Trivia: What is the day before Halloween often known as in the U.S.?
Pumpkin Night
Mischief Night
Candle Night
Feast of Saints Night
Correct Answer: Mischief Night
So why is this answer correct? : Halloween (All Hallow’s Eve) is the day before All Saints Day. But the day before THAT is called Mischief Night. Keep the doors locked because it’s a time for pranks and tricks.
Trivia: Where do people celebrate the Hungry Ghost Festival?
Japan
Hong Kong
Italy
Mexico
Correct Answer: Hong Kong
So why is this answer correct? : While Hong Kong doesn’t celebrate Halloween, the Hungry Ghost Festival has several of the same elements. During the seventh month of the lunar calendar, restless spirits are said to roam the earth. People leave out food, tend fires, and burn faux money as an offering for the ghosts and ancestors.
Trivia: Which country serves “bread of the dead?”
Italy
Switzerland
Mexico
Japan
Correct Answer: Mexico
So why is this answer correct? : It’s not a celebration without food. Mexico’s bread of the dead, or “pan de muerto,” is an important and delicious part of the Día de los Muertos festivities, which begin on November 1. Recipes vary, but the bread is typically sweet, soft, and flavored lightly with orange blossom and anise.
Trivia: Which Halloween activity began as a courting ritual?
Eating candy
Decorating with black and orange
Lighting bonfires
Bobbing for apples
Correct Answer: Bobbing for apples
So why is this answer correct? : It’s mostly limited to kids’ parties now, but bobbing for apples had quite a saucy start. In 18th century Britain it was a courting ritual, played out in a few different variations. In one, the person who could bite an apple the fastest was said to be the first who would get married. In another, bobbers were assigned certain apples to see who they got paired with.
Trivia: Halloween has its roots in which ancient holiday?
Beltane
Samhain
Michaelmas
Yule
Correct Answer: Samhain
So why is this answer correct? : Samhain, which roughly translates to “summer’s end,” was a three-day Celtic pagan festival. This celebration marked a period when the lines between living and dead were blurred. We’ve held onto Samhain traditions of bonfires, ghost stories, and pranks for Halloween.
Trivia: What food were the original jack-o’-lanterns carved from?
Turnips
Apples
Watermelons
Pomegranates
Correct Answer: Turnips
So why is this answer correct? : In 17th century Britain, a “jack-o’-lantern” was a night watchman, carrying a lantern. But there was a Celtic pagan tradition to carve turnips with grotesque faces and light them with candles to ward off evil spirits. It was likely brought to the U.S. by immigrants, who began using pumpkins because they were more readily available.
Trivia: Which Halloween candy was originally called Chicken Feed?
Milk Duds
M & M’s
Nerds
Candy corn
Correct Answer: Candy corn
So why is this answer correct? : Around Halloween, people are divided into two camps: those who love candy corn and those who can’t stand it. But when it was created in the late 18th century, it wasn’t specifically a Halloween candy. The sweet treat was called chicken feed, and it came in a box decorated with a rooster illustration.
Trivia: What is the most popular Halloween costume for adults?
Clown
Pirate
Witch
Pumpkin
Correct Answer: Witch
So why is this answer correct? : You don’t need to cast a spell to learn the most popular Halloween costume this year: a witch. This classic costume has reigned supreme for countless years and had a surge in popularity last year thanks to “Hocus Pocus 2,” a trend that will continue in 2023. According to search data from Google, other popular costumes include a dinosaur, Spider-Man, a fairy, and a pirate.
Which general led the British troops to victory over the rebels at the pivotal 1746 Battle of Culloden, which effectively ended the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745?
Edward the Black Prince
Robert the Bruce
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Prince William, Duke of Cumberland
John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll
Correct Answer: Prince William, Duke of Cumberland
The effort to put down the Jacobite Rising of 1745 was hampered by Britain’s entanglement in which other conflict occurring at the same time?
War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
Hundred Years’ War
First Anglo-Dutch War
American Revolution
Correct Answer: War of the Austrian Succession