60 Fun Facts About Holiday Traditions Trivia for Kids

Saint Nicholas, the 4th-century bishop behind Santa Claus, lived in which modern country?

He was bishop of Myra, now the town of Demre, and was famous for secret gift-giving.

Which Dutch gift-bringer, brought to New Amsterdam, grew into the American Santa Claus?

New Amsterdam is now New York City, and Sinterklaas still arrives in the Netherlands every year by steamboat.

How many reindeer pull Santa's sleigh in the famous 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas?

Rudolph only joined the team in a 1939 story, and the last two in the poem were first called Dunder and Blixem, Dutch for thunder and lightning.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer first appeared in a story written in which year?

The song came ten years later in 1949, and now everyone assumes Rudolph was always there.

According to tradition, what does a child who has been naughty all year find in their Christmas stocking?

The stocking custom itself comes from a legend about Saint Nicholas dropping gold into stockings hung by the fire to dry.

The custom of bringing a decorated Christmas tree indoors began in which part of Europe?

Moravian Christians were the first to light the trees with candles, long before electric lights.

Candy canes are usually flavoured with what?

Some say they were first hung on trees because peppermint keeps mice and cats away from the branches.

Which fairy tale is often credited with inspiring the first gingerbread houses?

The city of Nuremberg in Germany has been called the Gingerbread Capital of the World since the 1600s.

What three things are usually found inside a Christmas cracker?

The bang comes from a strip of card treated with the same chemical used in cap guns.

In the Elf on the Shelf tradition, where does the elf fly every night after the children are asleep?

The elf comes from a 2005 book by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell, and children must never touch it.

How many candles are on a traditional Advent wreath?

One is lit each Sunday before Christmas; some wreaths add a white fifth candle in the middle for Christmas Day.

Poinsettias, the red-and-green Christmas plants, originally come from where?

They are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first US minister to Mexico, but their old Nahuatl name is cuetlaxochitl.

In Japan, a 1970s advertising campaign made it a Christmas custom to eat dinner from which restaurant?

Families also share a Japanese Christmas cake, a white sponge covered in cream and strawberries.

The Dutch Saint Nicholas figure arrives each year by steamboat from which country?

He then rides a white horse; the current one is called Ozosnel, which means oh so fast.

In Italy, who flies on a broomstick on the night of January 5 to fill children's stockings?

She is a kindly old woman who brings sweets to good children and coal to naughty ones.

Ded Moroz, the Russian gift-bringer, has a name that translates as what?

He wears a long red or blue fur coat and leaves presents under the New Year tree, not the Christmas tree.

Which animal does Sweden's popular straw Christmas ornament, tied with red ribbons, depict?

The town of Gävle builds a giant one every year, and pranksters keep trying to burn it down.

On which date is Boxing Day celebrated?

It started in Britain as a day to give boxes of gifts to people in need.

Las Posadas, celebrated in Mexico from December 16 to 24, lasts a set number of nights to represent what?

Each night, children re-enact Mary and Joseph looking for an inn, and there is often a piñata.

What are the points of a traditional star-shaped Mexican Christmas piñata said to stand for?

Breaking the pot stands for beating evil, and the sweets that fall out are the reward.

How many nights does Hanukkah last?

One more candle is lit on the menorah each night until all eight burn together, plus the helper candle called the shamash.

What is the name of the extra helper candle used to light the others on a Hanukkah menorah?

The word means attendant, and it usually sits higher or apart from the other eight.

What is a dreidel?

The letters nun, gimel, hei and shin are said to stand for a great miracle happened there.

Latkes, eaten at Hanukkah, are pancakes made mostly from which vegetable?

They are fried in oil to remember the little jar of oil that lasted eight days.

Kwanzaa runs for a week from late December and celebrates the culture of which group?

It was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966 and ends with a big feast called Karamu.

How many candles are on the kinara used during Kwanzaa?

One for each of the seven principles, the Nguzo Saba, and the holiday's name was even spelled with an extra a to make seven letters.

Diwali is often called the festival of what?

Families light little oil lamps called diyas and draw rangoli patterns on the floor.

On Diwali, many celebrate Rama's return to which kingdom after defeating the demon king Ravana?

He came home with his wife Sita and brother Lakshmana, and the people lit lamps to welcome them.

Holi, the Hindu festival of spring, is famous for people throwing what at each other?

It celebrates the love of Radha and Krishna and the arrival of spring.

Chinese New Year is also known by what other name?

It runs from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the new year.

