What's Christmas Got to Do With It? Quiz

Answer: Remembrance Day

Celebrated largely, but not exclusively, in Commonwealth countries, Remembrance Day is a day for honouring all of those brave people who fought in various wars for our freedom, many of them giving their lives. It is celebrated on November 11 (the 11th day of the 11th month) with a minute or two of silence often observed as a sign of respect at the 11th hour of that day. The timing of the recognition coincides with the end of hostilities of the First World War in 1918.
The tradition of wearing poppies for a couple of weeks before is in recognition of the poppies that grow wild in Europe and covered the graves of many soldiers. These should be worn on the left side, over your heart.
Public observances are generally held at local cenotaphs and many public school have assemblies to offer respect and education.
Remembrance Day is not a general holiday, although some areas and places of work allow for a day off.
Celebrations differ slightly around the world, in places that mark the day, but there is a prevailing theme. For example, the Canadian capital of Ottawa includes a fly over by planes from the Canadian Air Force and a 21 gun salute.

Answer: Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day started as a Christian feast to celebrate St. Valentinus (actually two saints of this name).
Now, in common practice, it is a celebration of love, romance and friendship. This began in the 14th century, a time when courtly love became in fashion with the help of poets like Geoffrey Chaucer. Even so, Valentine's Day as it is celebrated now didn't emerge (in Britain) until late in the 18th century with the (at first) limited production of paper Valentines. These numbers grew in the 19th century when the first Valentines were mass produced.
A heart-shaped box filled with chocolates was first produced by Cadbury in 1868.

Valentine's Day is not an official holiday, but many a couple has become engaged on this day!

Answer: Birthday

Your birthday (or name day) is usually celebrated on or about the anniversary of the day you were born. The type of celebration alters as a person ages but frequently includes a cake with a candle for every year you have lived, the singing of a song ('Happy Birthday' in many parts of the world) and gifts.
Many cultures attach a rite of passage to specific years, like when you become legal to drive, vote or to drink alcohol, for example.

Answer: Easter

In its Christian beginnings, Easter commemorated the resurrection of Jesus three days after his crucifixion.
The date of Easter varies every year, being determined by the lunar cycle. Easter has come to be celebrated on the Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox.
Good Friday of the Easter weekend is frequently a statutory holiday in Christian countries, while Easter Monday may or may not also be one.
The custom of giving eggs developed from the symbolism of an egg as new life or rebirth and, more specifically in Christianity, as the empty tomb that once held Christ's body.
The character of the Easter Bunny developed in Germany but is not recognised by all. For example, in Australia it is an Easter Bilby!

Answer: Independence Day

Although it falls on July 4th and is called Independence Day in the United States, celebrating the day the U.S. achieved independence from Great Britain in 1776, different countries have different dates and names for their observances. Canada celebrates Canada Day on July 1st.

Some countries, like the U.S., achieved independence through rebellion (1776) where many other countries did so more peacefully. Singapore celebrates its National Day on Aug 9th, marking the anniversary of its 1965 expulsion from the Malaysian Federation!

Answer: Mother's/Father's Day

Celebrated on different days in different countries, Mother's Day originated in the United States, in a very small way, in 1908. Anna Jarvis started the celebration by holding a memorial for her own mother. She first began campaigning for the recognition of a Mother's Day the year her mother died, in 1905. She wished to honour her mother for all the good works she had done. Due to Anna's efforts, by 1911 all states recognised the celebration but it wasn't official until 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation. Jarvis soon resented how commercial the day of recognition quickly became.
The origin of Father's Day is less clear, with many places and people claiming to have observed the first one. One Henry Meeks, a Lions Club member, claims to have established the day, choosing his own birthday, the third Sunday in June that year, as the date.
It wasn't officially recognised in the US until 1966 when president Lyndon Johnson signed a proclamation which was later made official by President Nixon in 1972. It might not have been official in the States, but in Canada we celebrated it long before Nixon's tenure!
Both days are recognised in many countries around the world, although the date may differ. These are days for children to make breakfast for their parents, perhaps, and to present them with gifts and cards.

Answer: Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving, as it is called in Canada, the United States, some Caribbean countries and Liberia, is generally accepted as a time to celebrate the bountiful harvest (literal or figurative) of the preceding year. Many other countries have similar observances that are called by different names.
'Days of Thanksgiving', largely with religious overtones, predate the beginning of this celebration we now practice it. The frequently debated legend surrounding the inception of the current day celebrations is often (but not exclusively) associated with the Pilgrims arriving in the New World and celebrating a bountiful harvest with the indigenous people.
Current North American celebrations generally include a gathering of family and friends over a large meal, often including turkey and fall vegetables. The US celebrates the day on the fourth Thursday of November whereas the Canadian celebration is the second Monday of October.

Answer: Halloween

Halloween is celebrated on October 31st, which is All Hallows Eve or All Saints Eve, the beginning of a Christian celebration and remembrance of the dead, including saints and martyrs. Argument can be made that many of the traditions evolved from Samhain, a pagan, Celtic celebration that was subsequently Christianized.
The North American, commercialized version involves children dressing up, knocking on doors in their neighbourhoods and saying 'Trick or Treat', usually receiving candy. In my long ago youth if the person at the door asked for a trick then the child was supposed to do some kind of trick before receiving payment in candy. Some sources indicate that a home not providing a treat would receive an unpleasant trick, like having their windows soaped. Halloween parties are also common.
Halloween did not originate in North America, but it is definitely more popular there, with other countries embracing it on a smaller scale.

Answer: Guy Fawkes Day

Guy Fawkes Night, primarily a British celebration, is observed on November 5th. It commemorates the night in 1605 when Guy Fawkes was caught standing watch over a pile of explosives placed under the House of Lords. Fawkes was one of a group known as the Gunpowder Plot who fully intended to blow up said House of Lords, assassinating the King and installing their own, Catholic, ruler.
Guy Fawkes Day was officially recognised with the 'Thanksgiving Act' as citizens celebrated the fact that the King was still alive. The conspirators were executed shortly after the act was passed.
Celebrations began the night of the failed attempt and have continued since, with celebrants setting bonfires, burning Fawkes in effigy and watching fireworks.

Answer: New Year's Day

New Year's Day is generally January 1st of any given year but the celebrations generally start the night before, with much excitement as the bells ring at midnight, heralding in the New Year.
The observation of the New Year began as far back as 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq), but it was celebrated in March, at the time of the vernal equinox. Today, most countries mark the day as Jan 1st, the first day of the year on both the Julian and the Gregorian calendars. The Chinese New Year is based on the traditional Chinese calendar which follows the lunar calendar so is slightly different every year.
Most cultures have their observances surrounding the ushering in of the new year and New Year's Resolutions are frequently made and subsequently broken! Growing up with Scottish parents, great importance was placed on the 'first foot' across your threshold in the new year. This should ideally be a male stranger with specific physical attributes bearing specific gifts, to ensure a prosperous year.