New Year’s Day is a holiday celebrated annually in most countries in the world, which marks the beginning of the first day of the year – January 1. It is usually celebrated with dancing, singing, eating, drinking, lighting, or watching fireworks. If you want to start your year right with challenging but achievable New Year’s resolutions and goals, then this fun-filled trivia quiz is for you!
Below-mentioned is a compilation of exciting New Year’s trivia questions that may catch your interest. The answers to these questions will offer facts that will enlighten you about one of the most important annual celebrations – New Year’s Day. Enjoy!E
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asy New Year’s Trivia Questions
What Australian city has one of the largest New Year’s celebrations?
Answer: Sydney, Australia.
Having one of the greatest fireworks displays in the world, Sydney’s New Year’s celebration has been anticipated by more than a million people around the harbor with the addition of a billion people who watch in their homes globally. It is an event consisting of two fireworks shows namely: “Family Fireworks” and “Midnight Fireworks”.
From what Roman god does the month of January get its name?
Answer: Janus.
January is considered the “month of Janus”. In Roman mythology, Janus is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings.
On what calendar is the Chinese New Year based?
Answer: The lunar calendar.
One of the most important holidays in Chinese culture is the Chinese New Year. It is a tradition for families to clean their house, just like sweeping away any ill fortune and to make way for incoming good luck. As opposed to the Gregorian calendar, the lunar calendar was used as the basis for the Chinese New Year, which begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice, annually.
On what date was New Year’s celebrated in ancient Rome?
Answer: March 1.
Since March was the first month in the Roman calendar, it isn’t surprising that Romans celebrated New Year every 1st day of March.
At one minute before midnight in Spain, twelve of what is eaten before the clock strikes for the New Year?
Answer: Grapes.
A Spanish tradition that involves eating a grape with each of the twelve clock bells striking at midnight on the 31st day of December to welcome the New Year is called Twelve Grapes. Each grape represents one month of the year, which you must consume as the clock chimes in quick succession, with wishes for the new year.
What do you call the Jewish New Year?
Answer: Rosh HaShanah.
Rosh HaShanah is considered the Jewish New Year, which stands for “head of the year” or “first of the year” in Hebrew. It begins on the first day of Tishrei, the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar.
In what ancient country were eggs given as gifts on New Year’s Day?
Answer: The Persians.
Persians exchange eggs, a symbol of fertility, as gifts to mark the beginning of the new year.
Where in the world do men dress up as demons on New Year’s to scare the kids into behaving well?
Answer: Akita, Japan.
The Oga no Namahage Festival is a Japanese tradition that involves grown men dressed like demons or ogres who visit the homes of local children to warn them to behave in the coming New Year. It is a winter festival observed on New Year’s Eve in Akita, Japan.
In what country is it considered good luck to wear red underwear on New Year’s?
Answer: Italy.
In Italy, wearing red underwear guarantees great fortune and a satisfying year ahead.
January derives from which language?
Answer: Latin.
Before the year 1000, the term “January” originated from Middle English. It is derived from the Latin noun, Jānuārius, which is equivalent to Jānus.
Where will you find the Mummers Parade on New Year’s?
Answer: Philadelphia.
Known as the oldest continuous folk parade in the United States of America, Mummers Parade is a New Year’s tradition that takes place in Philadelphia, annually. It kicks off at 9:00 a.m. at Philadelphia City Hall and marches south on Broad Street to Washington Avenue.
Which Greek God is celebrated in the Baby New Year?
Answer: Dionysus.
Dionysus was the son of Zeus who was considered the Olympian god of wine, vegetation, festivity, pleasure, and madness. During the era of Plato and Socrates, Greeks ringed in the new year with festivities honoring Dionysus.
What do you call the one-day festival derived from the tradition of the Yoruba people of Nigeria in celebration of the new year?
Answer: The Odunde Festival.
Mostly a street market catered to African-American interests, the Odunde Festival is a one-day festival that attracts up to 500,000 people annually. It is said to be the largest African-American street festival held in the country, which celebrates the coming of a new year for African-Americans and Africanized people globally.
