New Years Facts
These two months feature at least 19 different festivals celebrating New Years across India, including Ugadi, Vishu, and Vaisakhi.
What is March and April?
The spring features notable festivals marking the Solar New Year on the Indian subcontinent.
In the southern US, this is eaten on New Years Day for good luck.
What are black-eyed peas?
The winner of the most Grammy awards in history clinched Album of the Year in 2025 for this album.
What is Cowboy Carter?
The 2026 World Cup will be jointly hosted by these countries.
What are Canada, Mexico, and the United States?
If you were around any kids in 2025, you heard these two consecutive numbers on repeat.
What is 6-7?
This country hosts the biggest New Year's Eve celebration.
What is Brazil?
In Rio de Janeiro's, the celebration held on Copacabana Beach attracts 3 million+ visitors.
This food is eaten throughout the holiday season in Mexico.
What are tamales?
This pop star went to space this year.
Who is Katy Perry?
This artist is the headliner for the 2026 Superbowl Half-Time Show.
Who is Bad Bunny?
He was also the most-streamed artist on Spotify in 2025 (and in 2020, 2021, and 2022)
This country became the first in the world to ban under-16s from social media in 2025.
What is Australia?
This US city drops a giant chocolate kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
What is Hershey, Pennsylvania?
Served for the new year in China, this food symbolizes a long life.
What are long noodles?
This animated musical movie became the most-watched original title in Netflix history with over 500 million views.
What is KPop Demon Hunters?
These two companies are battling to acquire Warner Bros and HBO Max in 2026.
What are Netflix and Paramount?
The Indian Women’s Cricket team defeated this country in a historic win to become the champions of the 2025 Cricket World Cup.
What is South Africa?
This ancient civilization marked the New Year with a ritualistic humiliation of their King.
Who are the Babylonians?
Babylonian New Year, or Akitu, included a tradition in which their King was brought before a statue of God, stripped and forced to swear that he had led the city with honor. A high priest would then slap the monarch, and, if he cried, it was seen as a sign that God endorsed extending his rule.
In Spain, as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, people eat one of these for each chime to bring good luck for the year.
What are grapes?
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!!! This Bollywood star debuted at the Met Gala wearing Sabyasachi this year.
Who is Shah Rukh Khan?
This country will host the 2026 Olympics.
What is Italy?
The Winter Games will be held in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from February 6-22.
The 2026 mayor-elect of New York City is the son of this notable Indian-American filmmaker.
Who is Mira Nair?
Nair is best known for her independent film, Mississippi Masala, and is the mother of NYC's Democratic Socialist mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani.
The Times Square Ball will drop at midnight and again at 12:04 am to mark what occasion in 2026?
America's 250th anniversary
On New Year’s Day in Greece, parents wake their children by tapping them on the head with this.
What is an onion?
This famous pop singer, previously in a boy band, ran two marathons this year.
Who is Harry Styles?
February 17, 2026 marks the beginning of the year of this animal in the Chinese Zodiac calendar.
What is the horse?
Specifically, it is the year of the fire horse. Known for being a year of quick, bold actions, which can bring either massive progress or significant chaos.
In a 2025 medical breakthrough, "Baby KJ" was successfully treated for a rare disease with the first ever customized gene editing therapy using this bio-technology.
What is CRISPR?