50 New Year’s Trivia Questions and Answers for Kids and Adults

Want a few more things to play before midnight? See our New Year’s Eve party games, or print New Year’s Eve bingo cards for the countdown.

How to run a New Year’s trivia quiz

1. Split into teams of two to four. Put a kid and a grandparent on the same team.
2. Read each question aloud and give teams about 30 seconds to agree on an answer.
3. Teams write their answer down, then reveal it. One point per right answer.
4. Play one round per hour, or play all five in the last hour before midnight. The winning team makes the first toast.

New Year’s history and traditions trivia

1. Which Roman leader introduced the Julian calendar, which made January 1 the start of the year? Answer: Julius Caesar
2. January is named after which two-faced Roman god of doors and beginnings? Answer: Janus
3. Which pope introduced the Gregorian calendar, the one most of the world uses today, in 1582? Answer: Gregory XIII
4. Which Scottish poet is credited with the words of “Auld Lang Syne”? Answer: Robert Burns
5. What does “auld lang syne” mean in plain English? Answer: Roughly “times gone by”
6. Which ancient city’s people held one of the earliest known New Year festivals, about 4,000 years ago? Answer: Babylon
7. Which bandleader’s New Year’s Eve broadcasts made “Auld Lang Syne” a midnight tradition in the US? Answer: Guy Lombardo
8. Which two figures are the classic symbols of the old year and the new year? Answer: Father Time and Baby New Year
9. What is the Scottish New Year’s celebration called? Answer: Hogmanay
10. In the American South, which food is eaten on New Year’s Day for good luck? Answer: Black-eyed peas

New Year’s traditions around the world

1. In Spain, how many grapes do people eat at midnight? Answer: Twelve, one for each stroke of the clock
2. In Japan, how many times are temple bells rung on New Year’s Eve? Answer: 108
3. In which Scandinavian country do people smash old plates against friends’ doors? Answer: Denmark
4. Which Australian city is famous for fireworks over its harbour at midnight? Answer: Sydney
5. Which beach in Rio de Janeiro hosts one of the biggest New Year’s Eve parties in the world? Answer: Copacabana
6. In Ecuador, what do people burn at midnight to leave the old year behind? Answer: Dolls or figures that stand for the old year
7. What is the Scottish custom called where the first visitor after midnight brings small gifts such as coal? Answer: First-footing
8. What is New Year’s Eve called in Germany, after a pope whose feast day falls on December 31? Answer: Silvester
9. In Italy, which small legume is eaten at midnight because it looks like coins? Answer: Lentils
10. Which Pacific island nation, with islands near the International Date Line, is among the first to see the new year? Answer: Kiribati

Times Square ball drop trivia

1. In which city is the most famous New Year’s Eve ball drop? Answer: New York City
2. In which part of the city does the ball drop? Answer: Times Square
3. In which year was the first ball dropped? Answer: 1907
4. Whose newspaper started the tradition at its headquarters in Times Square? Answer: The New York Times
5. How long does the ball take to fall? Answer: One minute, from 11:59 p.m. to midnight
6. Which crystal maker supplies the glass triangles on the ball? Answer: Waterford
7. In which two years was the ball not dropped because of wartime dim-out rules? Answer: 1942 and 1943
8. Which TV host created “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”, first broadcast in 1972? Answer: Dick Clark
9. Which Georgia city drops a giant peach on New Year’s Eve? Answer: Atlanta
10. Which Alabama city drops a giant MoonPie? Answer: Mobile

Easy New Year’s trivia questions for kids

1. How many months are in a year? Answer: Twelve
2. What is the first month of the year? Answer: January
3. What do people say to each other at midnight on New Year’s Eve? Answer: “Happy New Year!”
4. What song do people sing at midnight? Answer: Auld Lang Syne
5. What do people count down from at midnight? Answer: Ten
6. How many seconds are in a minute? Answer: Sixty
7. What do you call a promise you make to yourself for the new year? Answer: A resolution
8. What colorful paper is thrown into the air at parties? Answer: Confetti
9. How many days are in a normal year? Answer: 365
10. In Australia, is New Year’s Eve in summer or winter? Answer: Summer

New Year’s multiple choice trivia

1. Which city sees midnight first? A) New York B) London C) Sydney Answer: C) Sydney
2. Which country is the home of the twelve grapes tradition? A) France B) Spain C) Norway Answer: B) Spain
3. Does Chinese New Year always fall on January 1? A) Yes B) No, it falls between late January and mid-February C) No, it falls in March Answer: B
4. Fireworks at midnight are launched from the Burj Khalifa in which city? A) Dubai B) Doha C) Cairo Answer: A) Dubai
5. A famous street party takes place at the Brandenburg Gate in which country? A) Austria B) Poland C) Germany Answer: C) Germany
6. The Rose Parade is held on January 1 in which California city? A) San Diego B) Pasadena C) Sacramento Answer: B) Pasadena
7. How many days are in a leap year? A) 364 B) 365 C) 366 Answer: C) 366
8. In Denmark, what do people do with chairs at midnight? A) Stack them B) Jump off them C) Paint them Answer: B) Jump off them to leap into the new year
9. Which calendar is used by most of the world today? A) Julian B) Gregorian C) Mayan Answer: B) Gregorian
10. What do many Japanese families eat on New Year’s Eve? A) Soba noodles B) Pizza C) Tacos Answer: A) Soba noodles

More New Year’s ideas

• 20 New Year’s Eve party games for adults, families and the last hour.
• New Year’s Eve games for couples if it is just the two of you.
• New Year’s Eve questions for the table, for kids and for looking back on the year.
• Family Feud-style New Year’s Eve questions for a team game.
• Want trivia from another holiday? Here are 60 Christmas trivia questions.