110 Fun Facts About Culture

Diwali is best known as the Hindu festival of what?

It falls between mid-October and mid-November and is also celebrated, in variations, by Jains and Sikhs.

Which Hindu spring festival celebrates the love of Radha and Krishna with thrown coloured powders?

It also marks Vishnu's victory as Narasimha over the demon king Hiranyakashipu.

On which dates is Mexico's Day of the Dead traditionally celebrated?

Families gather to remember the departed, often with a humorous tone and funny anecdotes about them.

Thailand's Songkran new-year festival is celebrated on which date each year?

The holiday runs to 15 April and lines up with new-year festivals across South and Southeast Asia on the Theravada Buddhist calendar.

Chinese New Year celebrations end on the 15th day of the year with what?

It falls on the first full moon of the lunisolar year and was already a major festival in the Western Han dynasty.

Roughly how many visitors does Munich's Oktoberfest draw each year?

The world's largest Volksfest runs from mid-September to the first Sunday in October on the Theresienwiese.

La Tomatina, said to be the world's biggest food fight, is held in which Spanish town?

It began as a food fight between friends in the 1940s.

A kimono is worn left side over right, unless the wearer is what?

Right-over-left is reserved for dressing the dead, which is why tourists get corrected quickly.

A sari can be as long as how many yards of unstitched fabric?

Lengths run from 4.5 to 9 yards, worn as a dress in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

The modern small version of Scotland's national garment is essentially what?

The great kilt of the 16th century was a full-length garment whose upper half doubled as a cloak.

What does the word 'hanbok' literally mean?

North Koreans use a different name for the same traditional attire.

Flamenco developed within the gitano subculture of which Spanish region?

It also has historical presence in Extremadura and Murcia; the Romani gitanos drove its professionalisation.

Kabuki theatre is thought to have been founded by whom?

Her all-female troupe performed dances and light sketches in Kyoto in the early Edo period, though the form is now performed by men.

Capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art, was first mentioned in an official document in 1789 as what?

Scholars trace its roots to engolo, a Bantu martial art from Angola.

The haka is traditionally performed by whom in Polynesian culture?

The All Blacks made one version famous, but haka are ceremonial dances of Māori, Māohi and Maoli culture.

Which social class in Japan produced the first detailed manuals on how to bow?

The rise of the warrior class in the Kamakura period brought disciplined etiquette texts on proper bowing.

The Māori hongi greeting involves doing what?

Foreheads often touch too; it is used at pōwhiri welcome ceremonies.

The Hindu greeting namaste is usually spoken with what gesture?

It is used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains at any time of day.

The word 'sauna' comes from which language?

It is an ancient word for both the bath and the bathhouse itself.

Henna body art, or mehndi, uses a dye made from what?

Lawsonia inermis has stained hair and skin since ancient Egypt; the marks fade in one to three weeks.

A quinceañera celebrates a girl's which birthday?

The Latin American rite mixes Spanish Catholic traditions with pre-Columbian ones, and the guest of honour usually wears a tiara.

Japan's hanami custom is the enjoyment of what?

The Japan Meteorological Agency announces the bloom forecast; blossoms last only a week or two, and open in January on Okinawa.

The Carnival of Venice was abolished in which year?

It had run since the Middle Ages and was revived in the 20th century; it ends on Shrove Tuesday.

What do participants chase down Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire each spring?

The race is first recorded in 1836 and is probably older; injuries are routine.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of what?

It falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is timed to what?

It usually falls between 19 and 22 March and is celebrated by Persianate cultures well beyond Iran.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates a Mexican victory over which country's army in 1862?

General Ignacio Zaragoza won at Puebla; the French later won a second battle there and occupied Mexico City.

For roughly how long have chopsticks been used in the Sinosphere?

They began in China and spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

What are the red envelopes of cash given at Chinese New Year called in Mandarin?

Lai see is the Cantonese name; WeChat launched a digital version in the mid-2010s.

Boxing Day, 26 December, originated where?

It began as a day to give gifts to those in need and is now marked across the Commonwealth.

Guy Fawkes Night marks the foiling of a 1605 plot to blow up what?

