Celebrate!
| 1. When did the Russians start celebrating the New Year festival on January 1?
 More than 300 years ago during the reign of Peter the Great
 After the 1917 revolution
More than 450 years ago during the reign of Ivan the Terrible | It was in 1699 that the Russians saw the New Year in on January 1 for the first time. Before that in Russia this festival had been celebrated twice a year: the religious New Year - on March 1, the civic New Year - on September 1. The religious festival was based on the old belief that the world and all living beings had been created by God in March.
The idea of the civic New Year was to say goodbye to summer and to see it off. The main character of the festival was not Father Frost but St. Simeon called in Russian "Симеон-летопроводник" ("St. Simeon, who sees the summer off"). September celebrations were held for the last time in 1699 and in four months - as ordered by Peter the Great in a special Bill - the New Year was celebrated again, this time in European fashion on January 1. The tsar left no choice to his people: those who didn't take part in merry-making were to be severely punished. |
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| 2. Originally, October 31 was the eve of the Celtic New Year. What festival is it now in the English-speaking countries?
St. Andrew's Day
All Saints Day
Halloween | October 31 was the eve of the Celtic New Year. The Celts were the ancestors of the present-day Irish, Welsh and Scottish people. They believed that on the eve of the New Year ghosts and evil spirits walked the earth and mingled mischievously with the living. The townspeople baked food all that day and when night fell, they dressed up and tried to resemble the souls of the dead. Hoping that the ghosts would leave peacefully before midnight of the new year, the people carried the food to the edge of the town and left it for them. Much later, when Christianity spread throughout Ireland, and October 31 was no longer the last day of the year, Halloween became a celebration mostly for children. When millions of Irish people immigrated to the United States in the 1840s, the tradition came with them. |
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| 3. What is the Jewish New Year called?
Rosh Ha Shana
Hanukkah
Yom Kippur | Rosh Ha Shana, the Jewish New Year is celebrated in September or October. The exact day is determined by the Hebrew calendar. On Rosh Ha Shana, the Jews gather to cast bread upon the water, an ancient tradition representing casting off sins. |
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| 4. Who established the 4th Thursday in November as the Thanksgiving Day?
Abraham Lincoln
George Washington
Sara Josepha Hale | It was Abraham Lincoln who issued the proclamation on 3 October, 1863, setting the last Thursday in November, 1863, as a national Thanksgiving Day. Lincoln's proclamation expressing both his gratitude for God's blessings and his hope that the terrible Civil War would come to a speedy end, entreated Americans not to forget that prosperity and freedom were God's gifts. |
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| 5. What is the biggest national holiday in Ireland?
St. David's Day
St. George's Day
St. Patrick's Day | St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland and Northern Ireland and March 17 is a holiday in both. It is believed that he brought Christianity to Ireland in the 5th century. St. Patrick's Day has always had a special meaning for the Irish. It is an occasion of great celebration not only for the native Irish themselves but also for many thousands of Irish origin throughout the world. While the principal parade is in Dublin, more than 30 cities and towns throughout the country hold parades. Participants come from all over the United States, Canada, Britain and continental Europe to join in the festivities. New York claims world's oldest St. Patrick's Day parade, held in 1762. On 15 March, 1992 St. Patrick's Day was first celebrated in Moscow. |
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| 6. In the USA the Fourth of July is ...
the Independence Day
the Nation's birthday
the Flag Day | It was on the Fourth of July in 1776 that the Continental Congress, representing the thirteen colonies, adopted the Declaration of Independence, which cut the tie with England and established the United States of America. Thus, it is also considered the Nation's birthday.
In a letter to his wife, John Adams, the first Vice President and the Second President of the US, wrote: "I believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival… it ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations from one end of the continent to the other…" |
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| 7. How old is the custom of singing "Happy Birthday", the most frequently sung melody in the world?
About 100 years old
About 25 years old
About 150 years old | Do you know the story of "Happy Birthday"? Written by the two Hill sisters (Mildred and Patty) from Louisville, Kentucky, the tune originally was a morning classroom welcome to youngsters. The song was not copyrighted and eventually got stolen and the words changed from "Good morning, dear children" to "Happy birthday, dear (name)". The third Hill sister took the case to the court in 1934 and won it. The Hill family was entitled to royalties every time the song was performed commercially. The famous tune inspired many humorous versions:
"Happy birthday to you, you belong in a zoo.
'Cause you look like monkey and you act like one too". |
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| 8. Which of these is a specifically British festival not celebrated in other English-speaking countries?
Halloween
Guy Fawkes Night
St. Valentine's Day | On 5 November, 1605 Guy Fawkes tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament when the King was going to open the Parliament. 36 barrels of gunpowder were stored under the House of Lords. However, the plot was discovered, Guy Fawkes was arrested and hanged. Since that day the British traditionally celebrate 5th November by burning a dummy, made of straw and old clothes, on a bonfire, at the same time letting off fireworks. |
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| 9. In which of these regional American festivals did the Russian Grand Duke Alexis start a new tradition at the end of the 19th century?
Cinco de Mayo in Los Angeles
Rose Festival in Portland
Mardi Gras in New Orleans | Alexey Alexandrovich Romanov, the brother of the heir to the Russian throne, visited New York and fell in love with an American actress Lydia Thompson. He followed her to New Orleans where Mardi Gras, a colorful spring carnival, was being planned. The planners were flattered when they discovered that a person of true royal blood was going to take part in the festivities. They added a float (a platform pulled by the horses) for the new carnival character, a king, "Rex". The Grand Duke Alexis was surprised and honored to sit on the float and play the role of Rex. That was how a new tradition started in 1872. Since then Rex and his queen are chosen each year to ride on the largest float. They are masked and in costume. |
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| 10. Which of these festivals originated at Moscow State University?
Ivan Kupala
St. Cyril's and St. Methodius's Day
Tatyanin Den (St.Tatyana's Day) | December 25th, Tatyanin Dyen (St. Tatyana's Day), has been celebrated by Moscow University students as the Students' Festival, and later by all Moscow students, for more than 200 years. The Bill about Moscow University's foundation was signed on January 12, 1755 (old style). St. Tatyana is considered to be the patron saint of MSU because the university church in Mokhovaya bears her name. Gilyarovsky in his book "Moscow and Muscovites" describes how Moscow students celebrated the day in his time. There are two interesting details: on that day students could eat and drink for free in the "Hermitage" restaurant as well as in many beer-houses and they were not taken to the police even if they were causing a disturbance. |
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1konspekt_vneklassnogo_meropriyatiya_dlya_9_klassa_.doc