Holiday Traditions
True or False: There was once a real-life Santa Claus.
What is true? Bishop Saint Nicholas was the inspiration behind the jolly man. He lived in modern-day Turkey and devoted his life to helping the poor.
The most popular food to eat on Lunar New Year's Eve is this.
What is dumplings?
This is the most recorded Christmas song of all time.
What is the "Silent Night", while "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling single.
This holiday is also known as the Festival of Lights.
What is Diwali? Diwali, or Dipawali, is India's biggest and most important holiday of the year. The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects them from spiritual darkness.
This is the most commercially successful holiday.
What is Christmas? Christmas is the most commercially successful holiday, followed by Halloween.
Gingerbread houses were invented in this European country.
What is Germany?
This popular Christmas beverage is also called "milk punch"
What is eggnog?
True of False: "Jingle Bells" was always a holiday song.
What is false? The now-classic holiday tune "Jingle Bells" was written in the mid-19 center by James Pierpont while he experienced a bout of homesickness living in Savannah, GA. Though debated, some believe it was originally written for Thanksgiving.
True or False: Thomas Edison invented electric Christmas lights.
What is true? Thomas Edison not only invented the electric lightbulb, but he also created the first strand of electric lights. He hung them outside his New Jersey lab during the Christmas season in 1880.
Halloween was brought to America by immigrants from this continent.
What is Europe? Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe, who celebrated the harvest around a bonfire, shared ghost stories, sang, danced, and told fortunes.
The three official colors of Kwanzaa are these.
What is black, red, green? Dr. Maulana Karenga created Kwanzaa in 1966 to strengthen the bonds among people of African heritage around the world. Black represents skin color, red remembers struggles, and green is hope for the future.
The people of northern India celebrate the spring festival of Holi with a lot of this.
What is water?
This number of ghosts show in A Christmas Carol.
What is four?
Celebration of the Jewish New Year is known as this.
What is Rosh Hashanah? Rosh Hashanah celebrates the Jewish New Year and the creation of the world.
Since roads are closed in Venezuela on Christmas, people get to Christmas mass using this.
What is roller skates?
Southerners eat black-eyed peas and greens on New Year's Day for this reason.
To bring wealth in the New Year. The black-eyed peas stand for coins. The greens or collards stand for paper money. Eating these dishes is supposed to bring good luck and wealth in the coming year.
The designs that Hindus create using colored sand or flour are referred to as this.
What is rangoli?
The name of the little girl in the Nutcracker is this.
Who is Clara? Clara is presented with a Nutcracker doll for Christmas and dreams that he comes to life.
This is the most successful holiday movie ever.
The most successful holiday movie is "Home Alone" In 1990, it brought $286 million dollars to the box office, making it the most successful holiday movie ever. Dr. Seuss' "How to Grinch Stole Christmas" comes next.
This holiday was established in California in 1966 by scholar/activist Dr. Maulana Karenga
What is Kwanzaa? Kwanzaa is a 7-day festival celebrating the African American people, their culture, history, and community. Kwanzaa, which means "first fruits of the harvest" in the African language Kiswahili, has gained tremendous acceptance and is now celebrated all over the world--especially in the U.S., Africa, and the Caribbean.
What is the ninth candle in the Hanukkah Menorah for?
Which is to light other candles? The ninth candle is the "shamash," which is used to light the other candles. Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday marking the defeat of an army that had invaded Israel. After the victory, the Jews celebrated at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. They found enough oil to light the lamp for only one day. But the oil lasted eight days and nights, and it's celebrated as a miracle.
While American children famously leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus, Irish kids put out this.
What is mince pies and a bottle of Guinness?
"Auld Lang Syne" means this.
What is "Long, long, ago"? This well-known New Year’s Eve tune is from a poem by Robert Burns, based on a Scottish folk song. "Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne." It’s a tribute to days gone by.
This holiday was created by a vote of the United Nations General Assembly in 1981.
What is the International Day of Peace? In 1981, the United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 36/67 declaring an International Day of Peace. In 2001, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new resolution 55/282 declaring 21 September of each year as the International Day of Peace.
Residents of this country like to eat “kivack” on Christmas. It’s the raw flesh of 500 auk birds wrapped in sealskin that was placed under a rock to ferment for seven months. They also eat “mattak,” which is whale skin with some blubber still attached.
What is Greenland?