Trivia Thursday

Today is the 48th edition of our Trivia Thursday, and my first attempt at making a trivia post! With it being so lovely outside, I wanted to make today’s trivia post full of interesting little tidbits about Spring! Test your knowledge and see how much you know about this wonderful season!

As usual the trivia questions will be listed with a short story below which has the answers hidden within it. Some answers are obvious while others might be harder to figure out. The answers are posted with in the comment section. Do you think you can find all the answers?

Please feel free to leave comment and let us know how you did.

Ready…. Set… Go….. Have Fun

The Questions:

1. What is usually (but not always) the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere?
2. Which holiday falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Vernal (Spring) Equinox?
3. What myth is associated with the first day of Spring?
4. These two flowers are usually the earliest to bloom each spring.
5. This day is observed internationally as a day to raise awareness a bout environmental issues.
6. The opening of the cherry blossom in March or April signals the start of spring in this country.
7. According to Greek myth, the return of spring coincides with the return of this goddess.
8. Spring is the most popular season to make this large purchase.
9. The early Egyptians built this monument so that it points directly toward the rising sun on the spring equinox.
10. These flighty creatures are more likely to swarm during the spring but are actually more docile than at other times of the year.
11. April Fools Day is believed to have started in 16^th century France when this was changed from the Julian version to the Gregorian version. With this change, the observation of New Year’s changed from April 1st to January 1st. Those who continued to celebrate on April 1st were called “April Fools.”

The Story:

Three sisters, Elizabeth, Jane, and Lydia, were out for a walk one mid-April day. The trees were starting to bud, and the tulips and daffodils were poking through the soil beside the path. The birds were singing, the honeybees were flying from flower to flower, and the laughs of children playing could be heard.

It was the first time they had seen each other in several weeks. They walked and talked about their husbands, their kids, their jobs, and got caught up with one another. Eventually the subject changed to where the sisters wanted to take their next vacation.

Elizabeth, always the most adventurous and definitely the most quirky said “I want to do one of those weird tours where you go see creepy things. I would love to go to Japan and see how close I can get to that nuclear powerplant that had a meltdown and see the Haunted Forest.” Her sisters looked at her like she was crazy.

Lydia said that she would love to go on a cruise or to a tropical beach somewhere. “Anything with a beach, basically,” was how she put it.

Jane, always the most practical of them all, said “I was thinking of buying a house actually.”

“In this market? It’s a seller’s dream right now. You think you can find a house at a decent price? You’d have better luck balancing an egg on its tip!” Lydia exclaimed.

“Really Jane, sometimes you have to live a little.” Elizabeth pushed. “Make some memories. Where is someplace you have always wanted to go?”

“Well, I have always wanted to see the Pyramids and the Great Sphinx…”  

“Ooh. That would definitely be an awesome trip!” Elizabeth said, nodding.

Lydia exclaimed “Hey! I just had an idea! We should all go together. It can be a chance for us to hang out for more than a few hours. Jane, you have gotten so busy with little Persephone, and Elizabeth, I haven’t see you since New Year’s.”

“I love that idea, Lydia!” Elizabeth said. “Let me just check my calendar and see when I can make it work.”  She pulled out her agenda and started flipping through it. The other sisters did the same.

“Well, I’ve got a huge project coming up at work. It’s going to take months to finish.  Plus, I need a little time to save up for a trip.” Lydia said.

Elizabeth thought. “Well, what about next March?” That gives us nearly a year to save up.”

“Isn’t Easter in March next year?” Jane questioned.

Lydia checked. “Nope. It’s in the middle of April next year. Close to Mom’s birthday. And Earth Day apparently” she said, looking at her calendar app.  

“The kids have March Break until the 20^th. They go back to school on March 21^st. Can we leave after that?” Elizabeth requested. “Darcy is great with the kids, but I would feel bad taking off on a trip and leaving him alone to take care of them all day. Plus waiting until after March Break should be cheaper.”

“Yeah, that works for me” Jane said, nodding.

“Me too” Lydia smiled.

“Great! It’s a date then!” Elizabeth declared.

The sisters kept walking, enjoying the warm spring sunshine, and talking of all the sites they wanted to see when next spring came around.