commemorate the courage and suffering of the ANZACs, but has since expanded to be a time to recall all those who have died in the service of their country.
The other dates are also associated with significant war-related events. The armistice ending fighting on the Western Front in World War I was signed on 11 November 1918, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 brought the United States into World War II, and 6 June 1944 saw the D-Day invasion of Normandy, start of the final push to end the war in Europe in World War II.
From Quiz: Celebrating ANZAC Day
Answer: St. David
In Wales, St. David's Day is a solemnity, meaning a feast day of the highest rank. In religious iconography, individual saints are usually identified by some sort of prop, and in St. David's case a dove sits on his shoulder. He is also the patron saint specifically of Pembrokeshire (in Wales), not to mention poets and vegetarians. In Cardiff a grand parade is held, often with the Prince of Wales in attendance. Children throughout Wales sing in school concerts called "eisteddfodau", and adults wear the a leek or a daffodil on their lapels, and everyone eats cawl, a traditional soup. Interestingly, Disneyland Paris holds a Welsh-themed week around the time of St David's Day, when the Disney characters wear traditional Welsh costumes.
SS. George, Andrew, and Patrick are the patron saints of England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively. St. Patrick shares his honor with SS. Brigid and Columba.
From Quiz: It's a Jolly Holiday in March
Answer: Blue
Traditionally, blue was the color associated with St. Patrick, but over the ages the color of shamrocks (which Patrick used to demonstrate the meaning of the Trinity) superseded the old observances. Their green color was used in increasing frequency until blue is no longer thought of in relation to the Celtic saint.
From Quiz: St. Patrick's Day - Fact and Fable
Answer: France
April the first is commonly known as April Fool's Day or All Fools' Day in most English speaking countries. The custom is believed to have started in France when the Gregorian calendar was adopted by King Charles IX in 1582. In this calendar the new year started on January 1. People who did not use the new date but still celebrated on April 1st became the butt of jokes.
From Quiz: April the First
Answer: open
The Romans called the month April is from the Latin word aperire to open. Some think the word April could come from Aphrodite.
From Quiz: The Month of April
Answer: First
March was originally the first month, but when Julius Caesar reformed the calendar it became the third month.
From Quiz: The Month of March
Answer: Hans Christian Andersen
Since 1967, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) has sponsored International Children's Book Day. Activities include writing contests, book awards, and meetings with kid-lit authors. IBBY, founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1953, has formal status with UNESCO and UNICEF and national chapters in many countries. IBBY has brought books to Palestinian children in Lebanese relief camps, trained librarians in Burkina Faso, and offered writing and illustration workshops in Mexico, Zambia, Indonesia, and all over the world to encourage local production of books for children.
Danish author Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) never married, and in his later years he developed chronic bronchitis and then liver cancer. One morning his friends discovered his lifeless body in bed; he was clutching a farewell letter written 45 years earlier by the only woman he had ever loved.
From Quiz: It's a Jolly Holiday in April!
Answer: Because that is when the Gallipoli landing started
While it is true that dawn is a suitable time for reflection, and there are more activities to be completed during a typical ANZAC Day celebration, the reason for the choice of dawn for the commemorative service is that the landing on the beaches of Gallipoli started at dawn. Actually, although it is called a dawn service, they usually are specifically timed to start at 6:00 am, so the service starts in the dark. In 2013, sunrise in Melbourne was at 6:55am, after the main events of the ceremony had finished.
The first dawn service was celebrated in 1927 at the Sydney Cenotaph. Originally, the services were only for veterans, who gathered to remember those who were no longer with them, and they were military ceremonies recalling the practice of having soldiers stand to arms before dawn, the time when the risk of attack was the greatest. More recently, families have been encouraged to participate in the dawn service as well as the family-oriented activities later in the day.
From Quiz: Celebrating ANZAC Day
Answer: Britain
Patrick was born in Roman Britain, the son of a well-to-do ecclesiastical family, but at age 16 he was captured and taken to Ireland. He escaped and returned to England where he became a priest. He then returned to Ireland to Christianize the inhabitants.
From Quiz: St. Patrick's Day - Fact and Fable
Answer: green
The official color changed from blue to green, in the mid 18th century. By wearing the shamrock, or the 'wearing of the green', green was thought to represent Ireland and its peoples.
From Quiz: St Patrick's Day Party Quiz
Answer: Festival of Hilaria
This day is also known as Roman Laughing Day. In ancient Rome, the festival of Hilaria was held to celebrate the god Attis. Hilaria is probably where we get the words "hilarious" and "hilarity" from.
