109 Fun Facts About Culture

Diwali is best known as the Hindu festival of what?

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights; it falls between mid-October and mid-November and is also celebrated, in variations, by Jains and Sikhs.

Which Hindu spring festival celebrates the love of Radha and Krishna with thrown coloured powders?

Holi, the festival of colours, opens with the Holika bonfire and recalls Vishnu's victory as Narasimha over the demon king Hiranyakashipu.

On which dates is Mexico's Day of the Dead traditionally celebrated?

Día de Muertos is observed on November 1 and 2, coinciding with All Saints' and All Souls' Days; families gather to remember the departed, often with humorous anecdotes.

Thailand's Songkran new-year festival is celebrated on which date each year?

Songkran begins on 13 April and runs to 15 April, lining up with new-year festivals across South and Southeast Asia on the Theravada Buddhist calendar.

Chinese New Year celebrations end on the 15th day of the year with what?

The Lantern Festival falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the first full moon of the year, and its celebration dates back to the Han dynasty.

Roughly how many visitors does Munich's Oktoberfest draw each year?

Oktoberfest, the world's largest Volksfest, draws roughly seven million visitors (7.2 million in 2023) to Munich's Theresienwiese from mid-September to the first Sunday in October.

La Tomatina, said to be the world's biggest food fight, is held in which Spanish town?

La Tomatina is held in Buñol, near Valencia, on the last Wednesday of August; it began as a food fight between friends in 1945.

A kimono is worn left side over right, unless the wearer is what?

Right-over-left is reserved for dressing the dead, which is why tourists get corrected quickly.

A sari can be as long as how many yards of unstitched fabric?

Lengths run from 4.5 to 9 yards, worn as a dress in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan.

The modern small version of Scotland's national garment is essentially what?

The small kilt (fèileadh beag) is essentially the bottom half of the older great kilt; the 16th-century great kilt was a full-length garment whose upper half doubled as a cloak.

What does the word 'hanbok' literally mean?

Hanbok literally means 'Korean clothing' (han, Korea; bok, clothing); North Koreans call the same traditional attire Chosŏn-ot.

Flamenco developed within the gitano subculture of which Spanish region?

It also has historical presence in Extremadura and Murcia; the Romani gitanos drove its professionalisation.

Kabuki theatre is thought to have been founded by whom?

Izumo no Okuni, a female dancer, founded kabuki in Kyoto around 1603; her all-female troupe performed dances and light sketches, though the form is now performed by men.

Capoeira, the Afro-Brazilian martial art, was first mentioned in an official document in 1789 as what?

Capoeira's first official mention, in 1789, treated it as a criminal activity: a slave named Adam was arrested for practising it. Scholars trace its roots to engolo, a Bantu martial art from Angola.

What is the communal Māori meeting ground, fronted by a carved meeting house, called?

A marae is the communal meeting ground of a Māori iwi or hapū, fronted by the carved wharenui meeting house; visitors are welcomed onto it with a pōwhiri.

Which social class in Japan produced the first detailed manuals on how to bow?

The rise of the warrior class in the Kamakura period brought disciplined etiquette texts on proper bowing.

The Māori hongi greeting involves doing what?

The hongi is done by pressing noses together, often with foreheads touching, to share the breath of life; it is exchanged at pōwhiri welcome ceremonies.

The Hindu greeting namaste is usually spoken with what gesture?

Namaste is spoken with palms pressed together at the chest and a slight bow; it is used by Hindus, Buddhists and Jains at any time of day.

The word 'sauna' comes from which language?

Finnish gave us sauna, an ancient word for both the traditional Finnish bath and the bathhouse itself.

Henna body art, or mehndi, uses a dye made from what?

Henna dye is made from the dried, powdered leaves of the shrub Lawsonia inermis; it has stained hair and skin since ancient Egypt, and the marks fade in one to three weeks.

A Latin American girl's coming-of-age celebration marks which birthday?

The quinceañera marks a girl's 15th birthday; the Latin American rite mixes Spanish Catholic traditions with pre-Columbian ones, and the guest of honour usually wears a tiara.

Japan's hanami custom is the enjoyment of what?

Cherry blossoms last only a week or two, so the Japan Meteorological Agency announces a bloom forecast; they open around the second week of January on Okinawa.

The Carnival of Venice was abolished in which year?

The Carnival of Venice was abolished in 1797 after Napoleon ended the Republic and the city passed to Austria; it was revived in 1979 and ends on Shrove Tuesday.

What do runners chase down Cooper's Hill near Brockworth each spring?