Fawkes was caught guarding the explosives; the plot aimed to kill King James I and his parliament.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by whom?

He built it on African harvest-festival traditions in the aftermath of the Watts riots; it runs December 26 to January 1.

Before Hangul was created, what script did Koreans use?

Hangul goes by different names in North and South Korea.

How many writing systems does the Georgian language have?

Mkhedruli is used today; Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri survive in the Georgian Orthodox Church.

Tetraphobia, common in East Asia, is the avoidance of which number?

The word for four sounds like the word for death in several languages, so buildings often skip the fourth floor.

Inuit throat singing, katajjaq, is traditionally performed how?

The aim is to outlast the other singer without laughing; Tanya Tagaq famously performs it solo.

The didgeridoo's continuous drone depends on which special technique?

Aboriginal peoples of northern Australia developed it at least 1,000 years ago; the Yolŋu call it the yiḏaki.

Ikebana is the Japanese art of what?

It is one of the three classical arts of refinement alongside incense appreciation and the tea ceremony.

The Japanese tea ceremony centres on the preparation of which tea?

Powdered green tea is whisked in the bowl; leaf tea like sencha is used far less often.

Which country is the only one where sumo is practised professionally?

Many top wrestlers are Mongolian, but the professional sport exists only in Japan, where it is the national sport.

What does 'Mardi Gras' literally mean in French?

It is the final day of Carnival, the last chance for rich food before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

In Alpine folklore, who accompanies Saint Nicholas on 5 December to punish naughty children?

The horned figure carries birch rods; he is not attested before the 16th century.

In Italian folklore, who delivers gifts to children on Epiphany Eve?

The witch-like old woman rewards the good and punishes the bad on the night of January 5.

Spaniards eat twelve of what at midnight on New Year's Eve?

One per clock strike, one per coming month; the custom dates to at least 1895 and took off in 1909.

Thailand's Loy Krathong festival involves floating what on rivers?

The name means roughly 'to float a ritual vessel'; historians call the modern festival an invented post-war tradition.

The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates which ancient Chinese figure?

The Chu minister is honoured with boat races and zongzi, sticky rice dumplings.

On which day of the Chinese lunisolar calendar does the Mid-Autumn Festival fall?

The moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest, hence mooncakes.

Onam is the official festival of which Indian state?

It celebrates the annual return of the benevolent Asura king Mahabali; it was declared Kerala's national festival in 1961.

The Bantu concept of Ubuntu is often translated as what?

In Xhosa it carries the sense of a universal bond of sharing connecting all humanity.

The Danish word hygge is thought to stem from an Old Norse word meaning what?

Its status as a core Danish value is surprisingly recent, dating only to the late 20th century.

The idea of breaking a treat-filled container, ancestor of the piñata, reached Europe in which century?

It travelled from Asia to Europe and then to the Americas with the Spanish.

Vaisakhi, on 13 or 14 April, is a spring harvest festival primarily of which region?

It also marks the Indian solar new year and is a central date in the Sikh calendar.

Thaipusam honours the victory of which Hindu god over the demon Surapadman?

He wielded a divine spear, the vel, given by his mother Parvati; devotees carry ornate kavadi burdens.

How many bulls are typically released in a Spanish running of the bulls?

Sometimes ten or more; the same animals are often fought in the ring afterwards.

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, is traditionally celebrated by lighting what?

The five-day festival also marks Rama's return to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana and honours Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity.

Which bright orange flower is used to decorate altars and graves during Mexico's Day of the Dead?

Known as cempasúchil, it decorates home altars called ofrendas that hold the favourite foods and drinks of the departed.

Holi, the Hindu festival of coloured powder and water, marks the arrival of which season?

The night before, bonfires are lit for Holika Dahan, the burning of the demoness Holika.

Thailand's Songkran new year festival, celebrated on 13 April, is famous for what?

The splashing symbolises ritual cleansing to wash away the old year.

The first Oktoberfest, in 1810, was held to celebrate what?

Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese, and Munich's fairground is still called the Theresienwiese after her.

The famous running of the bulls takes place in Pamplona during a festival honouring which saint?

The six bulls that run in the morning are the same six fought in the ring that afternoon.

When giving money in a Chinese red envelope, which number should be avoided in the amount?

