Question 1: Which is the last country to ring in the new year?
- United States
- New Zealand
- Russia
Correct Answer: United States
Fact: The uninhabited Howland and Baker Islands in the central Pacific Ocean are the last places on the planet to usher in New Year’s Day. Both atolls are US territories that function as wildlife sanctuaries. The last inhabited place visited by New Year’s Day is American Samoa in the South Pacific, which is also a territory of the US.
Question 2: Making New Year’s resolutions originated with which people?
- Egyptians
- Babylonians
- Greeks
Correct Answer: Babylonians
Fact: Historians credit Babylonians with starting the tradition of New Year’s resolutions about 4,000 years ago. Their new year began in mid-March, around when crops were planted, and their resolutions often involved paying off debts and returning borrowed farm equipment. Keeping their word earned favor with their gods, while failing to do so had negative consequences.
Question 3: Chinese New Year begins in …
- March/April
- April/May
- January/February
Correct Answer: January/February
Fact: Chinese New Year falls between late January and early February. China and other East Asian countries follow a lunar calendar in which months are marked by the cycles of the moon. Because the beginning of the year depends on the first new moon of the annual cycle, the precise date of a lunar new year changes every year.