November & December Trivia

1. World AIDS Day is December 1. What color ribbon is used to symbolize solidarity with HIV-positive people and people living with AIDS?

From Quiz Some Secular December Holidays

Answer: red

James W. Burn and Thomas Netter, public information officers at the World Health Organization (WHO), conceived the idea for Worlds AIDS Day back in 1987. They chose December 1 because they believed it would maximize coverage in Western news media, as that is almost midway between US Election Day and Christmas Day. Popes John Paul II, Benedict XIV, and Francis have annually released a message for patients and doctors, and since 1993 the U.S. President has made a proclamation for World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day is one of eleven global public health days marked by the WHO. Red ribbons are also symbols for the prevention of drunken driving and drug abuse. The pink ribbon is the worldwide symbol for support in the fight against breast cancer, the green for mental-health awareness, and the blue for various causes including remembering the poor.

From Quiz The Day After Thanksgiving

Answer: Black Friday

"Black" days are usually bad days. Black Thursday, for example, was the stock market crash of 1929, which led to the Great Depression that lasted until World War II. Black Friday, however, is a good day for retailers (the owners, not necessarily the workers). It's the biggest shopping day of the year, and the day when many merchants who were operating "in the red" (at a loss) finally operate "in the black" (at a profit). Usually there are sales with bargains that are rarely equaled at other times of year. Before the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic especially, some disturbing features of Black Friday were stampedes of shoppers, fights over merchandise, and general chaos in the department stores and the big-box stores. In case it needs to be said, Thanksgiving is always the fourth Thursday of the month, so the day after is always a Friday.

From Quiz It's a Jolly Holiday in November!

Answer: World Kindness Day

The World Kindness Movement (WKM) coalesced in 1997 out of multiple national Kindness Movement organizations and the following year created World Kindness Day, held every two years at a different host country. "The purpose of World Kindness Day", according to the WKM website, "is to highlight good deeds in the community, focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness that binds us." World Kindness Day is observed from Canada to Japan to Nigeria to the United Arab Emirates to Australia. The WKM website encourages everyone to be a kindness ambassador or "RAKtivist" (Random Acts of Kindness activist), for "RAKtivists are the heroes of our generation".

From Quiz How High Can You Build It?

Answer: Remember, remember

There are different versions of the rhyme but they all start with "Remember, remember". While versions of the poem differ in their length and content, the first few lines are usually the same. One version goes like this: "Remember, remember the fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot. We see no reason Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot!"

From Quiz Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

Answer: James I

The Gunpowder Plot was instigated by a group of Catholics who were angry at the Protestant King, James I. James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots, and was the first ruler of a combined England and Scotland. He took the throne in 1603, after the death of Elizabeth I, and is probably best known today for commissioning an English language version of the Bible. Some 13 people were involved in the plot, and Guy Fawkes was the one chosen to place explosives underneath the Houses of Parliament. He placed 36 barrels of gunpowder underneath the House of Lords and planned to set it off as the king was speaking to Parliament. He was discovered at the last minute, arrested, and sent to the Tower of London. Charles I was five years old in November 1605, and William the Conqueror had been dead for 500 years.

From Quiz And Then You Celebrate!

Answer: Sufganiyot

One of the many delicious foods eaten in Hanukkah are sufganiyot, round, fried doughnuts filled with jelly and covered with powdered sugar. The pastries are deep-fried in oil to commemorate the miracle of Hanukkah: very little oil was enough to light a menorah for eight days. Because of this, Hanukkah foods are cooked with plenty of oil to celebrate!

From Quiz The Month of December

Answer: 10

September was named after 7, October for 8, November for 9, and December for 10. They were named when the year had only ten months. The prefix "dec-" means "ten", like in "decade".

From Quiz Merry Christmahanakwanzika

Answer: Lights

The annual eight-day celebration of lights begins on the 25th day of Kislev, which is the ninth month of the Hebrew year. Due to the means of counting calendar days on the Hebrew calendar, this time frame falls anywhere from late November through the month of December.

From Quiz Habari Gani: A Kwanzaa Quiz

Answer: Maulana Karenga

The idea of Kwanzaa was conceived by Black Power activist Maulana Ndabezitha Karenga, and was based on West and Southern African harvest traditions, such as the First Fruits festival of the Nguni people. It was initially conceived as a black alternative to Christmas, as Karenga felt that Christianity was a 'white religion', although he later changed his views on this; it also gave African-Americans an opportunity to celebrate their own history, rather than the history of the dominant white culture. Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.

From Quiz Gobble! It's Thanksgiving

Answer: Turkey

Some have chicken, some have duck, some have no bird at all...It varies from person to person.

From Quiz Merry Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah

Answer: first fruits

Kwanzaa was first celebrated in 1966.