The word for four sounds like the word for death, which is also why some Hong Kong towers skip every floor from 40 to 49.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year celebrated for over 3,000 years, falls on which astronomical event?

Its roots are Zoroastrian, and families set a haft-sin table of seven symbolic items beginning with the letter S.

Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival, is celebrated on the full moon of which lunar month?

Families return to ancestral hometowns, tidy graves and share half-moon rice cakes called songpyeon.

Kwanzaa, first celebrated in 1966, takes its name from a phrase in which language?

'Matunda ya kwanza' means 'first fruits'; an extra 'a' was added so the name would have a symbolic seven letters.

France's national day on 14 July commemorates the storming of which building in 1789?

The Champs-Élysées parade that morning is described as the oldest and largest military parade in Europe.

Every 5 November, Britons light bonfires and fireworks to mark the foiling of what?

Guy Fawkes was caught guarding the explosives beneath the House of Lords, and Londoners lit bonfires that night to celebrate the king's survival.

Boxing Day, 26 December, coincides with which saint's feast?

One theory traces the name to church alms boxes opened for the poor on that feast day.

Trick-or-treating grew out of 'guising', a house-to-house Halloween custom from which two countries?

Children put on a small performance in exchange for treats; the earliest North American record is from British Columbia in 1898.

The hongi, the traditional Māori greeting, is performed how?

The ha, or breath of life, is exchanged; visitors are said to blend with the people of the land.

The Indian greeting 'namaste' is spoken with palms pressed together in a gesture called what?

The Thai wai and Burmese mingalaba share the same origin; the standing yoga posture built on it is pranamasana.

In the Thai wai greeting, how do you show greater respect?

The wai is also used to say thank you and sorry, and is repeated when asking permission to leave a house.

In Japanese business etiquette, the casual eshaku bow inclines the torso by roughly how many degrees?

Keirei is deeper and saikeirei, the most formal, deeper still; bowing manuals go back to the samurai of the Kamakura period.

A kimono is always wrapped left side over right, with one exception. Who is dressed right over left?

It is worn with a broad obi sash, zori sandals and tabi socks, and cut from a single long bolt called a tanmono.

The modern Scottish "small" kilt is essentially the bottom half of what 16th-century predecessor?

The great kilt of the 16th century was a full-length garment whose upper half could be worn as a cloak.

Kente cloth, woven in strips of silk and cotton, is officially recognised as a product of which country?

It was historically worn toga-style by the Asante, Akan and Ewe peoples.

The áo dài, a long split tunic worn over silk trousers, is the traditional dress of which country?

The name literally means 'long tunic'.

The fez was banned in 1925 in which country, as part of a modernising 'Hat Revolution'?

A century earlier the Ottoman sultan had ordered officials to wear the fez and banned turbans instead.

Why should chopsticks never be left standing upright in a bowl of rice?

Chopsticks originated in China over three millennia ago before spreading to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Haggis became Scotland's national dish largely thanks to a 1786 poem by whom?

'Address to a Haggis' is still recited at Burns suppers, where it is served with neeps, tatties and a dram.

Poutine, fries with cheese curds and gravy, emerged in the 1950s in which Canadian province?

Several towns in the Centre-du-Québec region still claim to have invented it in 1957 or so.

Vegemite, the dark Australian spread, is made from what?

Cyril Callister developed it in Melbourne in 1922 as a home-grown rival to Britain's Marmite.

Which Spanish region is the home of flamenco?

It developed within the gitano, or Romani, subculture of the south, though non-gitano artists have always been part of it.

Tango was born in the 1880s in the port areas along which river?

Argentina and Uruguay jointly got it onto UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009.

Capoeira is played in a circle called a roda to the music of which bow-shaped instrument?

First recorded in 1789 as a criminal activity, capoeira received UNESCO protected status in 2014.

The 'Ka Mate' haka performed by New Zealand's All Blacks is attributed to which Māori war leader?

The team has performed a haka before matches since the Original All Blacks tour of 1905.

Sumo wrestlers throw what into the ring before a bout as a Shinto purification ritual?

A rikishi loses by leaving the dohyo or touching the ground with anything but the soles of his feet.

