Seasonal Trivia

1. The third Monday of October is a public holiday in Jamaica. Which holiday is celebrated at this time?

From Quiz International Celebrations and Noteworthy Days

Answer: National Heroes' Day

On National Heroes' Day the seven National Heroes from Jamaican history are commemorated. In all parishes different activities are held which include dancing, story telling and honouring community figures. The major ceremony is held at the National Heroes Park where a speech is given by the Prime Minister. Wreaths are placed on the shrines of the National Heroes. The Order of National Hero is conferred at this time on an individual who performed acts that few would even think of doing. (Question by Verne47)

From Quiz You cannot be Ceres

Answer: Korean

Chuseok celebrated during the Autumn Equinox is a major harvest festival of Korea. The celebrations generally span over a period of three days with most Koreans returning to their hometowns to pay their respects to their deceased ancestors. Traditional food eaten during the festival includes songpyeon, a rice cake stuffed with sesame seeds, chestnuts, walnuts, black beans and honey, to name just a few of the possible ingredients and hangwa along with rice wines. Ganggangsullae, a folk dance whose origins can be traced back to over five thousand years, is performed by the women at night with the performance sometimes lasting up to dawn.

From Quiz Polar Seasons

Answer: Summer & Winter

The Earth's axis is tilted 23.5 degrees, so the area above 66.5 degrees latitude are designated polar regions. In the polar regions, during summer the sun never sets; during polar winter, it never rises.

From Quiz An Acrostic Thanksgiving Day

Answer: bean curd

The word "tofu" is the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese dòufu, which combines the words for "bean" and "curdled" or "fermented". To make tofu, soybeans are soaked and softened, then ground, boiled, and strained. A coagulant like nigari is added, causing the soybean mixture to form curds, which can be pressed into a block, then cut into pieces. Tofu has a mild flavor on its own, so it will easily pick up other flavors. Many cooks have experimented with recipes that shape and stuff tofu shells to resemble turkey and dressing in taste and texture, and some commercial turkey substitutes are available. Mushrooms also make a good meat substitute.

From Quiz International Days of Observance

Answer: Social Justice

In 2007, the UN first declared 20 February to be the "World Day of Social Justice". While this includes the eradication of poverty, it also includes promoting fair employment opportunities for all citizens, gender equity, and access to an equitable justice system.

From Quiz Things That Are Always Happening

Answer: Sydney Harbour Bridge

There are usually two breathtaking fireworks displays, one at 9pm, so that the youngsters can see it before they go to sleep, and the other at midnight. Every vantage point around the Harbour is usually taken many hours before the show, and more than a million people watch it live, with hundreds of millions watching it on televisions around the world. Celebrations take place at many other locations, including Bondi Beach and Parramatta, but are much more modest affairs. The Three Sisters is a rock formation in the Blue Mountains town of Katoomba.

From Quiz Christmas Customs Worldwide

Answer: Christmas Cards

The Penny Post began in 1840 which made postage more affordable because trains could carry letters in bulk. This led to the first Christmas Cards which were sold for a shilling each. Sending cards became more popular when it became possible to send them in an unsealed envelope for a halfpenny and when printing methods gradually improved to make their production cheaper. The new custom started to spread to the USA in the late 1840s. The Christmas Cracker was invented by Tom Smith in 1850, the Christmas Tree was brought to Britain by Prince Albert from Germany in the 1840s while the burning of the Yule Log dates back to Medieval times and was originally associated with the Winter Solstice.

From Quiz Name That Full Moon

Answer: Algonquin

The Algonquins are centered in Quebec, Canada but the tribal name was shared by a larger group that ranged from Virginia to the Rockies to Hudson Bay. They involved themselves with the Europeans through fur trading.

From Quiz International Celebrations and Noteworthy Days

Answer: Singapore

The World Toilet Organization was founded in 2001 in Singapore. The organization aims to raise awareness of the lack of access to sanitation in many countries in the world. World Toilet Day became an official UN day in 2013. (Question by cairnster)

From Quiz In the Summertime

Answer: Sweden

Though midsummer/summer solstice festivals are common in many places around the world, arguably none are bigger than those held in Sweden and parts of neighbouring Finland with a large Swedish population. There has even been serious talk of moving Sweden's national day to Midsummer's Eve. Sweden as a whole tries to make the most of a short summer season with a long holiday period, and at a fair distance from the equator the days are very long. The oldest traditions of the day center on the midsommarstång, which is typically decorated with a mixture of pagan fertility symbols, cross pollinated (so to speak) with some Christian symbolism. Local traditions vary but dancing around the "maypole" is a constant.

From Quiz You cannot be Ceres

Answer: Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin

The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is celebrated on the 15th of August every year and commemorates the death of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and her bodily assumption into heaven. During Dozynki, the peasants working on the fields owned by the rich landowners and members of the nobility, would make harvest wreaths out of grains, nuts and corn and present them to the land owners. Traditionally, these wreaths would be fashioned into a dome shaped crown and then decorated with flowers and ribbons. Dozynki is a Slavic harvest festival and is also celebrated in Russia, Belarus and the Czech Republic apart from Poland.

