New Year's Eve trivia questions and answers

How to run it

1. Start it about an hour before midnight so the last question lands before the countdown. If you play it on New Year's Day instead, it works just as well over brunch.
2. After question 6, the Danish chair jump, ask people what their family does at midnight. You will hear traditions that are not in any quiz.
3. Questions 16 to 20 are app only. Question 20, the two years without a Times Square ball drop, is the tie-breaker.

Questions and answers

1. 1New Year's Day on 1 January comes from which calendar, the one most of the world uses today?Easy

   • AThe Julian calendar
   • BThe Gregorian calendar
   • CThe Islamic calendar
   • DThe Chinese calendar
   Reveal answer

   B. The Gregorian calendar

   Pope Gregory XIII introduced it in 1582 to fix the drift in the older Julian calendar. Britain only switched in 1752, which moved its legal new year from 25 March to 1 January.

2. 2The Julian calendar, which kept 1 January as the start of the year, was introduced in 45 BC by which Roman leader?Easy

   • AAugustus
   • BNero
   • CJulius Caesar
   • DConstantine
   Reveal answer

   C. Julius Caesar

   Caesar's calendar took effect in 45 BC. January is named for Janus, the Roman deity of doorways and beginnings, who looks both back and forward.

3. 3Which country's Line Islands are the first inhabited place on Earth to see the new year?Easy

   • AJapan
   • BNew Zealand
   • CAustralia
   • DKiribati
   Reveal answer

   D. Kiribati

   Kiribati moved its Line Islands to UTC+14 in 1995 so the whole country shared one date. Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, sees midnight before anywhere else.

4. 4Which US territory sits in the last inhabited time zone to reach the new year?Medium

   • AGuam
   • BPuerto Rico
   • CAmerican Samoa
   • DHawaii
   Reveal answer

   C. American Samoa

   American Samoa runs on UTC-11, so it reaches midnight 25 hours after Kiritimati in Kiribati. Only the uninhabited Baker and Howland islands come later.

5. 5The ball lowered in Times Square at midnight is covered in crystals from which maker?Medium

   • ASwarovski
   • BWaterford
   • CBaccarat
   • DTiffany
   Reveal answer

   B. Waterford

   Waterford has made the crystals since 2000. The current ball went up in November 2025, is 12.5 feet across, weighs about 5,600 kilograms and carries 5,280 round crystals lit by LEDs.

6. 6In Denmark, many people see the new year in by doing what as the clock strikes midnight?Easy

   • AJumping off a chair
   • BRinging a bell
   • COpening a window
   • DLighting a candle
   Reveal answer

   A. Jumping off a chair

   Danes stand on chairs just before midnight and jump as the clock strikes 12. The saying goes that if you forget to jump, you carry bad luck through the whole year.

7. 7In Brazil, many people wear which colour on New Year's Eve for luck and peace?Easy

   • ARed
   • BWhite
   • CGreen
   • DGold
   Reveal answer

   B. White

   White stands for peace in the year ahead. On the beaches of Rio, people also jump seven waves and throw flowers into the sea for the sea goddess Iemanjá.

8. 8In Ecuador, what do people burn in the street at midnight?Medium

   • AOld calendars
   • BLetters to the future
   • CWooden boats
   • DEffigies of the old year
   Reveal answer

   D. Effigies of the old year

   The años viejos are stuffed dummies, often with the face of a public figure or a cartoon character. Burning them at midnight burns away the year's bad luck.

9. 9In Greece, a coin is baked into which New Year cake, and whoever finds it gets a lucky year?Medium

   • ABaklava
   • BLoukoumades
   • CGalaktoboureko
   • DVasilopita
   Reveal answer

   D. Vasilopita

   Vasilopita is cut at midnight or on New Year's Day, which is also the feast of Saint Basil. Slices are cut for Christ, Saint Basil and the house, then for the family from the eldest down.

10. 10The British comedy sketch Dinner for One, filmed in 1963, is watched every New Year's Eve in which country?Medium

    • AGermany
    • BIreland
    • CCanada
    • DAustralia
    Reveal answer

    A. Germany

    German TV has shown it every 31 December since 1972, and it is the most repeated programme on German TV. The line Same procedure as every year has entered everyday German.

11. 11In Japan, which food is eaten on New Year's Eve as a wish for a long life?Medium

    • ASushi
    • BSoba noodles
    • CRamen
    • DTempura
    Reveal answer

    B. Soba noodles

    Toshikoshi soba means year-crossing noodles. The long buckwheat noodles stand for a long life, and because they are easy to bite through they also stand for letting go of the year's hardships.

12. 12Sydney's midnight fireworks are famous for the display fired from which bridge?Easy

    • AAnzac Bridge
    • BGladesville Bridge
    • CPyrmont Bridge
    • DSydney Harbour Bridge
    Reveal answer

    D. Sydney Harbour Bridge

    Around 1.5 million people line the harbour for the show. It is watched on TV around the world because Sydney is among the first big cities to reach midnight.

13. 13In London, which bell rings in the new year at midnight?Easy

    • ABig Ben
    • BGreat Tom
    • CGreat Paul
    • DBow Bells
    Reveal answer

    A. Big Ben

    Big Ben is the Great Bell inside the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament. Its twelve chimes start the fireworks on the Thames by the London Eye.

14. 14Nowruz, the Persian new year, begins on which day?Medium

    • AThe spring equinox
    • BThe winter solstice
    • CThe first full moon of March
    • D1 April
    Reveal answer

    A. The spring equinox

    Nowruz falls on the March equinox, around 20 or 21 March, and is a public holiday in Iran, Afghanistan and several countries across Central Asia. UNESCO lists it as intangible heritage.

15. 15Songkran, the Thai new year in April, is famous for what?Medium

    • ALantern releases
    • BDragon dances
    • CWater fights
    • DFire walking
    Reveal answer

    C. Water fights

    The street water fights happen alongside the gentler custom of pouring water over Buddha images and the hands of elders as a blessing. Songkran runs from 13 to 15 April.

Questions about this template

Sources

Every answer shown here was checked against two sources, listed below. Links last checked 3 November 2026.

1. Gregorian calendar - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
2. New Year's Day - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
3. Julian calendar - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
4. January - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
5. Kiribati - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
6. Kiritimati - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
7. American Samoa - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
8. UTC-11:00 - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
9. Times Square Ball - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
10. NYE History & Times Square Ball | Times Square NYCtimessquarenyc.org
11. New Year's Eve - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
12. 11 weird Danish cultural traditions that only make sense to Danes | VisitDenmarkvisitdenmark.com
13. Yemọja - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
14. Effigy - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
15. Vasilopita - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
16. Dinner for One - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
17. Freddie Frinton - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
18. Toshikoshi soba - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
19. Japanese New Year - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
20. Sydney New Year's Eve - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
21. Schedule | Sydney New Year's Evesydneynewyearseve.com
22. Big Ben - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
23. Nowruz - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
24. International Nowruz Day | United Nationsun.org
25. Songkran (Thailand) - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
26. Songkran in Thailand, traditional Thai New Year festival - UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritageich.unesco.org