Holidays trivia

Holidays

trivia Christmas Trivia

» “Within the Walls Rodeo Day” is when prisoners wear black and white striped outfits and take part in volunteer rodeos within the walls of the prison.

» Mother's Day Symbolism: The pink carnation is a gesture to honor a living mother, while a white carnation is worn to symbolize remembrance.

» Pashka is a Russian Easter cake decorated with molded reliefs depicting the Passion. It traditionally has candied fruits that form the initials X and B (for Khristos voskress, meaning “Christ is risen”) in the Cyrillic alphabet.

» Pooch Passion: According to a pet owner survey, 79 percent of Americans give their dogs holiday and/or birthday presents.

» St. Swithin's Day, July 15: During the 900s, a man named Swithin (spelling also recorded as "Swithun") was the Bishop of Winchester in England. Some years after his death, and for reasons not documented, Bishop Swithin's remains were transferred to Winchester Cathedral on July 15, 971. That same day, there was a tremendous rainstorm. Legend has it that Bishop Swithin was so angry about the move from his final resting place that he caused the storm. According to old English folklore, if it should now rain on July 15th, St. Swithin will make it rain for 40 days thereafter.

» A “distich” is composed of two poetic lines matching both sound and sense. It is used during the Chinese New Year to express the people’s wish for a peaceful and happy new year.

» A baked ham has graced traditional Easter tables in America for centuries. The tradition of ham served at Easter dates back to the 1600s. The colonists got the idea from their Native American neighbors. Every year the Native Americans welcomed spring with a planting festival that included the practice of smoking meats, especially venison. The colonists were fascinated with the process and decided to try it on the hogs they had raised. They salted, smoked, and stored the meat through the winter until it was perfectly cured and ready for the table in the spring, just in time for Easter.

» A shofar is a ram’s horn used in ancient times as a signaling trumpet, and is still blown in synagogues on Rosh Hashana and at the end of Yom Kippur.