A wheel of Double Gloucester cheese is rolled down the hill and the runners tumble after it, with injuries routine; written records of the race go back to the 1820s.

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of what?

Eid al-Fitr marks the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, and falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is timed to what?

It usually falls between 19 and 22 March and is celebrated by Persianate cultures well beyond Iran.

Cinco de Mayo commemorates a Mexican victory over which country's army in 1862?

General Ignacio Zaragoza won at Puebla; the French later won a second battle there and occupied Mexico City.

For roughly how long have chopsticks been used in the Sinosphere?

Chopsticks have been used for over 3,000 years: bronze pairs from the Shang capital at Yinxu date to about 1200 BC. They began in China and spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

What are the red envelopes of cash given at Chinese New Year called in Mandarin?

Hongbao is the Mandarin name; lai see is Cantonese and ang pau Hokkien. WeChat launched a digital hongbao in 2014.

Boxing Day, 26 December, originated where?

Boxing Day originated in the United Kingdom, where servants and tradespeople received 'Christmas boxes' the day after Christmas; it is now marked across the Commonwealth.

Guy Fawkes Night marks the foiling of a 1605 plot to blow up what?

The Gunpowder Plot targeted the House of Lords at the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605; Fawkes was caught guarding the explosives beneath it.

Kwanzaa was created in 1966 by whom?

Maulana Karenga, a Black nationalist professor, created Kwanzaa in 1966 after the Watts riots, building on African harvest-festival traditions; it runs December 26 to January 1.

Before Hangul was created, what script did Koreans use?

Before King Sejong promulgated Hangul in 1446, Koreans wrote with Chinese characters, known as Hanja; Hangul is called Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea.

How many writing systems does the Georgian language have?

Georgian has three scripts: Mkhedruli, the everyday script, plus Asomtavruli and Nuskhuri, which survive in the Georgian Orthodox Church; UNESCO listed all three as intangible heritage in 2016.

Which number is widely avoided in East Asia, with buildings often skipping that floor?

4 sounds like the word for death in several East Asian languages, so buildings often skip the fourth floor.

Inuit throat singing, katajjaq, is traditionally performed how?

Katajjaq is a contest between two women standing face to face, each trying to outlast the other without laughing; Tanya Tagaq famously performs it solo.

The didgeridoo's continuous drone depends on which special technique?

Circular breathing lets the player keep the drone going without pausing for air; the Yolŋu call the instrument the yiḏaki, and it is at least 1,000 years old.

Ikebana is the Japanese art of what?

Ikebana is the art of flower arrangement, one of Japan's three classical arts of refinement alongside kōdō (incense appreciation) and the tea ceremony.

The Japanese tea ceremony centres on the preparation of which tea?

The tea ceremony centres on matcha, powdered green tea whisked with hot water in a bowl; leaf teas such as sencha feature far less often.

Which country is the only one where sumo is practised professionally?

Many top wrestlers are Mongolian, but the professional sport exists only in Japan, where it is the national sport.

What does 'Mardi Gras' literally mean in French?

Mardi Gras means 'Fat Tuesday', the final day of Carnival and the last chance for rich food before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

In Alpine folklore, which figure accompanies Saint Nicholas on the night of 5 December to punish naughty children?

Krampus, a horned figure carrying birch rods, is the Alpine Saint Nicholas's dark companion; Krampusnacht on 5 December precedes the Feast of Saint Nicholas on 6 December.

In Italian folklore, who delivers gifts to children on Epiphany Eve?

La Befana, a witch-like old woman on a broomstick, fills stockings on the night of January 5, rewarding good children and leaving coal for the bad.

Spaniards eat twelve of what at midnight on New Year's Eve?

Twelve grapes, one per clock strike and one per coming month; the custom dates to at least 1895 and took off in 1909.

Thailand's Loy Krathong festival involves floating what on rivers?

Krathongs are small decorated baskets, traditionally of banana trunk and leaves, set afloat with a candle and incense on the full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month; the name means 'to float a basket'.

The Dragon Boat Festival commemorates which ancient Chinese figure?

Qu Yuan, a Chu minister and poet who drowned himself in the Miluo River in 278 BC, is honoured with boat races and zongzi, sticky rice dumplings.

On which day of the Chinese lunisolar calendar does the Mid-Autumn Festival fall?

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, when the moon is believed to be at its fullest and brightest, hence mooncakes.

Onam is the official festival of which Indian state?

It celebrates the annual return of the benevolent Asura king Mahabali; it was declared Kerala's national festival in 1961.

The Bantu concept of Ubuntu is often translated as what?