From Quiz The Day After Thanksgiving

Answer: Canada

The first Buy Nothing Day event was held in Canada in September 1992 and later moved to Black Friday as an antidote and act of resistance against consumerist culture (especially considering that Canadians would drive over their southern border for the spending spree). Vancouver-based magazine "Adbusters" tried to promote the idea of an anti-consumerist day in America in 1999, but of all the U.S. television networks, only CNN would air their advertisement. Ways to participate in the day include cutting up credit cards in the middle of a shopping mall, walking like a zombie through stores without buying anything, and pushing carts through a store in a conga line (again, buying nothing). Alternatively, participants partake in outdoors events. The Bay Area Sea Kayakers holds a Buy Nothing Day paddle in San Francisco. In Rhode Island, Utah, Oregon, and Kentucky, there is a Buy Nothing Coat Exchange, in which anyone who needs a winter coat can exchange their old one (or take one without exchanging if they need to). In Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, and the USA, Buy Nothing Day is held the day after U.S. Thanksgiving. (In other countries, like France, Japan, and New Zealand, it is held on the last Saturday in November).

From Quiz Tales of the Yule Log

Answer: 12 days

Before the advent of Christianity early sources state that the season of Yule lasted for two months through December and January; afterwards it was limited to twelve days. The "Saga of Hákon the Good" says that King Hákon I of Norway (934-961) was responsible for the Christian conversion of his people, and that he eventually was the one who adjusted the Yuletide to correspond with the Christian Christmas. Those who are familiar with the popular song know that the Christmas season is 12 days long beginning on December 25 and continuing through January 5.

From Quiz How High Can You Build It?

Answer: Houses of Parliament

In 1605, a group of Catholics wanted to assassinate King James I and his parliament. King James and England as a whole was Protestant, and followers of Catholicism were persecuted there. The Catholic plotters hoped that eliminating the Protestant monarchy would help return England to Catholicism. Guy Fawkes was one of the plotters. He was the explosives expert who helped to set up 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars below the Houses of Parliament. One of the plotters sent a letter to a friend warning him to stay away from the building that night. Supporters of the King found the letter and guards were sent to inspect the cellar.

From Quiz Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

Answer: Fell off the scaffold and broke his neck

Guy Fawkes and seven of his co-conspirators were tried and found guilty. Several were drawn and quartered while they were alive, which involved the gruesome fate of being gutted and mutilated before being decapitated. Fawkes avoided that fate by falling (or possibly jumping) off the scaffold, breaking his neck in the fall. His body was cut up into pieces as a warning to those considering treason against King James. Fawkes died on January 31, 1606.

From Quiz And Then You Celebrate!

Answer: It has 16 candles instead of 8

Alsace is a region that has been disputed in history between France and Germany, although since the end of World War II in 1945 it has been under French control. Jews have traditionally made up an important part of the region's population, and were constantly segregated. Alsatian Jews have a special way of celebrating Hanukkah, since double-decker menorahs are used. This means that it has two levels, with 8 candles each, so that parents and children can light the menorah simultaneously in a single menorah.

From Quiz Merry Christmahanakwanzika

Answer: Maccabees

The books of First and Second Maccabees detail the miracle that evolved into the celebration of Hanukkah. The story is told that as the Maccabee Jews rebelled against the rule of the Greek ruler, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the purified wicks of the temple candelabra were lit one at a time, day after day, eventually adding up to eight flames. The miracle being, the lights of hope were burning for the duration of the eight-day time frame on only one day's worth of lamp oil.

From Quiz Sinterklaas, the Children's Saint

Answer: It was derived from Saint Nicholas.

And did you know that I am a patron saint of many ports, Amsterdam being one of them? They have erected a church there in my honor, would you believe?

From Quiz Habari Gani: A Kwanzaa Quiz

Answer: Swahili

Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken mainly in Tanzania, Mozambique and Kenya, as well as other African countries such as Rwanda and Burundi. Each principle has its own symbol, and each day focuses on a different principle. Umoja is unity, represented by a dagi knot, a pan-African symbol of unity. Kujichagulia is self-determination, represented by the Akan throne (Golden Stool), the throne of the Ashanti people of Ghana. Ujima is collective work and responsibility, represented by an x-shaped symbol called the akoma ntoaso, an Adinkra symbol from Ghana. Ujamaa is cooperative economics, represented by two interlocking semicircles (a symbol from the Nsibidi symbol system, representing togetherness and family). Nia is purpose, represented by the ancient Egyptian hieroglyph nefer that stands for beauty and goodness. Kuumba is creativity, represented by the Dogon symbol of the seven vibrations of divine creation. Finally, Imani is faith and its symbol is a combination of ancient Egyptian symbols: the ankh for life, and the djed pillar for endurance.

From Quiz The Month of December

Answer: Saturnalia

The ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia started on December 17 and lasted for seven days.

From Quiz Gobble! It's Thanksgiving

Answer: Thanksgiving

Yep, the same name only not on the same day. The Canadian Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday in October.

From Quiz The Month of November

Answer: Tiberius

Tiberius refused the honor, saying what would happen if there were a thirteenth emperor.

From Quiz Merry Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah

Answer: 7

It starts on December 26 and ends on January 1.

