City Quiz

New Year's Eve quiz: traditions around the world

21 questions in 4 rounds on how people welcome the New Year, from twelve grapes in Spain to Hogmanay in Scotland. Made for hosting at a New Year's Eve party or in a bar. One question at a time, the explanation and a source link after each answer, and your score at the end. Free, no account. Works offline once loaded.

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How it works

  1. Read the question and tap one of four answers.
  2. You see at once whether you were right, with the explanation and a link to the source.
  3. After 21 questions you get your score and a result to copy and share. To host it at a party or bar, read the questions below aloud and open the answers when everyone has decided.

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All 21 questions

  1. 1. How many grapes do people in Spain eat at midnight on New Year's Eve, one with each chime of the clock?

    1. 7
    2. 10
    3. 12
    4. 24
    Show answer

    C. 12

    Twelve: las doce uvas de la suerte. One grape goes with each of the twelve chimes, and each grape stands for one month of the coming year.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Grapes

  2. 2. Crowds gather in which Madrid square to hear the clock strike midnight, a moment broadcast live on Spanish TV?

    1. Plaza Mayor
    2. Puerta del Sol
    3. Plaza de Cibeles
    4. Plaza de España
    Show answer

    B. Puerta del Sol

    Puerta del Sol. The clock of the old Royal Post Office there is the one Spain follows: the change of year is broadcast on national TV and radio from the square, and TV coverage began in 1962.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerta_del_Sol

  3. 3. In Italy lentils are a New Year's Eve classic, often served with cotechino sausage. What are they said to bring?

    1. A safe journey
    2. A happy marriage
    3. Protection from bad weather
    4. Money and prosperity
    Show answer

    D. Money and prosperity

    Their round, flat shape is said to resemble coins, so lentils are a sign of prosperity in the coming year.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotechino

  4. 4. In Greece a New Year cake called vasilopita is cut at midnight. What is baked inside it for one lucky person to find?

    1. A coin
    2. A dried bean
    3. A silver spoon
    4. A small bell
    Show answer

    A. A coin

    A coin (or small trinket) is baked into the cake. Whoever gets the slice with the coin is said to have good luck for the year.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilopita

  5. 5. What is the Scots name for New Year's Eve and its celebrations?

    1. Beltane
    2. Samhain
    3. Hogmanay
    4. Burns Night
    Show answer

    C. Hogmanay

    Hogmanay is the Scots name for New Year's Eve and the Scottish way of celebrating it. Beltane and Samhain are Gaelic seasonal festivals, and Burns Night is in January.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogmanay

  6. 6. In Scotland, what is 'first-footing'?

    1. Staying silent until the first rooster crows
    2. The first visitor after midnight crosses your threshold bringing gifts such as coal or shortbread
    3. Neighbours swap their house keys for the year
    4. The eldest person sweeps the doorstep with a birch broom
    Show answer

    B. The first visitor after midnight crosses your threshold bringing gifts such as coal or shortbread

    Right after midnight someone is the first to cross the threshold, often bringing symbolic gifts such as coal, shortbread, whisky or black bun. The first-foot is meant to set the luck for the year.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hogmanay

  7. 7. Which poet wrote the words of 'Auld Lang Syne', sung at midnight across the English-speaking world?

    1. Walter Scott
    2. William Wordsworth
    3. Lord Byron
    4. Robert Burns
    Show answer

    D. Robert Burns

    Robert Burns wrote the text in 1788, based on older Scottish folk sources. The melody used today was first published in 1799.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

  8. 8. The title 'Auld Lang Syne' is Scots. Roughly, what does it mean?

    1. Times long past
    2. Farewell to winter
    3. Happy new year, friends
    4. Raise your glass
    Show answer

    A. Times long past

    Literally 'old long since', so 'times long past' or 'days gone by'. The song is about remembering old friends.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

  9. 9. At midnight many Danes climb onto a sofa or chair. What do they do there for good luck?

    1. They sing the national anthem
    2. They ring a small bell three times
    3. They jump off it at the stroke of midnight
    4. They blow out a candle
    Show answer

    C. They jump off it at the stroke of midnight

    Jumping off the sofa or chair at the stroke of midnight is said to bring good luck, and it is often followed by champagne, kransekage and fireworks.

    Source: https://www.visitdenmark.com/denmark/things-do/winter/new-years-eve

  10. 10. Which short British comedy sketch, recorded in 1963 and containing the line 'Same procedure as every year', is a New Year's Eve TV fixture in Germany?

    1. Fawlty Towers
    2. The Dead Parrot Sketch
    3. Four Candles
    4. Dinner for One
    Show answer

    D. Dinner for One

    Dinner for One, with Freddie Frinton and May Warden, was recorded by German broadcaster NDR in 1963. It is an annual New Year's Eve fixture in Germany, and the line 'Same procedure as every year' is part of everyday German.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_for_One

  11. 11. In the German tradition of Bleigießen, what do you do to predict the year ahead?