From Quiz: April the First
Answer: Turkey
He is said to have been born in Cappadocia, Asia Minor the area now known as Asian Turkey.
From Quiz: St. George's Day
Answer: diamond
The diamond for innocence.
From Quiz: The Month of April
Answer: his death
He died on March 17, the year was probably 461AD. The Catholic encyclopedia gives his dates as 387-493 which would make him living until to over a hundred.
From Quiz: Saint Patrick's Day
Answer: Mars
Mars was the Roman god of war.
From Quiz: The Month of March
Answer: The Shrine of Remembrance
Nearly 100,000 Victorians fought overseas during World War I, and nearly 20,000 died and were buried far from their families. The government established the Shrine of Remembrance to serve as a substitute for those who could not visit the graves of their fathers, husbands, sons and friends. According to the shrine's website, "Original designs for the Shrine of Remembrance considered the enduring human qualities of Love, Peace, Courage, Integrity, Strength, Faith, Honour and Brotherhood and the value placed on these by the community and those who had fought bravely for their country." The ANZAC Day dawn service is held in the forecourt of the Shrine, where participants can experience the solemnity of the service in the darkness that immediately precedes the dawn.
Many towns and cities throughout the country have a dawn service at their local war memorial, for those who either cannot or choose not to attend one of the larger events.
From Quiz: Celebrating ANZAC Day
Answer: Both of these
International Women's Day (IWD) has an interesting history. National Woman's Day had been observed in the USA by women's labor groups in the US between 1909 and 1913. After that date, Russian women began celebrating Women's Day on March 8, and since then that has been the traditional date worldwide, though receiving no official recognition for decades. In 1977, the UN General Assembly proclaimed a United Nations Day for Women's Rights and International Peace, on a date to be chosen by each member nation-state. (Most nations picked the traditional March 8). In some countries, IWD is rather like the U.S. Mother's Day, whereas in others it retains a political urgency. In 2013 the UN released its first ever IWD song, "One Woman", downloadable from the UN Women website.
From Quiz: It's a Jolly Holiday in March
Answer: His death
Patrick's day of birth is unknown, but he did die on March 17 in 460, 461 or 462 AD (depending on which source one consults). He was buried at Downpatrick in County Down in Northern Ireland.
From Quiz: St. Patrick's Day - Fact and Fable
Answer: shamrock
The three-leafed shamrock, worn by Saint Patrick, was a way to explain the Holy Trinity to the Pre-Christian Irish.
The shamrock is as an emblem on flags and many sports teams.
U.S. McDonald's restaurants also serve a mint flavored shake, in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.
From Quiz: St Patrick's Day Party Quiz
Answer: Scotland
A 'gowk' is the Scottish word for 'cuckoo'.
Sassenach is a Scottish term for one who is not a Scot, usually referring to someone from England.
From Quiz: April the First
Answer: Third century A.D.
His actual birth date is unknown, but he is supposed to have died on April 23, 303 A.D.
From Quiz: St. George's Day
Answer: April fish
Poisson d'Avril in French.
From Quiz: The Month of April
Answer: he was taken by pirates
Marauders seized him, took him to Ireland and sold him to an Irish chieftan, for whom he worked as a herdsman.
From Quiz: Saint Patrick's Day
Answer: Daffodil
The daffodil symbolizes spring and rebirth.
From Quiz: The Month of March
Answer: Punjab
Baisakhi, also known as Vaisakhi, is celebrated on the first day of Vaisakh, the first month of the Punjabi festival. Thus it is regarded as the new year for Punjabis. The day also holds additional significance for the Sikh community as it commemorates the establishment of the Sikh army, the Khalsa, by the tenth Sikh Guru, Guru Gobind Singh in the 17th century.
From Quiz: When That April
Answer: Girl Scouts of the USA
Juliette Gordon "Daisy" Low created the Girl Scouts in 1912, to provide girls with opportunities for spiritual, mental, and physical development. (She was inspired by Lady Olave Baden-Powell, who had founded the Girl Guides in the UK.) From a mere eighteen girls in Savannah, Georgia, the GSUSA grew to a membership of 3.2 million during its first hundred years! They don't just sell cookies; Girl Scouts are involved in service projects, outdoor fun, and educational programs.
By the way, Camp Fire Girls, founded in 1910 (two years before the Girl Scouts), became co-ed and renamed themselves Camp Fire USA in 1975.