From Quiz Some Secular December Holidays

Answer: Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day

Sunday, December 7, 1941, was meant to be a day of rest for the military at the Pearl Harbor naval base on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. But at 7:55 a.m., Japanese fighter planes attacked the U.S. Pacific fleet moored in the harbor. Thousands of lives would be lost that day, which was truly as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would call it, "a date which will live in infamy". The United States ended its policy of isolation and entered World War II. In 1994 the U.S. Congress passed the a law, signed by President Bill Clinton, which made December 7 officially Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. (Government offices, schools, and banks remain open, however.) Protocol requires the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff until sunset to honor those who died at Pearl Harbor. A marble memorial sits over the sunken battleship USS Arizona on which more than 1100 crew members died. The memorial is part of the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which is a unit of the National Park System and includes other memorials for sunken ships and a visitors' center within its 21.3 acres.

From Quiz The Day After Thanksgiving

Answer: Native Americans

In 2008, Congressman Joe Baca (D-CA) introduced legislation to designate the Friday after Thanksgiving as Native American Heritage Day, a day to celebrate the vibrant and myriad histories and traditions of Native Americans, to foster cultural pride, to recognize the contributions and achievements of Natives. Congress passed the bill, and President George W. Bush signed it into law. (It is not, however, a bank holiday or a day when government offices are closed.) Ways to observe include visiting a Native American museums, heritage center, or historical site; watching a documentary about Natives; or attending one of the various seminars, performances, or events held across the USA. You could even try a delicious Native American recipe, like frybread or Three Sisters soup or pemmican (venison or similar game meat with dried fruits and honey). Note of controversy: Some Native Americans have taken issue with the placement of Native American Heritage Day. First, it's on Black Friday, "a day of excess and gluttony and greed and aggressive capitalism" in the words of Simon Moya-Smith, a journalist of the Oglala Lakota Nation. "It's the complete opposite of what we teach our youth". Second, it "falls after a holiday that omits the murder and mutilation of Natives.... For indigenous people that day is known as 'Un-Thanksgiving' or 'the National Day of Mourning' because we mourn the millions of indigenous people who died as a result of aggressive settler colonialism." While they are glad for a Heritage Day, they would like it on a different day!

From Quiz It's a Jolly Holiday in November!

Answer: Día de Muertos

Día de Muertos means "day of the dead". Families build 'ofrendas' (private shrines) decorated with pumpkins and pan de muerto (bread of the dead), and frequently, crosses and icons of the Virgin Mary to honor their departed loved ones, who may also be in photos on these shrines. Many make 'calaveras', which are representations of the human skull, often made of sugar and edible. Celebrants leave as gifts the calaveras, bottles of tequila (or toys as appropriate) on graves, which they also clean and decorate with cémpasuchil flowers (Aztec marigolds). Día de Muertos originated in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican observances, especially an Aztec festival of the goddess Mictēcacihuātl, Queen of the Underworld (Mictlān). In northern Mexico, however, the day was not celebrated until the 20th century because the indigenous inhabitants had differing traditions. Día de Muertos is sometimes (incorrectly) referred to as Día de los Muertos (backformed from the English, in which the article is necessary).

From Quiz How High Can You Build It?

Answer: Scrap wood

Bonfires are usually built using scrap wood. Like any fire, precautions need to be taken before the fire actually starts. A bonfire should be built away from any overhanging plants, and children and animals should be kept a safe distance away. There should be a firm base and, despite the title of this quiz, the burning material should be kept at a safe height. The panic caused by an out-of-control fire can put a damper on Bonfire Night celebrations! Always be cautious when putting things on a bonfire to burn. Some man-made things explode in intense heat, including aerosols and cans of paint. Also, tiny flammable objects (like leaves and scraps of paper) can catch fire and then be carried away by a gust of wind. Guy Fawkes Night always takes place in November - strong winds are a possibility!

From Quiz Remember, Remember the Fifth of November

Answer: The Pope

Given that the plotters were Catholic, the celebrations around November 5 originally had a decidedly anti-Catholic flavor. Effigies of the Pope were frequently burned along with those of Guy Fawkes. Sermons on November 5 by protestant clergymen would frequently focus on the cruelty and inhumanity of "Papists." By the 1850s, much of the anti-Catholic hysteria had died down, and "Guy Fawkes Night" eventually became more of a social celebration, similar to Halloween. A tradition grew up whereby children would collect wood for weeks, and have contests to see who could create the largest bonfires. They would also go round local houses and streets collecting money, usually accompanied by their Guy Fawkes effigy.

From Quiz And Then You Celebrate!

Answer: Yemen

Yemen was ruled by Jewish people from 275 AD and until the 7th century, when religions like Christianity and Islam started spreading. Today, Yemen is an Arab country with Islam as its official religion. Yemenite Jews use the seventh night of Hanukkah to celebrate women, in honor of Hannah, who (according to the Book of Maccabees) rose against the Greeks alongside her seven sons, and refused to give up their beliefs, which resulted in their deaths. The night also honors Judith, who seduced General Holofernes, leading to Jewish military victory.

From Quiz Habari Gani: A Kwanzaa Quiz

Answer: Red, black and green

Black, red and green are colours associated with the pan-African movement. There are three red candles on one side, three green ones on the other and one black one in the middle. The black candle represents the African people, the red candles represent their struggle and the green candles represent hope and the future.

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Last Updated Apr 26 2025 5:48 AM

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