Muay Thai is nicknamed the 'Art of Eight Limbs' because fighters strike with fists, elbows, knees and what?

Fighters often enter the ring wearing a mongkhon headband and pra jiad armbands.

Which Highland games event flips a long tapered pole end over end?

The games centre on piping, drumming, dancing and 'heavy athletics' and are held wherever the Scottish diaspora settled.

England's Cooper's Hill event sends competitors chasing what down a steep slope?

The 7-9 lb cheese hurtles down a hill with a slope of about 50 percent; the event happens on the Spring Bank Holiday.

The sport of wife-carrying was introduced in 1992 in which country?

The 'Estonian style' carry has the partner upside-down on the runner's back with legs over the shoulders.

In Orthodox Jewish communities, at what age does a girl become bat mitzvah?

Boys become bar mitzvah at 13; most Reform and Conservative communities use 13 for everyone.

Henna body art applied to brides before weddings across South Asia and the Middle East is known as what?

The 'Night of the Henna' was celebrated by Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus alike wherever the plant grew.

The blue-and-white glass 'nazar' amulet, sold from Istanbul to Athens, protects against what?

Amulets against the malevolent, envious glare have been found dating back around 5,000 years.

The Danish concept of hygge was runner-up for which dictionary's UK word of the year in 2016?

It lost to Brexit; the word describes a cosy, contented mood and comes from an Old Norse root meaning 'to think'.

The southern African philosophy of ubuntu takes its name from a Bantu word meaning what?

It is often glossed as 'I am because we are', and Tutu's ubuntu theology shaped the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Hawaii celebrates Lei Day, honouring the flower garland, on which date?

Poet Don Blanding proposed it in 1927; leis are given to dignitaries, graduates and departing loved ones across Polynesia.

The first Russian matryoshka nesting doll set was made in the 1890s and contained how many dolls?

Sergey Malyutin's design had a mother in traditional dress holding a red-combed rooster on the outside.

According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in which town, for teaching catechism?

The Spanish brought a 14th-century European custom, but the Aztecs already broke pots for the god Huitzilopochtli's birthday.

Yodeling is thought to have started in the Central Alps for what practical purpose?

It reached theatres and music halls as entertainment in the 1830s.

Mongolia's midsummer Naadam festival is built around wrestling, archery and which third sport?

Locals call it 'the three games of men'; UNESCO listed it as intangible cultural heritage in 2010.

Shetland's Up Helly Aa fire festival climaxes with the burning of what?

Lerwick's version, on the last Tuesday in January, sees up to a thousand torch-bearing 'guizers' march through the streets.

At Hogmanay, what kind of person is traditionally preferred as a household's 'first-foot'?

The first person over the threshold after midnight sets the year's luck and brings gifts such as coal, shortbread, whisky and black bun.

Timkat, celebrated on 19 January, is the Ethiopian Orthodox festival of what?

Priests carry the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, in procession, and worshippers re-enact the baptism of Jesus in water.

Bulgarians wear red-and-white martenitsa yarn charms from 1 March until they first see what?

The holiday is called Baba Marta, 'Grandma March', and the same custom is Romania's Mărțișor.

In Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas arrives each year by steamboat from which country?

He then rides a white horse; on Dutch television the horse was named Amerigo until 2019.

On which date does the Dutch Sinterklaas gift-giving take place, the eve of the saint's name day?

Belgium, Luxembourg and parts of Germany and France instead give gifts on the morning of 6 December itself.

Batik cloth is patterned using what as a dye resist?

UNESCO recognised Indonesian hand-drawn and stamped batik as intangible heritage on 2 October 2009, now celebrated as Batik Day.

Whose 1817 History of Java first made batik widely known outside Southeast Asia?

His History of Java sparked collecting and scholarly study of the craft in Europe.

The Inca festival Inti Raymi, held on 24 June in Cusco, honoured the sun god at which event?

Chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega credited Sapa Inca Pachacuti with creating it; the last imperial celebration was in 1535 before the Spanish banned it.

Which Spanish region hosts the most glamorous Holy Week processions, as in Seville and Málaga?

Castile and León's Zamora, León and Valladolid are known instead for the most sombre and solemn processions.