    1. Throw dice against the stove
    2. Pour molten lead or tin into cold water and read the shape
    3. Read the foam of the first beer
    4. Count the stars at midnight
    Show answer

    B. Pour molten lead or tin into cold water and read the shape

    Bleigießen means 'lead pouring': molten lead or tin is dropped into water and the hardened shape is read as a fortune. Because of EU limits on lead, tin kits are now common.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdomancy

  12. 12. On New Year's Eve Japanese Buddhist temples ring a great bell in the ceremony called joya no kane. How many times is it struck?

    1. 12
    2. 54
    3. 108
    4. 365
    Show answer

    C. 108

    108 times. The number is most often explained as the 108 earthly desires, or vices, that the bell is meant to dispel. Explanations of the number vary.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joya_no_Kane

  13. 13. Many Japanese families eat toshikoshi noodles on New Year's Eve to leave the year's troubles behind. What are the noodles made from?

    1. Buckwheat
    2. Rice
    3. Sweet potato
    4. Corn
    Show answer

    A. Buckwheat

    Toshikoshi soba is made from buckwheat. The noodles are easily cut, which stands for cutting off the year's hardships, and their length is said to mean a long life.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshikoshi_soba

  14. 14. On Brazilian beaches such as Copacabana, many people dressed in white jump over how many waves at New Year, a custom linked to the sea deity Iemanjá?

    1. 3
    2. 5
    3. 12
    4. 7
    Show answer

    D. 7

    Seven. Millions of Brazilians gather on the beaches dressed in white, and jumping seven waves is a common practice, tied to offerings to Iemanjá.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iemanj%C3%A1

  15. 15. In Ecuador's 'Año Viejo' tradition, what is set on fire at midnight to burn away the old year?

    1. Piles of old calendars
    2. Effigies of the old year, made of old clothes or papier-mâché
    3. Giant candles in the shape of numbers
    4. Garlands of dried flowers
    Show answer

    B. Effigies of the old year, made of old clothes or papier-mâché

    Effigies of the old year, often stuffed with paper or sawdust and sometimes made to look like politicians or celebrities, are burned at midnight to leave the bad luck of the past year behind.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viudas_de_a%C3%B1o_viejo

  16. 16. In which year was the first New Year's Eve ball dropped over New York's Times Square?

    1. 1887
    2. 1927
    3. 1907
    4. 1947
    Show answer

    C. 1907

    On 31 December 1907, to welcome 1908. The New York Times owner Adolph Ochs organised it to celebrate the paper's new headquarters on Times Square.

    Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-first-ever-times-square-ball-drop-was-held-atop-the-new-york-times-headquarters-on-this-day-in-1907-starting-a-cherished-tradition-180985753/

  17. 17. Kiritimati (Christmas Island) lies in UTC+14, the world's furthest-forward time zone, so it sees the New Year before almost anywhere. Which country does it belong to?

    1. Kiribati
    2. Fiji
    3. Japan
    4. Chile
    Show answer

    A. Kiribati

    Kiritimati is part of the Line Islands of Kiribati. It is one of the first inhabited places on Earth to experience New Year's Day.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiritimati

  18. 18. In which Soviet comedy does a man leave a New Year's Eve bathhouse party in Moscow and, by mistake, fly to Leningrad? Millions in Russia watch it every New Year's Eve.

    1. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
    2. The Irony of Fate
    3. The Diamond Arm
    4. Gentlemen of Fortune
    Show answer

    B. The Irony of Fate

    The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath!, directed by Eldar Ryazanov, first aired on 1 January 1976. Its hero ends up in an identical flat at an identical address in Leningrad, and the film is a holiday staple in Russia.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Irony_of_Fate

  19. 19. In the Netherlands, which deep-fried treat, dusted with powdered sugar and often containing raisins, is eaten on New Year's Eve?

    1. Stroopwafels
    2. Poffertjes
    3. Bitterballen
    4. Oliebollen
    Show answer

    D. Oliebollen

    Oliebollen ('oil balls') are Dutch doughnut-like fritters, traditionally eaten on New Year's Eve, usually with raisins and powdered sugar. Stalls sell them in winter.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliebol

  20. 20. The Babylonian festival Akitu, a New Year celebration, began in the month of Nisan. In which season did it fall?

    1. Spring
    2. Midwinter
    3. Late summer
    4. Autumn
    Show answer

    A. Spring

    Spring. Akitu is described as a spring festival and New Year's celebration, tied to the sowing of barley, and was held at the start of Nisan.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akitu

  21. 21. The month of January is named after Janus, the two-faced Roman god of what?

    1. The harvest
    2. War
    3. Beginnings, gates and transitions
    4. The sea
    Show answer

    C. Beginnings, gates and transitions

    Janus is the Roman god of beginnings, gates, doorways and transitions, usually shown with two faces. The Latin name of January, Ianuarius, comes from him.

    Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janus

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