Party Around the Planet Trivia Quiz

Answer: Russia

The White Nights Festival takes place in St. Petersburg from late May through July. It coincides with the period when the city experiences near-constant daylight due to its northern latitude. During this time, the sun barely sets, creating twilight conditions throughout the night, which gives the festival its name.

The festival features performances at St. Petersburg's historic venues including the Mariinsky Theatre, with opera, ballet, classical music concerts, and cultural events continuing late into the bright evenings. The celebration finishes with the Scarlet Sails event in late June, which features a spectacular show on the Neva River with fireworks and a ship with red sails, commemorating school graduations.

Answer: China

The Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival is held annually in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province. It runs from late January to early February. The festival features massive ice sculptures that reach over 20 metres (65 feet 7inches) tall and are illuminated with coloured lights at night.

Harbin's location in northeast China provides ideal conditions for ice sculpture, with winter temperatures regularly dropping below -20°C. The festival attracts millions of visitors who come to see elaborate ice castles, Buddhist temples carved from ice blocks harvested from the nearby Songhua River, and participate in winter activities like ice swimming and sledging.

Answer: Thailand

Yi Peng is celebrated in northern Thailand, particularly in Chiang Mai, on the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, usually in November. The festival coincides with Loi Krathong but is distinct from the Lanna culture of northern Thailand. It features the release of thousands of khom loi-paper lanterns that float into the night sky.

Participants gather at temples and designated areas to release them simultaneously. The practice symbolises releasing troubles and making wishes for the future, while also paying respect to Buddha. The sight has become widely recognised, though authorities now regulate launches for flight safety.

Answer: Spain

La Tomatina is held annually on the last Wednesday of August in the town of Buñol, near Valencia, Spain. The festival involves participants throwing overripe tomatoes at each other in the streets. Trucks deliver approximately 150,000 tomatoes for the one-hour battle that draws tens of thousands of people from around the world.

The tradition began in 1945 during a parade when young people started a food fight using vegetables from a market stall. The spontaneous event became an annual occurrence. Following the tomato fight, participants clean themselves in the Buñol River or use hoses provided by locals, and the town square is washed down, leaving it cleaner than before due to the acidity of the tomatoes.

Answer: France

Nice Carnival is a large annual event. It's held annually in Nice on the French Riviera for two weeks in February and March, ending on Shrove Tuesday. The carnival's history dates back to 1294, though the modern form with elaborate floats and parades began in the 19th century when Nice became a fashionable winter resort for European aristocracy.

Each year's carnival follows a specific theme, featuring massive papier-mâché floats with satirical figures that parade along the Promenade des Anglais. The celebration includes the Bataille de Fleurs (Battle of the Flowers) where decorated floats throw flowers to spectators, and evening parades illuminated by thousands of lights. It finishes with the burning of the carnival king figure and a fireworks display over the Mediterranean.

Answer: Italy

The Palio di Siena is a historic horse race held twice each summer in Siena's Piazza del Campo, on July 2nd (Palio di Provenzano) and August 16th (Palio dell'Assunta). It dates back to the Middle Ages and features ten of Siena's seventeen contrade (city wards) competing. Each contrada has its own colours, symbols, and rivalries going back centuries.

Riders race bareback around the medieval square's dirt track in a chaotic, dangerous competition lasting approximately 90 seconds. Horses can complete the race without their riders and still win. The winning contrada receives a painted silk banner called the palio, and celebrations continue for months afterwards. The event includes historical processions, blessing of horses in contrada churches, and test races over several days.

Answer: Poland

Wianki, celebrated across Poland on the night of June 23-24, is a Midsummer festival. It marks the summer solstice and the feast of St. John the Baptist. The tradition blends pre-Christian Slavic customs with Christian observances, and is particularly celebrated in cities along rivers, with major events in Krakow and Warsaw.

The main tradition sees young women crafting wreaths from wildflowers and floating them on rivers at dusk, originally for fortune-telling regarding marriage prospects. Modern celebrations include concerts, fireworks displays along riverbanks, and jumping over bonfires, a tradition believed to bring good fortune. In Warsaw, Wianki has evolved into a large music festival along the Vistula River, while maintaining traditional elements.

Answer: Belgium

The Carnival of Binche is a three-day celebration held just before Lent in the Belgian town of Binche. It's recognised by UNESCO as part of humanity's intangible cultural heritage. The carnival's origins date to the 14th century, with the Gilles as its central figures.

On Shrove Tuesday, approximately one thousand Gilles appear at dawn wearing traditional costumes with elaborate lace jabots, bells on their belts, and wax masks. They later put on towering ostrich-feather headdresses. The Gilles parade through the streets performing a shuffling dance while throwing blood oranges to spectators for good luck, a tradition symbolising the wealth brought from the New World. The role of Gille is hereditary and highly prestigious, with strict protocols governing their behaviour throughout the celebration.

Answer: Switzerland

Sechseläuten is Zurich's traditional spring festival, which is held on the third Monday in April. It marks the end of winter and the beginning of longer working days when church bells would ring at six o'clock (sechs Uhr) rather than five. The tradition dates back to medieval times, when guilds celebrated the arrival of spring, and it became an official festival in the 1800s.

The highlight of the festival is the burning of the Böögg, a giant snowman effigy stuffed with explosives and firecrackers, set on top of a pyre in Sechseläutenplatz. According to tradition, the faster the Böögg's head explodes, the better the summer weather will be. Locals carefully time the explosion. The day features a parade of Zurich's traditional guilds in historical costumes on horseback, while children parade the day before in the Kinderumzug.

Answer: Guatemala

Semana Santa, or Holy Week, is observed throughout Guatemala in the week leading up to Easter, with particularly elaborate celebrations in Antigua Guatemala. The colonial city hosts processions featuring massive floats called andas. Some weigh several tons and are carried by teams of purple-robed men called cucuruchos, depicting scenes from Christ's passion.

What distinguishes Guatemalan Semana Santa celebrations is the intricate alfombras, colourful carpets made from coloured sawdust, flowers, fruits, and vegetables laid out in the streets. Families and neighbourhoods spend hours creating these detailed designs, knowing they will be destroyed within minutes as the religious processions pass over them. This represents the temporary nature of earthly beauty and Christ's sacrifice