Ubuntu is often rendered 'I am because we are', from the Nguni saying umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a person is a person through other people); in Xhosa it carries the sense of a universal bond of sharing.

The Danish word hygge is thought to stem from an Old Norse word meaning what?

Hygge is traced to the Old Norse hyggja, 'to think'; the word entered Danish in the 19th century, and its status as a core Danish value dates only to the late 20th century.

The idea of breaking a treat-filled container, ancestor of the piñata, reached Europe in which century?

The custom reached Europe in the 14th century, taking its name from the Italian pignatta, a clay pot; it travelled from Asia to Europe and then to the Americas with the Spanish.

Vaisakhi, on 13 or 14 April, is a spring harvest festival primarily of which region?

Vaisakhi is the spring harvest festival of Punjab and marks the Indian solar new year; for Sikhs it commemorates Guru Gobind Singh founding the Khalsa in 1699.

Thaipusam honours the victory of which Hindu god over the demon Surapadman?

Murugan, son of Shiva and Parvati, slew the demon Surapadman with the vel, a divine spear given by his mother; devotees carry ornate kavadi burdens in his honour.

How many bulls are typically released in a Spanish running of the bulls?

Six fighting bulls are released, guided by a few steers; in Pamplona the same six bulls are fought in the ring that afternoon.

Which bright orange flower is used to decorate altars and graves during Mexico's Day of the Dead?

The Mexican marigold, cempasúchil, decorates home altars called ofrendas that hold the favourite foods and drinks of the departed; its scent is said to guide spirits home.

Which Japanese festival on 3 March displays tiered sets of ornamental dolls?

Hinamatsuri, or Girls' Day, falls on 3 March; families display tiered sets of hina dolls representing the Heian-era imperial court to wish their daughters health and happiness.

Thailand's Songkran new-year festival is famous for what?

Songkran is famous for its public water fights; the splashing grew from the ritual pouring of water over Buddha images and elders' hands to wash away the old year.

The first Oktoberfest, in 1810, was held to celebrate what?

Crown Prince Ludwig married Princess Therese, and Munich's fairground is still called the Theresienwiese after her.

The famous running of the bulls takes place in Pamplona during a festival honouring which saint?

The six bulls that run in the morning are the same six fought in the ring that afternoon.

What do Greeks traditionally smash at weddings and celebrations for good luck?

Smashing plates is a Greek custom at weddings and celebrations, said to ward off evil and mark abundance; many venues use cheap plaster plates so the floor stays safe.

What is the symbolic table set by Iranian families for Nowruz called?

The haft-sin table holds seven items whose Persian names begin with the letter S (sin), such as sabzeh (sprouts) and sib (apple); Nowruz itself has Zoroastrian roots.

Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival, is celebrated on the full moon of which lunar month?

Chuseok falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month; families return to ancestral hometowns, tidy graves and share half-moon rice cakes called songpyeon.

Kwanzaa, first celebrated in 1966, takes its name from a phrase in which language?

Kwanzaa comes from the Swahili phrase matunda ya kwanza, 'first fruits'; an extra 'a' was added so the name would have a symbolic seven letters.

France's national day on 14 July commemorates the storming of which building in 1789?

Bastille Day marks the storming of the Bastille prison on 14 July 1789; it became France's national holiday in 1880, with a military parade down the Champs-Élysées each morning.

What is traditionally eaten in Britain on Shrove Tuesday?

Pancakes use up eggs, milk and fat before the Lenten fast; Olney in Buckinghamshire has run a Shrove Tuesday pancake race since 1445.

Boxing Day, 26 December, coincides with which saint's feast?

26 December is the feast of Saint Stephen, the first Christian martyr; one theory traces the name Boxing Day to church alms boxes opened for the poor on that feast.

Trick-or-treating grew out of 'guising', a house-to-house Halloween custom from which two countries?

Guising came from Scotland and Ireland, where costumed children went door to door performing a song or verse for food or coins; the phrase 'trick or treat' is first recorded in Alberta in 1927.

In Tibetan tradition, briefly sticking out the tongue is a sign of what?

Tibetans traditionally stick out the tongue as a respectful greeting, showing it is not black like that of the cruel ninth-century king Langdarma, who was said to have a black tongue.

The gesture used with the Indian greeting 'namaste' is called what?

The gesture is the añjali mudrā, palms pressed together at the chest; the Thai wai shares the same form, and the standing yoga posture built on it is pranamasana.

In the Thai wai greeting, how do you show greater respect?