What is the name of the New Year in Sunni Islamic culture, which marks the beginning of a new year?
Answer: Arabic or Hijrī New Year.
The Arabic or Hijrī New Year is an Islamic celebration observed on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar. It begins with the first sighting of the lunar crescent after the new moon.
Baby New Year is a celebration of what?
Answer: Annual rebirth of Dionysus.
One of the traditions of Greeks to celebrate Baby New Year includes parading a baby in a basket through the streets. It is said to be a representation of the annual rebirth of Dionysus.
What peppermint-flavored candy animal is smashed during New Year’s in Saratoga Springs, New York?
Answer: Pig.
A pig symbolizes good health, prosperity, and happiness in Victorian culture. Inspired by this representation, Saratoga candy-makers started creating Peppermint Pigs each year to sell during the holiday season. This unique candy is sold with a tiny metal hammer, making it possible to be smashed when shared at the dinner table during New Year’s.
Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball Trivia Questions
When did the New Year’s Eve Ball first drop in Times Square?
Answer: 1907.
To welcome 1908, the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop was first held on December 31, 1907. It was celebrated annually since, except in 1942 and 1943 in observance of the wartime “dimout” of lights in New York City.
How large is the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball in diameter?
Answer: 12 feet.
Shaped as a geodesic sphere, the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is 12 feet in diameter.
When was the first celebration of New Year’s Eve in Times Square?
Answer: 1904.
Partygoers began celebrating New Year’s Eve in Times Square in 1904.
What materials made up the first-ever Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball?
Answer: Iron and wood.
Measuring five feet in diameter, the first-ever Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball was crafted in iron and wood.
How much did the first Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball weigh?
Answer: 700 pounds.
With the help of a sign design and consulting company headquartered in Manhattan, New York, Artkraft Strauss, the first-ever Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball weighed 700 pounds (317 kg).
How many light bulbs covered the first Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball?
Answer: 100.
Jacob Starr, a Russian immigrant metalworker, designed Times Square New Year’s Eve first ball and decorated it with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs.
When did LED lights first appear on the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball?
Answer: 2007.
Marking the centennial of the first ball dropped, Times Square New Year’s Eve 2007 introduced an upgraded ball with LED lights.
How many triangles total are there on the Times Square ball?
Answer: 2,688.
Measuring 12 feet in diameter and weighing 11,875 pounds, the Times Square ball is covered with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles in different sizes and ranges.
How many colors can the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball display?
Answer: 16 million.
Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is said to be capable of unveiling more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns, creating a magnificent kaleidoscope effect on the top of One Times Square.
When were computer controls introduced to the Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball?
Answer: 1995.
In 1995, the Times Square ball was improved with aluminum skin, strobes, rhinestones, and computer controls.
New Year’s History-Related Trivia Questions
When were the earliest recorded festivities in honor of New Year’s?
Answer: Over 4,000 years ago from the time of the ancient Babylonians.
The earliest recorded celebrations in honor of the arrival of another year are said to have originated 4,000 years from ancient Babylon.
What is the name of the calendar that marked January 1st as New Year’s in 1582?
Answer: The Gregorian calendar.
The Gregorian calendar was implemented in 1582, establishing January 1 as the first day of the new year.
What was the first year there were fireworks for the New York New Year’s Eve celebration?
Answer: 1904.
On December 31, 1904, as a celebration of the opening of the New York Times’s new headquarters, its owner, Adolph Ochs, decided to celebrate it with a New Year’s fireworks display to welcome 1905.
In 46 B.C., who marked January 1st as the New Year?
Answer: Julius Caesar.
In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that presents a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar, setting January 1st as New Year’s Day.
Who revised the Julian calendar and made the start of the New Year to January 1?
Answer: Pope Gregory XIII.
In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar which was named the Gregorian calendar. Aside from fixing the issue with leap years, it also restored January 1st as the start of the New Year.
How many Times Square New Year’s balls have there been?
Answer: Seven .
There have been seven versions of the Times Square New Year’s Ball used to welcome the New Year.
Which country achieved independence on January 1, 1803?
Answer: Haiti.