At Chinese New Year, children are given money inside envelopes of which colour?

The colour stands for good luck and is believed to scare off evil spirits.

By legend, Chinese New Year customs began with villagers scaring off a monster called what?

It looked like a lion with horns and ate villagers at night, so people used red and loud firecrackers to frighten it off.

How many performers are usually inside a Chinese lion dance costume?

One works the head and the other the tail, dancing to drums, gongs and cymbals to bring good luck.

Mooncakes are eaten during which Chinese celebration?

A traditional one is filled with lotus seed paste and sometimes a salted duck egg yolk that looks like the full moon.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is celebrated at what point in the year?

The name means New Day, and it usually falls between March 19 and 22.

Songkran, famous for giant water fights in the streets, is the traditional New Year of which country?

It was the official Thai New Year until 1888, and today the water splashing is the best-known part.

Eid al-Fitr celebrates the end of a month of fasting called what?

Because so many sweets are shared, it is nicknamed the Sweet Eid or Sugar Feast.

The Easter Bunny tradition began among which group of people?

The Easter Hare originally judged whether children had been good, a bit like Santa's naughty-or-nice list.

Early Christians in Mesopotamia dyed Easter eggs which colour?

Today many people swap them for chocolate eggs wrapped in shiny foil.

Before pumpkins, jack-o'-lanterns in Ireland and Scotland were carved from which vegetable?

The legend of Stingy Jack, doomed to wander with only a hollowed turnip for light, gave the lantern its name.

Trick-or-treating grew out of guising, an old Halloween custom from which two countries?

Children performed a song or verse at each door to earn a treat, and the phrase trick or treat was first written down in Canada in 1917.

On which day of the week is Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States?

It is always the fourth Thursday of November, a rule fixed in 1941.

In which year did the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade first march through New York?

Store employees marched in costumes to the Herald Square shop; the giant balloons came later.

On which date is Valentine's Day celebrated?

One legend says Saint Valentine signed a farewell letter Your Valentine, which is where the cards come from.

Which plant is Saint Patrick said to have used to explain the Holy Trinity?

Since 2010 more than 300 landmarks around the world have been lit up green for the day.

On Mexico's Day of the Dead, families decorate altars with which bright orange flower?

The altars, called ofrendas, hold the favourite foods of loved ones who have died, plus sugar skulls.

On Groundhog Day, what does it mean if the groundhog sees its shadow?

The most famous groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania, though studies show he is not a very good forecaster.

Guy Fawkes Night, with its bonfires and fireworks, is held on which date in Britain?

It remembers 1605, when Guy Fawkes was caught guarding gunpowder under the House of Lords.

What is hidden inside a Mardi Gras king cake?

Whoever finds it in their slice has to buy the next cake; the purple, green and gold sprinkles date from 1872.

Fourth of July fireworks celebrate the adoption of which document in 1776?

Congress actually voted for independence on July 2, but the Declaration was adopted two days later.

On New Year's Eve, a giant crystal ball drops down a pole on top of One Times Square. In which city?

The first ball drop was on December 31, 1907, and it has only skipped two years, during World War II blackouts.

In Spain, people welcome the New Year by eating twelve of what, one for each stroke of midnight?

Each one stands for a month of the coming year, and finishing all twelve is supposed to bring good luck.

In Icelandic folklore, who does the giant Yule Cat eat during the festive season?

The cat lives in a cave with the ogress Grýla, her lazy husband Leppalúði and the Yule Lads.

In Alpine folklore, what does Krampus use to punish badly behaved children on the night of December 5?

He accompanies Saint Nicholas, who rewards well-behaved children with small gifts.

On Saint Lucy's Day, December 13, girls in Sweden carry cookies and buns flavoured with which spice?

The girl leading the procession wears a white dress and a crown of candles.

In the German-American Christmas pickle tradition, what happens to the child who finds the pickle ornament?

Despite the legend, a poll found 91% of Germans had never heard of it.

Nutcracker dolls shaped like toy soldiers first came from the Ore Mountains of which country?

One story credits a craftsman from the village of Seiffen with the first doll in the late 1600s.

Which group of Christians first used Advent calendars in the 19th and 20th centuries?

Many reusable calendars start on December 1, though Advent itself can begin as early as November 27.

According to folklore, where should a child put a lost baby tooth for the tooth fairy?

The tooth fairy swaps it for a small payment while the child sleeps.

How does mistletoe, the Christmas kissing plant, get its water and food?

It is a hemiparasite, attached to its host by a structure called the haustorium.