From Quiz: It's a Jolly Holiday in March
Answer: 1903
Although it had been celebrated for centuries, St. Patrick's Day was not made "official" until 1903. This was primarily due to the Bank Holiday Act of 1903 which was instituted by James O'Mara, an Irish member of Parliament.
From Quiz: St. Patrick's Day - Fact and Fable
Answer: Boston
The Charitable Irish Society, of Boston, held the first organized St. Patrick's Day parade in 1761.
The first recorded St. Patrick's Day was in New York City, March 18, 1762.
From Quiz: St Patrick's Day Party Quiz
Answer: killing a dragon
According to legend a dragon was threatening the people of a pagan town. It could not be satisfied with offerings of animals, and demanded the princess. Saint George slew the dragon, saved the princess and converted the people to Christianity.
From Quiz: St. George's Day
Answer: France
In those days it was known as Gaul. Some accounts say he returned to Britain.
From Quiz: Saint Patrick's Day
Answer: Easter
The date for Easter is chosen based on the lunisolar calendar. The Western church fixes the date for the first Sunday that occurs after a full moon appearing on the 21st of March (or the soonest day after that). As such, it may fall any time during the months of March and April with 22nd March being the earliest possible date and 25th April the latest.
Easter is the most important among all the festivals celebrated by Christians as it marks the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and forms the very basis of the Christian faith.
From Quiz: When That April
Answer: The Last Post
"The Last Post" was played both to mark the end of the day in garrisons, and to signal the end of fighting during war. Its sounding was a signal that wounded soldiers capable of movement could seek safety in that direction. It has since become a standard feature of military funerals in Commonwealth countries. When played during the ANZAC Day dawn service, it both recalls the use in funerals and metaphorically marks the end of the preceding day. It is followed by a minute of silence, symbolic of a night vigil, then the bugle blows "Reveille", the call for the start of the day. The Australian national anthem is sung (and in many services, the New Zealand one as well), and the service is finished.
From Quiz: Celebrating ANZAC Day
Answer: pi
March 14 = 3/14 or 3.14 in the day-month notation, the first 3 digits of pi, get it? In 1988, mathematician Larry Shaw organized the first Pi Day observance at the San Francisco Exploratorium, and the idea caught on. Pi is the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, a very important constant in mathematics that has been calculated to over a trillion digits beyond the decimal point. MIT traditionally posts its acceptance letters on Pi Day. Coincidentally, it is also Albert Einstein's birthday.
An alternative celebration is Pi Approximation Day on 22 July, as pi is approximated by the fraction 22/7 (the 22nd of July, see?)
From Quiz: It's a Jolly Holiday in March
Answer: Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903
O'Mara also introduced an act to close pubs on March 17 and repealed only once in the 1970s.
From Quiz: St Patrick's Day Party Quiz
Answer: to open
The definition is not known for sure, but it is generally considered that the name comes from the Latin word aprilis, which means to open.
Another theory is that it comes from the Greek Aphrodite.
From Quiz: April the First
Answer: bishop
He was sent to Ireland as a missionary bishop.
From Quiz: Saint Patrick's Day
Answer: World Health Organization (WHO)
The World Health Organization is a UN agency headquartered in Geneva and devoted to public health. WHO focuses on communicable diseases, mental diseases, and diseases of lifestyle (STDs, addiction) as well as food safety and access. World Health Day commemorates the day the constitution was formally ratified, April 7, 1948. It is also a day during which WHO draws attention to a specific health issue each year through international, regional, and local events.
Some past themes:
2013 - "Healthy Heart Beat, Healthy Blood Pressure"
2012 - "Good Health Adds Life to Years." (aging and health)
2009 - "Save Lives. Make Hospitals Safe in Emergencies."
2006 - "Working Together for Health" (chronic shortages of health workers)
From Quiz: It's a Jolly Holiday in April!
Answer: Pagans
Although it's true that Ireland has no reptilian snakes, this legend of Saint Patrick is likely a metaphor for his bringing Christianity to Ireland and superseding the pagan religion.
From Quiz: St. Patrick's Day - Fact and Fable
Answer: spaghetti
The highly acclaimed documentary programme "Panorama" showed strands of spaghetti being plucked from bushes. This resulted in many phone calls to the BBC, most of which were from viewers who believed the tale and wanted to know where they could buy spaghetti plants!
From Quiz: April the First
Answer: Perseus
Perseus, the son of Zeus, rescued the princess Andromeda from a sea monster.
From Quiz: St. George's Day