Respect is shown by holding the hands higher and bowing lower: thumbs at the chest for peers, at the nose for elders and at the eyebrows for monks and royalty. The wai also serves for thanks and apology.

In Japanese business etiquette, the casual eshaku bow inclines the torso by roughly how many degrees?

The eshaku is a light 15-degree bow for casual greetings; keirei, at about 30 degrees, is for business, and saikeirei, at 45 degrees or more, is the most formal.

What is the wide sash tied around a kimono called?

The obi is the broad sash that holds a kimono closed, usually tied at the back in an elaborate knot; a woman's formal obi runs to about four metres long.

What is the pouch worn at the front of a kilt called?

A sporran, from the Gaelic for purse, hangs at the front of a kilt because the garment has no pockets; the sgian-dubh is the small knife tucked into the sock.

Kente cloth, woven in strips of silk and cotton, is officially recognised as a product of which country?

Kente is a Ghanaian textile, historically worn toga-style by the Asante, Akan and Ewe peoples, and the Asante royal court made it a mark of prestige.

The áo dài, a long split tunic worn over silk trousers, is the traditional dress of which country?

The áo dài is Vietnam's national dress; its name means 'long tunic', and the modern fitted form was shaped by Hanoi designers in the 1930s.

The fez was banned in 1925 in which country, as part of a modernising 'Hat Revolution'?

Turkey's Hat Law of 1925 under Atatürk banned the fez; a century earlier, in 1829, Sultan Mahmud II had ordered officials to wear the fez in place of turbans.

Why should chopsticks never be left standing upright in a bowl of rice?

Chopsticks originated in China over three millennia ago before spreading to Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

Haggis became Scotland's national dish largely thanks to the 1786 poem 'Address to a Haggis', by which poet?

Robert Burns's 'Address to a Haggis' is recited at Burns suppers each 25 January, where the dish is served with neeps, tatties and a dram.

Poutine, fries with cheese curds and gravy, emerged in the 1950s in which Canadian province?

Poutine emerged in rural Quebec in the late 1950s; Warwick and Drummondville, in the Centre-du-Québec region, both claim to have invented it.

Vegemite, the dark Australian spread, is made from what?

Vegemite is a brewers' yeast extract, made from leftover yeast from beer-making; Cyril Callister developed it in Melbourne in 1922 as a home-grown rival to Britain's Marmite.

In flamenco, what is the rhythmic hand-clapping accompaniment called?

Palmas are the handclaps that drive flamenco's rhythm, or compás; zapateado is the percussive footwork, cante the singing and toque the guitar playing.

Tango was born in the 1880s in the port areas along which river?

Tango grew up in the 1880s in the port districts of Buenos Aires and Montevideo on the Río de la Plata; Argentina and Uruguay jointly got it onto UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2009.

Capoeira is played in a circle called a roda to the music of which bow-shaped instrument?

The berimbau, a single-string musical bow with a gourd resonator, leads the roda's rhythm; the capoeira circle was inscribed on UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2014.

The 'Ka Mate' haka performed by New Zealand's All Blacks is attributed to which Māori war leader?

Te Rauparaha, the Ngāti Toa chief, composed Ka Mate around 1820 after escaping pursuers; the All Blacks have performed a haka before matches since the 1905 Originals tour.

Sumo wrestlers throw what into the ring before a bout as a Shinto purification ritual?

Rikishi throw salt to purify the dohyo before a bout, a Shinto rite; a wrestler loses by leaving the ring or touching the ground with anything but the soles of his feet.

Muay Thai is nicknamed the 'Art of Eight Limbs' because fighters strike with fists, elbows, knees and what?

The eight limbs are two fists, two elbows, two knees and two shins, with kicks landed on the shin rather than the foot; fighters enter the ring wearing a mongkhon headband and pra jiad armbands.

Which Highland games event flips a long tapered pole end over end?

The caber toss flips a tapered log, typically about 19 feet long, end over end, a perfect throw landing straight at 12 o'clock; the games centre on piping, dancing and heavy athletics.

Which animal's skull is carried door to door in the Welsh midwinter custom Mari Lwyd?

The Mari Lwyd is a horse's skull mounted on a pole and draped in a sheet, carried door to door in south Wales with rhyming verse contests for food and drink.

The sport of wife-carrying was introduced in 1992 in which country?

Wife-carrying began in Sonkajärvi, Finland, in 1992, and its world championship is held there each July; the winning 'Estonian style' carry has the partner upside-down on the runner's back.

In Orthodox Jewish communities, at what age does a girl become bat mitzvah?

