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Seven days of questions and answers

New Year Trivia Answers Archive

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

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Daily round

  1. What food is tossed at doors in Greece as a New Year symbol of abundance?

    Answer: A pomegranate

    Greek New Year custom may involve smashing a pomegranate so its many seeds symbolize abundance.

  2. In which river is the London Eye reflected during many London New Year celebrations?

    Answer: Thames

    The London Eye stands beside the River Thames in central London.

  3. Who wrote the version of “Auld Lang Syne” that made the song famous?

    Answer: Robert Burns

    Scottish poet Robert Burns recorded and adapted the words associated with Auld Lang Syne.

  4. Which pope introduced the Gregorian calendar in 1582?

    Answer: Gregory XIII

    Pope Gregory XIII introduced the calendar reform that now bears his name.

  5. What causes the cycle of seasons experienced through a year?

    Answer: Earth's axial tilt

    Earth's tilted axis changes the angle and duration of sunlight as the planet orbits the Sun.

Daily round

  1. Which Chinese fruit is often displayed because its name sounds auspicious?

    Answer: Mandarin orange

    Mandarin oranges are exchanged and displayed because their names and color carry fortunate associations.

  2. The name Nowruz comes from Persian words meaning what?

    Answer: New day

    Nowruz combines Persian words whose English meanings are new and day.

  3. Rosh Hashanah is the New Year observance of which religion?

    Answer: Judaism

    Rosh Hashanah marks the Jewish New Year within the Hebrew calendar.

  4. During which New Zealand season does the predawn rising of Matariki occur?

    Answer: Winter

    Matariki rises in New Zealand's predawn sky during winter and marks a new seasonal cycle.

  5. Which song is traditionally sung at midnight in many English-speaking New Year celebrations?

    Answer: Auld Lang Syne

    Auld Lang Syne is widely sung as the old year gives way to the new one.

Daily round

  1. In the Scottish custom of first-footing, what does the “first foot” describe?

    Answer: The first visitor after midnight

    First-footing centers on the first person to enter a home after midnight.

  2. What gas creates bubbles in sparkling wine?

    Answer: Carbon dioxide

    Dissolved carbon dioxide forms the streams of bubbles in sparkling wine.

  3. Which April festival marks the traditional New Year in Laos?

    Answer: Pi Mai

    Pi Mai is the Lao New Year festival, celebrated with cleansing and water customs.

  4. The abbreviation BCE is commonly expanded as what?

    Answer: Before Common Era

    BCE means Before Common Era and labels years preceding the Common Era.

  5. Which calendar term means a continuous system of numbered years beginning from a reference event?

    Answer: Era

    A calendar era numbers years from a designated epoch or reference point.

Daily round

  1. How many days does a common Gregorian year contain?

    Answer: 365

    A common Gregorian year has 365 days; a leap year has one additional day.

  2. Which country has a New Year custom of casting molten metal and interpreting its shape?

    Answer: Finland

    Finnish New Year fortune-telling traditionally interprets shapes formed by cooled molten metal.

  3. Which yellow flower is associated with Ethiopia's Enkutatash season?

    Answer: Adey abeba

    The yellow adey abeba flower blooms around the Ethiopian New Year and symbolizes the season.

  4. Which sparkling wine must come from its namesake French region to use that protected name?

    Answer: Champagne

    Champagne is a protected regional name for sparkling wine from France's Champagne region.

  5. Which Japanese decoration combines pine and bamboo at New Year?

    Answer: Kadomatsu

    Kadomatsu decorations use pine and bamboo and are placed near entrances for New Year.

Daily round

  1. Which California city hosts the Rose Parade on New Year's Day?

    Answer: Pasadena

    The Tournament of Roses Parade travels through Pasadena, California.

  2. What material must cover most visible surfaces of Rose Parade floats?

    Answer: Natural plant material

    Rose Parade rules require exposed float surfaces to be decorated with flowers or other natural materials.

  3. In Spain, how many grapes are traditionally eaten with the midnight clock chimes?

    Answer: Twelve

    Spain's midnight custom uses twelve grapes, one for each clock chime and month ahead.

  4. Which Pacific island nation is among the first countries to enter a new year by civil time?

    Answer: Kiribati

    Kiribati's Line Islands use UTC+14, placing them among the earliest inhabited places to begin a new civil year.

  5. What traditional object is lowered at midnight in Times Square?

    Answer: A ball

    A lighted ball descends a flagpole above Times Square as midnight approaches.

Daily round

  1. Which square rice cake is a traditional Tết food?

    Answer: Bánh chưng

    Bánh chưng is a square glutinous-rice cake filled with mung bean and pork for Tết.

  2. What is the Japanese New Year holiday called?

    Answer: Shōgatsu

    Shōgatsu is the Japanese celebration of the new calendar year.

  3. The month of January is named for which Roman god?

    Answer: Janus

    January takes its name from Janus, the Roman god associated with doorways and transitions.

  4. Which Paris landmark is often illuminated during New Year celebrations?

    Answer: Eiffel Tower

    The Eiffel Tower is a prominent focus of Parisian New Year imagery and illumination.

  5. Which ancient civilization is often credited with recording early New Year resolutions?

    Answer: Babylonians

    Ancient Babylonians made seasonal promises connected with debts and returned property.

Daily round

  1. Which sticky rice cakes are traditional Japanese New Year foods?

    Answer: Mochi

    Mochi made from pounded glutinous rice is strongly associated with Japanese New Year meals.

  2. Which season begins around the civil New Year in the Southern Hemisphere?

    Answer: Summer

    January falls in summer in the Southern Hemisphere because Earth's axial tilt reverses the seasonal pattern.

  3. Approximately how long does Earth take to orbit the Sun once?

    Answer: 365.24 days

    Earth's tropical year is about 365.24 days, which is why leap-day adjustments are needed.

  4. Which explosive decoration was historically used to drive away evil spirits in Chinese tradition?

    Answer: Firecrackers

    Firecrackers became part of New Year celebrations through traditions about frightening harmful spirits.

  5. Which event starts the numbering of years in the Islamic calendar?

    Answer: The Hijra

    The Islamic era is counted from the Hijra, Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina.