New Year. Quiz 1

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1. When do the Chinese celebrate their New Year?

A. On 1st January.
B. At the second new moon after the winter solstice.
C. On the 11th day of the 11th month.

2. At Hogmanay in Scotland, there is the “Creaming of the Well.” The person who drinks from the well will...?

A. Find someone to marry.
B. Find some money.
C. Find some good luck.

3. How do the people of Ecuador, South America get rid of their faults for the New Year?

A. They make a straw man and burn it.
B. They have a long bath.
C. They write them on paper and bury them.

4. On the morning of the Vietnamese New Year, called “Tet”, what are children not allowed to do?

A. Laugh.
B. Cry.
C. Sing.

5. What happens shortly before midnight, on New Year’s Eve, in Japan?

A. Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times.
B. Buddhist temples wash their steps.
C. Buddhist temples light their candles.

Key:

1. B. The Chinese have a lunar calendar and celebrate the New Year on the second new moon after the winter solstice. This is when the Spring Festival starts and people look forward to the new harvest. Many Chinese ring in the new year by sweeping the house (to rid of it bad luck), getting a haircut, and settling debts. The Chinese calendar is 2,698 years older than ours.

2. A. People would stampede to get a drink of the cream (the first water drawn). It is said that if a woman gets the first drink, she is guaranteed marriage within the new year. To marry your ideal sweetheart, you must get him to drink from the well before the end of the day.

3. A. Ecuadorians build a straw man and dress him in the family’s clothes. Then someone writes a last will and testament citing all the faults of the family members. At midnight, the will is read and the straw man burned, thus cleansing the family.

4. B. Most Vietnamese people believe that the events surrounding the weeks of Tet (pronounced TATE) are an indication of the “spirit” of the weeks to follow. So, in order to avoid a “bad” year, everyone must be happy on New Year’s Day. Therefore, children are not allowed to cry on this day. It is believed that the one who cries will bring bad luck not only to himself but to his family as well.

5. A. Starting just before midnight, the temple bells ring – 8 times in the old year and 100 times in the new year. This is to cleanse people from the 108 sins they committed in the previous year.