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Seven days of questions and answers

Easter Trivia Answers Archive

Review earlier daily rounds, reveal the correct answer, and use the short explanation to learn the fact behind each question. Page 5 of 12 covers seven completed UTC days.

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Daily round

  1. What natural phenomenon marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere?

    Answer: The vernal equinox

    The vernal equinox, usually on March 19 or 20, occurs when day and night are nearly equal in length and spring begins.

  2. In the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Easter Monday features a tradition where men playfully whip women with braided willow branches. What is this whip called?

    Answer: Pomlázka

    The pomlázka is a braided willow rod that men use to gently whip women on Easter Monday in a ritual traditionally believed to transfer health and vitality for the coming year; women may respond by splashing water on the men.

  3. The phrase 'spring forward, fall back' is a mnemonic for what seasonal practice?

    Answer: Adjusting clocks for daylight saving time

    The mnemonic reminds people to set clocks one hour ahead in spring and one hour back in autumn for daylight saving time.

  4. What does the liturgical term "Triduum" literally mean in Latin?

    Answer: Three days

    Triduum is a Latin word meaning "three days," referring to the three most solemn days of the Christian year: Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday.

  5. What is the traditional method used in Fabergé's famous Imperial Easter eggs to create their decorated surfaces?

    Answer: Hand-painted enamel and precious metals

    Peter Carl Fabergé and his workshop used techniques including guilloché engraving on precious metals covered with multiple layers of translucent vitreous enamel, combined with gemstones and miniatures, to create the iconic Imperial Easter eggs.

Daily round

  1. Which spring phenomenon describes the visible northward migration of birds returning from wintering grounds?

    Answer: Vernal migration

    Vernal migration is the term for the seasonal movement of birds traveling northward in spring to breeding grounds.

  2. In parts of Latin America, a custom called "Quema de Judas" (Burning of Judas) involves what activity on Easter Saturday or Sunday?

    Answer: Setting fire to an effigy representing Judas Iscariot

    In countries including Mexico, Venezuela, and parts of Central America, communities stuff and hang an effigy of Judas Iscariot, sometimes filled with firecrackers, and set it alight in a public spectacle symbolizing the rejection of betrayal.

  3. What natural dye, made from the dried bodies of a scale insect, was historically used in Europe to produce deep red Easter eggs?

    Answer: Cochineal

    Cochineal dye, derived from the Dactylopius coccus insect, was imported to Europe from the Americas and became a prized source of crimson and scarlet for egg dyeing in the 16th century onward.

  4. Which term names the festive season extending from Easter Sunday to Pentecost?

    Answer: Eastertide

    Eastertide is the Christian liturgical season that begins on Easter Sunday and continues through Pentecost.

  5. In the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country, what does the "Salubong" ritual reenact in the pre-dawn hours of Easter Sunday?

    Answer: The meeting of the risen Christ and the Virgin Mary

    The Salubong (meaning "meeting") is a dramatic dawn procession in which statues of the resurrected Christ and the grieving Virgin Mary are brought together, symbolizing the moment Mary learns of the resurrection, often accompanied by music and dance.

Daily round

  1. Which word, from the Latin for 'renewal,' is often used in religious and literary contexts during Easter?

    Answer: Renovatio

    Renovatio is the Latin word for renewal and has historically been used in theological writings about the Easter season.

  2. How often does Easter fall on the same date in both Western and Eastern (Orthodox) Christianity?

    Answer: It varies and sometimes does not coincide for decades

    Because Eastern Christianity uses the Julian calendar for the calculation while the West uses the Gregorian, the dates coincide in some years but can differ by up to five weeks in others.

  3. Egg rolling is a popular Easter activity in several countries. On whose lawn did the White House Easter Egg Roll tradition reportedly begin in 1878?

    Answer: Rutherford B. Hayes's

    President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the White House lawn to children for egg rolling in 1878, starting an annual tradition.

  4. Which reading genre is associated with Norway's modern påskekrim tradition during the Easter holiday?

    Answer: Crime fiction

    Påskekrim is Norway's Easter custom of reading, watching, and publishing crime stories during the holiday break.

  5. In a botanical egg-dyeing technique, what is held against the shell before wrapping and dyeing to leave a plant-shaped silhouette?

    Answer: A small leaf or flower

    A small leaf or flower can be pressed against the shell under a tight wrapping so the dye leaves its silhouette behind.

Daily round

  1. In pysanky, the traditional Ukrainian art of egg decorating, what tool is used to apply melted beeswax to the eggshell?

    Answer: A stylus called a kistka

    A kistka is a small funnel-tipped stylus heated in a candle flame to draw wax lines on the egg during pysanky.

  2. What does the Exsultet, sung at the Easter Vigil, proclaim?

    Answer: The glory of the Paschal candle and Christ's victory over death

    The Exsultet (or Praeconium Paschale) is an ancient hymn of praise sung at the Easter Vigil, blessing the Paschal candle and declaring Christ's resurrection as the triumph of light over darkness.