From Quiz Polar Seasons

Answer: November, December, January

The southern hemisphere, and thus Antarctica, is having summer when the northern hemisphere is having winter. Operation Deep Freeze is the U.S. military-led mission to bring in large amounts of ship-borne freight during the warmer months.

From Quiz An Acrostic Thanksgiving Day

Answer: green beans

Someone has helpfully pointed out that haricot vert sounds like "Harry Corvair" - which we can imagine to be a man's name (or a hirsute automobile). Haricots verts, or green beans, are good on their own, lightly seasoned, but one popular dish on American Thanksgiving tables is the infamous green bean casserole that includes canned green beans, canned mushroom soup, and canned fried onions. The recipe came out of the 1950s, when quick, easy meals from materials in the cupboard were taking the place of labor-intensive dinners prepared from scratch, but fast food restaurants were just beginning to come on the scene. Just as quick, fresh green beans (or haricots verts) could be simmered in broth with garlic, almonds, olive oil, and a bit of coarse sea salt and pepper. Lemon juice also makes a nice seasoning for green beans. Southern cooks leave the green beans on the stove a bit longer, adding ham or bacon and new potatoes.

From Quiz Things That Are Always Happening

Answer: Ekka

Over 400 000 people over 10 days flock to the Ekka (short for exhibition) at Brisbane Exhibition Ground to visit exhibits, sporting events and carnival rides. People who live in Brisbane get a public holiday on the seventh day of the show (usually a Wednesday). This public holiday is called "People's Day".

From Quiz Christmas Customs Worldwide

Answer: Black Pete

Sinterklaas or St Nicholas arrives in a different city or town by boat each year with "Zwarte Piet" or Black Pete. All the local church bells ring when they come ashore and then Sinterklaas leads a procession in his red bishop's robes riding a white horse. St Nicholas Eve is a big day, especially for the children who leave out clogs to be filled with presents. There are parties at which special biscuits and sweets are eaten and when, if they are lucky, children may receive further presents. Black Pete is supposed to keep a tally of each child's behaviour during the year and carries a stick to beat any naughty children. Kris Kringle is a pseudonym for Santa, the Grinch is a Dr Seuss character who hated Christmas and Ebenezer Scrooge is, of course, Dickens' main character in "A Christmas Carol".

From Quiz Name That Full Moon

Answer: Once every three years

A blue moon was the extra full moon that occurred during a quarter of a year that normally have three full moons. However, they only acknowledged this as a blue moon if this extra moon occurred in the third quarter of the year. Today a blue moon has come to signify the second full moon in any month that has two full moons.

From Quiz International Celebrations and Noteworthy Days

Answer: Wales

St Dwynwen is said to have been one of 24 children of the King of Wales, Brychan Brycheiniog, in the 5th Century AD. Her sad experiences of love, and subsequent prayers to God, resulted in her receiving three wishes from an angel. One she used up to unfreeze the man she loved, who some versions of the story say had wronged her. Another wish was that God look kindly on all true lovers. The third wish was that she should never marry. She devoted the rest of her life to God and prayer. (Question by Upstart3)

From Quiz In the Summertime

Answer: Dragon boat

Duanwu evolved over time to be celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, meaning its date will vary year by year on the Gregorian calendar but it is usually sometime in June. Various origin stories exist for the festival but almost all versions agree the festival was started to honor Qu Yuan, a Zhou dynasty poet and advisor to the royal house of Chu who was accused of treason and exiled when he advised the Chu king against an alliance with the rival state of Qin. Years later the alliance went sour to the point of open warfare and Qin eventually captured the Chu capital. Qu Yuan was so distraught when the capital fell, he drowned himself in the Miluo River. Legend holds that local villagers raced out in boats to try and save him (hence the tradition of the races), and, upon resigning that their rescue attempt was in vain, began dropping balls of rice into the river as a symbolic offering to Qu Yuan and/or to prevent the fish from eating his body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi (dumplings), a food with strong ties to Duanwu.

From Quiz Polar Seasons

Answer: North

The land that surrounds the northern polar region is largely made up of tundra, an area with low plants, shrubs and a few trees. The southern landmass, Antarctica, is mostly ice-covered and surrounded by ocean, and has no significant plant life.

From Quiz An Acrostic Thanksgiving Day

Answer: fall

In the Northern Hemisphere, the months between September and November are a time of harvesting crops and preparing food for the winter, and in some languages, including English before around 1600, the word for the season is related to the word for gathering crops. In Old English, the word "hærfest" described the season first and later was used to describe the reaping of crops. Thanksgiving, while it is a particularly North American holiday, owes much to harvest festivals or "harvest suppers" of the British isles. The word "autumn" comes from Old French, derived from Latin, and it is said to have first been used in English writing by Geoffrey Chaucer around 1374. The word "fall" to describe the season when leaves were falling from the trees (or alternatively when the year itself was falling toward winter) was coming into the language around the time the Americas were being explored, before 1545. Linguists speculate that the parallel with the opposite season "spring" seemed logical to some speakers. Perhaps, "fall" had that solid Anglo-Saxon sound American settlers liked. However, neither "autumn" nor "fall" were established terms. For much of history, northern Europeans thought of the year as having two seasons rather than four, while ecologists describe six seasons for temperate climates: prevernal, vernal, estival, serotinal, autumnal, and hibernal.