In Orthodox practice a girl becomes bat mitzvah at 12, a year before boys become bar mitzvah at 13; many Reform and Conservative communities mark it at 13 for everyone.

What is the red powder applied along a married Hindu woman's hair parting called?

Sindoor, a vermilion powder, is applied along the parting of a married Hindu woman's hair, first by the groom during the wedding; the mangalsutra is the necklace he ties.

The blue-and-white glass 'nazar' amulet, sold from Istanbul to Athens, protects against what?

The nazar wards off the evil eye, a malevolent, envious glare; amulets against it have been found dating back around 5,000 years.

What is Sweden's daily coffee-and-pastry break called?

Fika is the Swedish coffee break, usually taken with a pastry such as a cinnamon bun; lagom means 'just the right amount' and friluftsliv is the Nordic love of open-air life.

The southern African philosophy of ubuntu takes its name from a Bantu word meaning what?

Ubuntu means 'humanity' or 'humanness' in Nguni Bantu languages such as Zulu and Xhosa; Desmond Tutu's ubuntu theology shaped South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Hawaii celebrates Lei Day, honouring the flower garland, on which date?

Lei Day is May 1, first celebrated in 1928 after poet Don Blanding proposed it; leis are given to dignitaries, graduates and departing loved ones across Polynesia.

The first Russian matryoshka nesting doll set was made in the 1890s and contained how many dolls?

The first set, carved by Vasily Zvyozdochkin to Sergey Malyutin's 1890s design, had eight dolls, the outermost a mother in traditional dress holding a red-combed rooster.

According to local records, the Mexican piñata tradition began in which town, for teaching catechism?

Augustinian friars at Acolman, north-east of Mexico City, used piñatas to teach catechism in the 16th century; the Aztecs had already broken clay pots for the birthday of Huitzilopochtli.

Yodeling is thought to have started in the Central Alps for what practical purpose?

It reached theatres and music halls as entertainment in the 1830s.

Mongolia's midsummer Naadam festival is built around wrestling, archery and which third sport?

Naadam's 'three games of men' are wrestling, archery and horse racing, with child jockeys riding cross-country races of 15 to 30 km; UNESCO listed the festival in 2010.

Shetland's Up Helly Aa fire festival climaxes with the burning of what?

Lerwick's version, on the last Tuesday in January, sees up to a thousand torch-bearing 'guizers' march through the streets.

At Hogmanay, what kind of person is traditionally preferred as a household's 'first-foot'?

Tradition holds that a tall, dark-haired man is the luckiest first-foot; the first person over the threshold after midnight sets the year's luck and brings gifts such as coal, shortbread, whisky and black bun.

Timkat, celebrated on 19 January, is the Ethiopian Orthodox festival of what?

Timkat is the Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, commemorating the baptism of Jesus: priests carry the Tabot, a model of the Ark of the Covenant, in procession and worshippers are sprinkled with blessed water.

Bulgarians wear red-and-white martenitsa yarn charms from 1 March until they first see what?

Martenitsi are worn until the wearer sees a stork or swallow, or a blossoming tree, as signs of spring; the holiday is Baba Marta, 'Grandma March', and Romania's Mărțișor is the same custom.

In Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas arrives each year by steamboat from which country?

Sinterklaas arrives by steamboat from Spain each November and then rides a white horse; on Dutch television the horse was named Amerigo until 2019.

Which deep-fried treat do the Dutch traditionally eat on New Year's Eve?

Oliebollen, deep-fried dough balls dusted with icing sugar, are the traditional Dutch New Year's Eve treat, sold from street stalls through December; stroopwafels and poffertjes are year-round snacks.

Batik cloth is patterned using what as a dye resist?

Wax is drawn or stamped onto the cloth so the dye cannot reach it; UNESCO inscribed Indonesian batik on 2 October 2009, a date Indonesia marks as Batik Day.

Whose 1817 History of Java first made batik widely known outside Southeast Asia?

Thomas Stamford Raffles, who governed Java from 1811 to 1816, published The History of Java in 1817; its account of batik sparked collecting and scholarly study of the craft in Europe.

The Inca festival Inti Raymi, held in Cusco, honoured the sun god at which event?

Inti Raymi marked the winter solstice, around 24 June in the southern hemisphere; chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega credited Pachacuti with creating it, and the last imperial celebration came in 1535 before the Spanish banned it.

Which Valencian festival in March burns giant satirical sculptures built from figures called ninots?

Las Fallas in Valencia ends on 19 March, the feast of Saint Joseph, with the cremà, when hundreds of giant satirical sculptures built from ninots are set alight.