  3. The white lily, often called the Easter lily in North America, is a species native to which group of Pacific islands before it was widely cultivated for the holiday market?

    Answer: The Ryukyu Islands

    The Lilium longiflorum, marketed as the Easter lily, is native to the Ryukyu Islands of Japan and was brought to the United States in the late 1800s before domestic production centered in Oregon and California.

  4. What famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, housed in Milan, depicts the moment Jesus announces that one of his disciples will betray him?

    Answer: The Last Supper

    Leonardo's "The Last Supper," painted in the late 1490s for the refectory of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, captures the dramatic moment when Jesus says one of the twelve will betray him.

  5. What significant event in Christian tradition is said to have occurred 50 days after Easter Sunday?

    Answer: The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

    Pentecost, celebrated 50 days after Easter, commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

Daily round

  1. Which early spring flower has the botanical genus name Galanthus?

    Answer: Snowdrop

    Snowdrops belong to the genus Galanthus and often flower near the end of winter or in early spring.

  2. What does the word "Lent" itself derive from?

    Answer: An Old English word meaning "lengthening of days"

    The word "Lent" comes from the Old English "lencten," referring to the lengthening of daylight hours in spring, which is when the season falls.

  3. Tsoureki, a braided Easter bread popular in Greece, gets its distinctive flavor and golden color primarily from which ingredient?

    Answer: Mahleb and mastic resin

    Greek tsoureki is flavored with mahleb (ground cherry-kernel spice) and sometimes mastic resin (mastiha), giving it a subtly floral, piney aroma, while red dyed eggs are often nested in the braids as a centerpiece.

  4. What liturgical period of approximately 40 days of fasting and penance precedes Easter Sunday?

    Answer: Lent

    Lent is a roughly 40-day season of preparation that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends before the Easter Triduum.

  5. What is the name of the Thursday of Holy Week that commemorates the Last Supper?

    Answer: Maundy Thursday

    Maundy Thursday remembers the Last Supper Jesus shared with his disciples; the word "maundy" derives from the Latin mandatum, meaning commandment, referring to the new commandment to love one another.

Daily round

  1. Which artist painted the Resurrection fresco now displayed in the Museo Civico of Sansepolcro?

    Answer: Piero della Francesca

    Piero della Francesca painted the Resurrection for Sansepolcro's civic palace, where the building now houses the Museo Civico.

  2. Which span describes the Easter Triduum in Western Christian liturgy?

    Answer: From Maundy Thursday evening through Easter Sunday evening

    The Easter Triduum begins with the evening liturgy on Maundy Thursday and concludes on Easter Sunday evening.

  3. Which spring bulb flower, native to Central Asia, is one of the earliest to bloom and often appears around Easter?

    Answer: Crocus

    Crocuses are among the first spring bulbs to bloom, often pushing through snow in late winter or early spring.

  4. How is the date of Easter determined in Western Christianity?

    Answer: The first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox

    Western Christianity calculates Easter as the first Sunday following the first ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or after the March 21 vernal equinox.

  5. The astronomical event that can cause Easter to fall as late as April 25 in some years is related to what?

    Answer: A full moon falling after March 21

    Easter is observed on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the spring equinox, which can push the date to April 25.

Daily round

  1. In the traditional Stations of the Cross, how many stations trace the events from Jesus' condemnation to his burial?

    Answer: Fourteen

    The traditional devotion of the Stations of the Cross consists of 14 stations following Jesus from his condemnation by Pilate through his crucifixion, death, and placement in the tomb.

  2. Which long-eared Australian marsupial is featured in Easter-themed conservation fundraising because rabbits are invasive there?

    Answer: Bilby

    The bilby, a nocturnal marsupial with long ears, has been championed since the 1990s by Australian conservationists as a native alternative to the rabbit, which is an invasive pest in Australia, with chocolate bilbies sold to raise funds for bilby conservation.

  3. What was the primary reason the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582 affected the date of Easter?

    Answer: It corrected the drift in the vernal equinox date used in the Computus

    The Julian calendar had caused the vernal equinox to drift from its traditional date of March 21; the Gregorian reform corrected this drift, which in turn affected the calculation of Easter's date.

  4. In Bermuda, Good Friday kite-flying is a popular tradition. What shapes are the kites most commonly made in?

    Answer: Hexagonal with long tails

    Bermudians craft colorful hexagonal kites with long, flowing tails and tissue-paper hummers that buzz in the wind, flying them on Good Friday in a tradition that blends Christian symbolism of the ascension with older folk customs.

  5. In many European traditions, spring cleaning is done before Easter. What is the German term for this thorough seasonal cleaning?

    Answer: Frühjahrsputz

    Frühjahrsputz literally means 'spring cleaning' in German and refers to the tradition of thoroughly cleaning the home around Easter.