President Day
Which president liked to have fun by walking on stilts?
A. George Washington
B. William Henry Harrison
C. Grover Cleveland
D. Theodore Roosevelt
D. Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt served as the nation’s 26th president from 1901 to 1909. He was only 42 years old when he took office, setting the record for youngest president. His entire family enjoyed the pastime of walking on stilts—the first lady even had her own pair!
Valentine's Day evolved from what ancient Roman festival?
A. Valentalia
B. Lupercalia
C. Floralia
D. Bacchanalia
B. Valentine's Day is believed to have it's roots in the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration commemorated annually on February 15. Sometime around 496, Pope Gelasius I renamed this pagan festival Valentine's Day and moved it to February 14.
True or False
Punxsutawney Phil has an "inner circle"
True! Those men in top hats aren't random. They're called the "inner circle." They're responsible for planning the events around Groundhog Day (no small feat, considering this year's events span over a week), and caring for Phil.
As Wednesday begins what season?
A. Spring
B. Passover
C. Winter
D. Lent
D. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent
During the Punxsutawney ceremony members of the inner circle speak________________ and wear _____________________.
A. English, robes
B. German, jackets
C. Dutch, Top hats
C. They speak Groundhogese (or Pennsylvania Dutch), and wear top hats
Which president installed a one-lane bowling alley in the White House?
A. Dwight D. Eisenhower
B. Richard Nixon
C. Ronald Reagan
D. George H.W. Bush
B. Richard Nixon—who is best known for being impeached because of the Watergate scandal—loved bowling with his wife, Pat. That’s why friends of the Nixon family paid for a one-lane bowling alley to be installed underground in 1969. This was actually the second bowling alley in White House history; the first—which consisted of two lanes—was built for President Harry Truman in 1947. He never used it but did allow staff members to form a league. (The fun was fairly short-lived—President Dwight D. Eisenhower replaced that first bowling alley with office space in 1955.)
How many Valentine Cards are sent each year?
A. 10 Billion
B. 500 Million
C. 2 Billion
D. 1 Billion
D. The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentine cards are sent world-wide each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas.
The only 2 countries that celebrate Groundhogs Day are....
A. Germany & Norway
B. USA & Germany
C. Canada & USA
D. Canada & Germany
C. Canada & USA
Ash Wednesday is most closely related to which celebration?
A. St. Patrick's Day
B. Valentine's Day
C. Fat Tuesday
D. Yom Kipper
C. Ash Wednesday is the day after Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) and signifies the end of the Carnival season.
Which president also served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court?
A. William Howard Taft
B. Benjamin Harrison
C. Calvin Coolidge
A. William Howard Taft was elected the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913) and later became the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921-1930), the only person to have served in both of these offices.
True or false: James Polk loved to dance.
False- James Polk, the 11th president, and his wife, Sarah, actually had a reputation for being quite boring and dull. They did not allow anyone to dance or play cards at the White House, and they also did not attend theater performances or horse races—two of the most popular forms of entertainment at the time.
The British Museum holds a letter believed to be the oldest valentine still in existence. Who wrote it?
A. Marc Antony
B. Robert Dudley
C. Charles d'Orléans
D. Geoffrey Chaucer
C. Charles d'Orléans was captured by the English at Agincourt and then kept prisoner for the next twenty-five years. He passed his time writing sorrowful poetry, including the St. Valentine's Day letter that describes his sadness at being parted from his love.
Who were the first to use small animals as a prediction tool for the spring forecast and favored the hedgehog?
A. Canadians
B. Americans
C. Germans
D. French
C. Germans!
The ashes on the forehead represent:
A. Mourning & Repentance
B. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
C. Unity among the denominations
D. Peace being with us all
A. In biblical days, those in repentance and mourning put ashes on their head. For the same reason, Ash Wednesday observers put ashes on their foreheads.
In Old Ireland a heart was carved into what as a Valentines gift?
A. Tree
B. Turnip
C. Spoon
D. Palm
C. The lovespoon was given to a young woman by her suitor. It was important for the girl's father to see that the young man was capable of woodworking and providing for the family.
Which president banned alcohol from the White House at the behest of his first lady?
A. George W. Bush
B. Abraham Lincoln
C. Rutherford B. Hayes
D. James Polk
C. Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president. When alcohol was banned in the White House, people were quick to blame First Lady Lucy Hayes. History has now come to remember her as “Lemonade Lucy,” based on her rumored enforcement of the ban by serving lemonade rather than wine at White House gatherings.
In addition to being the unofficial patron saint of love, what occupation is St. Valentine also believed to be the patron of?
A. Brewers
B. Arms Dealers
C. Bee Keepers
D. Excorcists
C. Besides his patronage of couples, love and happy marriages, St. Valentine is also charged with ensuring the sweetness of honey and the protection of beekeepers.
True or False: Groundhogs can live up to ten years in captivity.
True. In the wild they only live about six years.
Ash Wednesday falls on a different day every year; it affected by the date of this...
A. Easter
B. Daylight Saving Time
C. New Year's Day
D. President's Day
A. Ash Wednesday is 46 days before Easte
Who "kissed the girls and made them cry"?
A. Old King Cole
B. Wee Willie Winkie
C. Jack Horner
D. Georgie Porgie
D. Georgie Porgie, pudding and pie,
Kissed the girls and made them cry,
When the boys came out to play,
Georgie Porgie ran away
Which president was described as "so honest that if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it?"
A. James Monroe
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. Abraham Lincoln
D. George W. Bush
A. James Monroe- On New Year's Day, 1825, at the last of his annual White House receptions, President James Monroe made a pleasing impression upon a Virginia lady who shook his hand:
"He is tall and well formed. His dress plain and in the old style.... His manner was quiet and dignified. From the frank, honest expression of his eye ... I think he well deserves the encomium passed upon him by the great Jefferson, who said, 'Monroe was so honest that if you turned his soul inside out there would not be a spot on it.' "
Which U.S. President lost both his wife and mother on Valentine's Day?
A. Warren G. Harding
B. William McKinley
C. Gerald Ford
D. Theodore Roosevelt
D. Teddy Roosevelt lost his first wife, Alice Lee, to kidney failure on February 14, 1884 -- the same day that his mother died of typhoid fever.
True or False: Before having his name changed to Punxsutawney Phil, the famous groundhog was called Br’er Groundhog
True. The name Phil was chosen in honor of King Philip.
Observers of Ash Wednesday are most likely to...
A. Hold a tournament
B. Make a feast
C. Go on a fast
C. Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent which is observed by fasing.
Who was the first Roman Catholic president?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. Nixon
C. John F. Kennedy
D. Dwight D. Eisenhower
C. John F. Kennedy