Chinese Lunar New Year
Common Ground (Pick the one that doesn’t fit.)
National Parks
Winter Idioms
January Fun Facts
Final Jeopardy
100
What is the main color for decorations and clothing during the Chinese New Year?
a. Red
b. White
c. Yellow
d. Pink
a. Red
100
Feet, inch, kilometer, mile
What is a kilometer? It is a metric unit of measure. The rest of the choices are standard units of measurement.
100
Which of the following was the first established National Park in 1872?
a. Denali National Park
b. Yellowstone National Park
c. Yosemite National Park
d. Great Smoky Mountains National Park
b. Yellowstone National Park
Fun fact: Approximately 96 percent of the total land area of Yellowstone National Park is located within the state of Wyoming. Another three percent is within Montana, with the remaining one percent in Idaho. 
100
It is "freezing cold" at this degree Fahrenheit or colder.
What is 32 degrees Fahrenheit? It can feel even colder when it’s damp or the wind is blowing, even when it’s warmer than 32 degrees. The wind chill factor works the same way the heat index works in summer but in reverse.
100
Epiphany, the Christian holiday held on January 6, commemorates the visit of these men.
Who are the Three Wise Men, or the Magi? Epiphany is also called Three Kings’ Day.
200
What is used to scare away evil spirits during Chinese New Year?
a. Incense
b. Air Horns
c. Fireworks
d. Chanting
c. Fireworks
Firecrackers are used in Chinese New Year celebrations to symbolically scare away evil spirits and bring good luck for the coming year, as the loud noises and bright lights are believed to ward off mythical creatures like "Nian" who are said to fear such disturbances; this tradition is deeply rooted in Chinese folklore and culture.
200
Scissors, machete, garden trowel, garden pruners
What is a garden trowel? Trowels dig; the rest of the choices cut.
200
Which U.S. President is most known for his works to establish U.S. national forests, monuments, and especially national parks?
a. Theodore Roosevelt
b. Ulysses S. Grant
c. Woodrow Wilson
a. Theodore Roosevelt
- Theodore Roosevelt: Established five national parks between 1901 and 1909, including Crater Lake, Wind Cave, Sullys Hill, Mesa Verde, and Platt
- Ulysses S. Grant: Established the first national park in the United States in 1872
- Woodrow Wilson: Created the National Park Service in 1916
200
The opposite of the “dog days of summer,” this term refers to the coldest part of winter.
What is the dead of winter? This is when you are least likely to see plant and animal life outdoors.
200
This college football bowl game occurs on New Year’s Day.
What is the Rose Bowl? The “granddaddy of them all” takes place in Pasadena and is preceded by the Tournament of Roses, also known as the Rose Parade, which features floats covered in roses.
300
What is the traditional gift for Chinese New Year?
Red envelopes filled with money are typically gifted to the children.
300
Red, blue, yellow, purple
What is purple? Purple is a secondary color, a mix of blue and yellow. The rest are primary colors, not a mix of two or more colors.
300
Which of these national parks contains a feature formed by the Colorado River?
a. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
b. Mount Rainier National Park (Washington)
c. Everglades National Park (Florida)
d. Badlands National Park (South Dakota)
a. Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
300
When you are stuck at home because of snow, you are this.
What is snowbound? You won’t hear this much in the Northeast short of a Nor’easter, but you’ll hear it in the South when there’s an inch of snow on the ground.
300
Famous for the Tube, this English-speaking capital was the first to open an underground railway.
What is London? The first section of the Metropolitan Railway opened in January 1863.
300
Someone studying the arches, whorls, and loops is looking at these body patterns
What are fingerprints? These patterns allow forensic scientists to match fingerprints to an individual with the aid of a computer if the prints are on file. It’s the minutia in the patterns that make identification possible.
400
What is not allowed on the first day of the Chinese New Year?
a. Taking Out Garbage
b. Washing Clothes
c. Washing Hair
d. All Of Them
d. All of Them
It is said that doing these things ON the Lunar New Year will sweep away the good luck.
400
Blackberries, plums, cherries, peaches
What are blackberries? All the fruits except blackberries have a stone in the center.
400
Which national park had the most recreational visitors in 2015?
a. Great Smoky Mountains
b. Grand Canyon
c. Acadia
d. Badlands
a. Great Smoky Mountains
It had the most recreational visitors — 10.7 million — in 2015.
400
When snow is forecasted, every child prays to get one of these in the morning, meaning school will be closed.
: What is a snow day? Kids dream of sledding and building a snowman the following morning instead of boarding the school bus.
400
If you were born on New Year’s Day, you fall under this astrological sun sign.
What is Capricorn? It gets its name from Capricornus, the half-goat, half-fish constellation in the southern sky. Horoscope.com defines those born under the sign of Capricorn as “smart, hardworking, and fully in control of their destiny.”
400
This is the only continent without an active volcano.
What is Australia? It does have dormant and extinct volcanoes. The Tweed Volcano is thought to have last flowed with molten lava 23 million years ago.
500
What kind of food represents wealth during Chinese New Year?
a. Dumplings
b. Fish
c. Tangerines
d. Spring rolls
a. Dumplings
They symbolize wealth and posterity! (Golden in color and shaped like ancient Chinese currency)
500
Love, ad-in, ad-out, bogey
What is bogey? It is a golf term; the rest are tennis terms.
500
Which national park contains the highest mountain in North America?
a. North Cascades National Park, Washington
b. Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park, California
c. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
d. Denali National Park, Alaska
d. Denali National Park, Alaska
Denali National Park includes Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), the highest North American peak, at 20,310 feet.
500
At work, when someone has been disciplined so often that a pink slip might be in their future, they are said to be skating on this.
What is skating on thin ice? Skating on thin ice can lead to grave consequences, both literally and figuratively.
500
If we’re lucky, we get a few warm days in January, also known as this.
What is January thaw? The Old Farmer’s Almanac states, “Annual averages show a slight temperature increase, and subsequent dip, during the final week of January.”
600
Which of the following is not one of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac?
Snake, dragon, chicken, tiger, or pig?
Chicken.
Chinese zodiac animals have lucky meanings. Chinese people associate each animal with certain characteristics. It's believed that people born in a given year have the personality of that year's animal.
https://www.creativeartsguild.org/images/uploads/categories/12_Chinese_Zodiac_Signs.pdf
600
Emily Dickinson, Robert Frost, Alfred Tennyson, Edgar Allan Poe
Who is Alfred Tennyson? He is a British poet, and his title is Lord—Alfred Lord Tennyson. The others are American poets.
600
Which state has the most national parks?
a. Colorado
b. Alaska
c. Utah
d. California
d. California has the most national parks (9), followed by Alaska (8), Utah (5), and Colorado (4).
600
This is a colorful term for SAD, or seasonal affective disorder, which can manifest as depression and lethargy
What is “winter blues”? SAD is caused by a lack of sunlight. Full-color spectrum lightbulbs can help by mimicking sunlight.
600
Name January’s small, white birth flower that sounds like it would be growing in January.
What is a snowdrop? Peak season is the end of January, but some varieties bloom in late fall or early spring. The other January birth flower is the carnation.