From Quiz International Days of Observance

Answer: Health

"World Health Day" marks the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO) and has been celebrated annually on April 7 since 1950. Each year, a special public health topic is chosen to highlight an important global issue. The first theme in 1950 was 'know your health services'. More recent themes have focused on mental health (2001), climate change and health (2008) and hypertension (2013).

From Quiz Things That Are Always Happening

Answer: Adelaide

WOMADelaide first occurred at Botanic Park, Central Adelaide in 1992, and has been an annual festival since 2003. WOMAD was founded in 1980 by Peter Gabriel (with others) and occurs in selected locations throughout the world. Artists who have performed at WOMADelaide include Jimmy Cliff, Xavier Rudd, Crowded House and Midnight Oil.

From Quiz Christmas Customs Worldwide

Answer: Poland

Oplatek is a symbolic piece of bread with a holy picture pressed into it. Traditionally it is shared with friends and neighbours and as it is shared the people have to do two things. First they have to forgive any hurts that have occurred in the past year and also wish a Merry Christmas and happiness for he year to come. Carp is an important part of the Christmas food amongst many vegetarian dishes which are also traditional. The carp is often kept alive at home in the days leading up to Christmas - sometimes in the bath!

From Quiz International Celebrations and Noteworthy Days

Answer: Revolutionary War

Many schools and banks are closed in Chicago and the suburbs on this date in honor of Pulaski. In 2009, he was granted the title of honorary citizen of the United States, one of just eight people to ever achieve this title. (Question by VikingSon)

From Quiz Polar Seasons

Answer: Aurora

For reasons not entirely understood, the geomagnetic storms that ignite the aurora peak in the months around the equinoxes in March and September. One factor may be that interplanetary magnetic field aligns with that of Earth at these times, but that and the increase in solar wind account for only 1/3 of the observed changes; the other factors are as of yet unknown.

From Quiz An Acrostic Thanksgiving Day

Answer: November

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving Day on the 2nd Monday in October. George Washington was the first to proclaim a national day of thanksgiving in the United States in 1789. As would be the case later in history, Washington's Thanksgiving was on a Thursday late in November, the 26th, to be specific. Washington proclaimed a Thanksgiving date again in 1795, and some Presidents followed his lead in declaring a day to give thanks, while others did not. Some governors set Thanksgiving dates, as well, but the holiday soon became a political issue, with some Southerners seeing it as a way to impose New England customs on other regions. Following a campaign by the editor of a women's magazine (Sarah Josepha Hale, who wrote the children's song "Mary Had a Little Lamb"), Abraham Lincoln set "the last Thursday of November next" as a day of Thanksgiving. This remained the tradition in the United States, although its observance varied from region to region. The issue of Thanksgiving's date became political again in 1939, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to shift the feast (and with it the beginning of Christmas shopping season) to the 4th Thursday, since there were five Thursdays in November that year. November 30 that year was the "Republican Thanksgiving" and November 23 was the "Democratic Thanksgiving" as the nation split along partisan lines. Congress took charge in 1941, and the Senate set the date as the 4th Thursday in November. FDR happily signed the bill that made Thanksgiving a law. Because November, 1944, again had five Thursdays, this history clears up a mystery for me. My parents, who were married on November 23, 1944, always said they were married on "Roosevelt's Thanksgiving" - and now I realize why they called it that! Some people were sticking to the old date and celebrating on November 30, the last Thursday of the month, but they were loyal Democrats. Of course, the date of Thanksgiving in the 21st century is a moot point, since merchants no longer wait until after Thanksgiving to begin the Christmas rush.

From Quiz International Days of Observance

Answer: World No Tobacco Day

The first "World No Tobacco Day" was observed on 31 May 1988. The day has a specific focus each year, with recent themes being about banning advertising of tobacco products and limiting the take-up rate of smoking among young people around the globe. Many governments around the world promote "World No Tobacco Day" as part of a broader education package around smoking and its associated health issues.

From Quiz Christmas Customs Worldwide

Answer: January 7th

The date is different because the Russian Orthodox Church still uses the Julian calendar. Advent begins on 28th November and continues until 6th January - 40 days long. The official Christmas and New Year Holiday goes from 31st December until 10th January. New Year is very important in Russia and Father Frost delivers presents to children on New Years Eve. Children make a circle around the Christmas Tree and call for him and his grandaughter who comes with him.

From Quiz Name That Full Moon

Answer: May

Flowers are in full bloom. It is also known as Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon, for when the calves are born and the cows produce the milk to feed them.

From Quiz International Celebrations and Noteworthy Days

Answer: 11

There were 11 ships in the "First Fleet". Approximately 1400 people sailed, of which over 1000 were convicts. The voyage took about 251 days to complete. Apparently it cost $164,000 to equip and send the fleet, which is about $19,000,000 today. (Question by bubbatom1)

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