50 Fun Facts About January Trivia for Kids

January is which month of the year?

It kicks off the calendar, and the first day is New Year's Day.

How many days does January have?

It is one of the long months, along with March, May, July, August, October and December.

January is named after Janus, a Roman god famous for having what?

He was the god of beginnings and doorways, so one face could look back at the old year and one forward to the new.

What is the first day of January called?

Many people make New Year's resolutions on it, promising to do better in the year ahead.

In New York City, a giant glowing ball drops at midnight on New Year's Eve in which famous place?

Huge crowds gather to count down the last seconds of the old year.

In Spain, people traditionally eat twelve of what at midnight on New Year's Eve, one for each chime?

Each grape is a wish for good luck in one month of the new year.

In Japan, the New Year holiday, Shogatsu, is celebrated starting on which day?

Families visit shrines and eat special foods to welcome the year.

The idea of starting the year on 1 January comes from a calendar reform by which Roman leader?

His Julian calendar was introduced in 46 BC.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a US holiday held on the third Monday of which month?

It honours the civil rights leader who dreamed of a fairer country.

January's birthstone is the garnet, which is usually what colour?

Its name comes from an old word meaning dark red.

In the Northern Hemisphere, January is usually the ___ month of the year.

At the same time it is one of the warmest months down in the Southern Hemisphere.

While children in the north bundle up in January, children in Australia are enjoying which season?

The seasons are flipped on opposite sides of the world.

Benjamin Franklin, born in January 1706, is said to have flown a kite in a storm to study what?

He was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and also invented bifocal glasses.

Which beloved actress, born on 17 January 1922, played Rose on The Golden Girls?

She kept acting into her late nineties and was one of America's most loved comedians.

A. A. Milne, born in January 1882, created which honey-loving bear?

The cuddly bear and his friends live in the Hundred Acre Wood.

Lewis Carroll, born in January 1832, wrote about a girl who falls down a rabbit hole. What is her name?

Her adventures happen in a strange place called Wonderland.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, born in January 1756, was famous as a child for doing what?

He was a musical prodigy who wrote his first pieces when he was very young.

Alaska became the 49th US state in January of which year?

It is the largest US state by area, bigger than Texas, California and Montana combined.

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, was launched in January of which year?

It grew into one of the most visited websites in the world.

Steve Jobs first showed off the iPhone to the world in January 2007. What company did he lead?

He called it a 'revolution' for mobile phones.

Chinese New Year begins a period of celebrations that ends with which event?

Each year is linked to one of twelve animals, like the rat, dragon or rabbit.

Australia Day, celebrated on 26 January, marks the 1788 arrival of which group of ships?

It is Australia's national day, held in the middle of the Australian summer.

The very first Winter Olympic Games were held in January 1924 in which country?

They took place in the alpine town of Chamonix.

Snowflakes, common in January, almost always have how many sides or points?

The six-fold pattern comes from the way ice crystals grow.

Some animals sleep deeply through cold winter months. What is this called?

Bears and groundhogs slow their bodies right down to save energy until spring.

The Saxons called January 'Wulf-monath'. What does that name mean?

The emperor Charlemagne had his own name for it too: Wintarmanoth, the winter or cold month.

In the Southern Hemisphere, January is the same season as which month in the north?

That is why January is usually the warmest month in places like Australia and South Africa.

Which flower is January's birth flower?

The tiny white snowdrop is sometimes named as a January flower too.

Which zodiac sign begins on January 20?

People born earlier in the month, up to January 19, are Capricorns.

How many months did the very first Roman calendar have before January and February were added?

Winter simply had no months at all; King Numa Pompilius is said to have added the missing two around 713 BC.

The famous Rose Parade is held every 1 January in which California city?

The parade has rolled since 1890, when a local hunt club wanted to show off California's mild winter while New Yorkers were buried in snow.

The floats in the Rose Parade are famously covered in what?

Marching bands and horses follow the floats, and a big college football game, the Rose Bowl, is played the same afternoon.

What do people in Scotland call their big New Year's Eve celebration?

The party is so big that 2 January is also a holiday in Scotland, giving everyone an extra day to recover.

In Scotland, what is the earliest guest to step into your home in the new year called?

The visitor traditionally brings small gifts such as coal, shortbread or salt to bring the household good luck for the year.

Louis Braille, born 4 January 1809, invented a reading system for people who cannot what?

Braille lost his own sight as a small boy after an accident in his father's workshop, and his system of raised dots is used all over the world.

J. R. R. Tolkien, born on 3 January 1892, wrote which 1937 adventure about Bilbo Baggins?

It was followed years later by The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was also a language professor who invented whole languages for his elves.

Jackie Robinson, born on 31 January 1919, broke the colour barrier in which sport?

He started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers in April 1947. At college he had actually been better known as a football star.

Wayne Gretzky, born on 26 January 1961 and nicknamed 'the Great One', starred in which sport?

He has more assists than any other player has total points, and he is the only NHL player ever to score more than 200 points in a season.

Muhammad Ali, born on 17 January 1942, became a world champion in which sport?

He was born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, and called himself 'the Greatest'. Sports Illustrated named him Sportsman of the Century in 1999.

Elvis Presley, born on 8 January 1935, is known by which royal nickname?

He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and moved to Memphis at 13, where he later bought his famous mansion, Graceland.

Ellis Island in New York Harbor opened in January 1892 to welcome about 12 million what?

By one estimate two out of every five Americans have an ancestor who came through the island, which is now a museum you reach by ferry.

On 1 January 1863, which US president issued the Emancipation Proclamation?

The order declared more than 3.5 million enslaved people in the Confederate states free, in the middle of the American Civil War.

In January 1848, what did James Marshall find at Sutter's Mill, starting a California rush?

The rush helped California grow so fast that it became a state just two years later, in 1850.

Which team won the very first Super Bowl, played in January 1967?

They beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Los Angeles. Back then it was officially called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game.

The Australian Open, the year's first tennis major, is played each January in which city?

It usually starts in the middle of the month and lasts two weeks, during Australia's hot summer, so a roof can close over the courts on the hottest days.

Earth is actually closest to the Sun in early January. What is this point in its orbit called?

Earth sits about 147 million km from the Sun then, and about 152 million km away in early July. Seasons come from Earth's tilt, not its distance.

Isaac Newton, born on 4 January 1643, is famous for his three laws of what?

He published them in 1687 in a book called the Principia, which also explained gravity and why the planets circle the Sun.

Betsy Ross, born on 1 January 1752, is famously credited with sewing the first what?

Her family told the story in 1870, nearly a century later, and historians are not convinced it is true. She was a real upholsterer in Philadelphia, though.

Martin Luther King Jr., born on 15 January 1929, led which cause in the 1950s and 1960s?

He was also a Baptist minister and believed in peaceful protest. He was born Michael King Jr.; his father later changed both their names.

Paul Revere, born on 1 January 1735, rode at midnight in 1775 to warn that who was coming?

He was a Boston silversmith by trade. His ride warned the minutemen before the battles of Lexington and Concord.