Led by Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haiti declared its independence on the 1st day of January 1803 after defeating the French forces on November 18, 1803, at the Battle of Vertieres.
Baby New Year has its origins in which European country?
Answer: Ancient Greece.
Since roughly 600 B.C., Baby New Year has been in existence, originating from ancient Greece.
When did England and its American colonies officially adopt January 1 as New Year?
Answer: 1752.
With the Calendar Act of 1750, England and its American colonies formally adopted the 1st day of January as the official start of the year.
Which country in the Central Pacific is the first location to ring in the new year each year?
Answer: Kiribati.
Located in Central Pacific, the island nation of Kiribati became the first location to signal the New Year’s every year.
How old is the New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop?
Answer: 22 years .
Mount Olive’s New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop, a tradition that includes lowering a lit 3-foot pickle down a pole in front of a large audience, has been existing for 22 years.
When did the New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop started?
Answer: 1999.
First held in 1999, the New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop took place in Mount Olive, a town in North Carolina, and was attended by some Mt. Olive Pickle employees.
Who was proclaimed to be the Empress of India on January 1, 1877?
Answer: Queen Victoria.
On the 1st day of January 1877, Conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli proclaimed Queen Victoria as the Empress of India.
In the ancient Roman calendar, what do you call the first day of every month?
Answer: Kalends.
Kalends, in the ancient Roman calendar, occur on the first day of every month. It takes place on new moons.
Challenging New Year’s Trivia Questions
Where in the United States does a 12-foot, 600-pound electric Moon Pie drop at midnight to mark the start of New Year’s?
Answer: Mobile, Alabama.
On New Year’s Eve, a 12-foot, 600-pound electric Moon Pie drops to signal the beginning of a new year in Mobile, Alabama.
Where in North Carolina do residents gather to watch a three-foot-tall, 30-pound ceramic flea made of foam, wood, and wire drop?
Answer: Eastover, North Carolina.
People residing in the beautiful town of Eastover in North Carolina have been anticipating the three-foot tall and 30-pound ceramic flea drop on New Year’s Eve since 2010. It was said to be made in honor of the town that was once known as flea hill because of a flea infestation.
A 300-pound, seven-foot-tall Hershey’s Kiss has been raised at the historic Hershey Press Building in which U.S. state?
Answer: Pennsylvania.
Measuring 7ft tall and weighing 300 pounds, the giant Hershey’s Kiss has been raised at Hershey Press Building annually in Pennsylvania since 2005.
Which city in Tennessee celebrates New Year’s by dropping a musical note in Music City?
Answer: Nashville.
Located at 600 James Robertson Parkway, the Bicentennial Park in Nashville rings in New Year’s by dropping a 16-foot-tall and 400-pound giant musical note in Music City.
Which city in South Carolina drops a giant pair of glittery flip-flops at midnight before New Year’s?
Answer: Folly Beach, South Carolina.
The city of Folly Beach in South Carolina prepares to signal New Year’s Day every year by dropping the famous pair of giant sparkly flip-flops. They call this event the “New Year’s Flip-Flop Drop”.
What is the title of the song considered most associated with New Year’s?
Answer: “Auld Lang Syne”.
“Auld Lang Syne” is a popular song traditionally sung to say goodbye to the old year at the stroke of New Year’s Eve.
What language was used in the song “Auld Lang Syne”?
Answer: The Scots language.
The text used in the song “Auld Lang Syne” was in the Scots language and was based on an older Scottish folk song.
Who wrote “Auld Lang Syne”?
Answer: Robert Burns.
Robert Burns is a Scottish poet and lyricist who is widely known as Scotland’s national poet. He wrote the poem “Auld Lang Syne” in 1788.
What is “Auld Lang Syne” in English?
Answer: “Old long since” or “times long past”.
The title of the New Year’s song, “Auld Lang Syne”, when translated literally to Standard English is “old long since” or “times long past”.
What do you call the Scottish way of celebrating New Year’s?
Answer: Hogmanay.
Considered the Scottish word for the last day of the year, one of Scotland’s best-known and best-loved traditions called Hogmanay is the country’s way of celebrating New Year’s Eve.
