40 World Cultures Trivia Questions for Kids
The easiest world cultures questions in the game, picked for younger players. Every one comes with the answer and a short explanation of why it is right.
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Easy World Cultures Questions and Answers
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What kind of dance is tango?
A paired dance
UNESCO describes tango as a Río de la Plata music and dance tradition performed as a paired dance.
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What is the day after Christmas commonly called in many Commonwealth countries?
Boxing Day
In Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and much of the Caribbean, 26 December is Boxing Day and a public holiday. The name is usually traced to the Christmas boxes of money, food or leftovers handed to servants and tradespeople on the day after Christmas, once they had worked through the holiday itself.
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Which country is most associated with capoeira?
Brazil
Capoeira developed among enslaved Africans and their descendants in Brazil.
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Which Brazilian festival is especially associated with samba parades?
Carnival
Brazil’s Carnival is famous for spectacular samba parades, especially in Rio de Janeiro, where samba schools perform elaborate routines and compete in the Sambadrome.
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In traditional Chinese shadow puppetry, what does the audience watch the shadows on?
A translucent white cloth screen
The audience sits in front of a translucent white cloth stretched on a frame while the puppeteers work behind it, holding the figures against the cloth with a lamp throwing their shadows forward. The puppets themselves are cut from treated animal hide, which is why the Chinese name piyingxi means leather shadow play.
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Merengue is the national music and partner dance of which country?
Dominican Republic
Merengue is the national music and partner dance of the Dominican Republic, driven by accordion, the two-headed tambora drum and the guira. Its quick march-like two-step is easy to pick up on a crowded floor, which is a large part of why it spread across the Caribbean and beyond.
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What Ethiopian tradition is a well-known expression of hospitality?
A coffee ceremony
A host roasts green beans over hot coals, grinds them by hand, and brews the coffee in a clay pot called a jebena, often with frankincense burning alongside. Guests are served three rounds, called abol, tona and bereka, each weaker than the last as the same grounds are reused with fresh water.
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What French national holiday is celebrated on 14 July?
Bastille Day
Bastille Day is France’s national holiday, celebrated each year on 14 July. It commemorates the storming of the Bastille prison in Paris in 1789, a turning point in the French Revolution.
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Which German festival is traditionally held in Munich?
Oktoberfest
Oktoberfest is a large German folk festival associated with Munich and its beer tradition.
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Which dance is strongly associated with modern Greek popular culture?
Sirtaki
Sirtaki is a Greek dance popularized internationally through the film Zorba the Greek.
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What is the Indian tradition of decorating skin with henna called?
Mehndi
Mehndi is the decorative application of henna designs to the skin.
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What is the Indian decorative floor art made from colored powders called?
Rangoli
The powder is traditionally rice flour, chosen partly so ants and birds can eat the leftovers once the pattern fades. Rangoli is redrawn fresh at the threshold each morning or before a festival such as Diwali, to welcome guests and invite the goddess Lakshmi inside.
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Which named Indonesian ensemble is centered on tuned percussion?
Gamelan
UNESCO describes gamelan as a traditional Indonesian percussion orchestra governed by precise tuning systems.
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What material creates the dye-resistant patterns in Indonesian batik?
Hot wax
Batik artisans draw designs with hot wax, which resists subsequent dyes and allows selective coloring of the cloth.
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What event marks the traditional timing of Nowruz?
The spring equinox
Nowruz celebrates the Persian New Year at the spring equinox and is observed across several countries.
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Which country is most associated with reggae?
Jamaica
Reggae developed in Jamaica during the late 1960s.
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What Jamaican cooking style is known for spicy seasoning and grilling?
Jerk
Jerk is a Jamaican cooking style that uses spicy seasoning and grilling, traditionally with allspice and Scotch bonnet peppers.
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Which country is most associated with karaoke's origin?
Japan
Karaoke was developed in Japan during the 1970s.
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Which Japanese theatre tradition is known for stylized makeup and dramatic poses?
Kabuki
Kabuki is a traditional Japanese theatre form known for stylized acting, elaborate costumes and makeup.
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What Japanese art involves folding paper into shapes?
Origami
Origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into decorative and often representational shapes. Traditional origami usually begins with a single square sheet and uses folds rather than cutting or gluing.
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What object is traditionally lit during Hanukkah?
Menorah
During Hanukkah, Jewish families light a menorah, adding one candle each night. A ninth candle, called the shamash, is used to light the others.
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Which traditional garment is Korean?
Hanbok
Hanbok is the traditional dress of Korea: a short wrapped jacket called a jeogori worn over a full chima skirt or baji trousers. It is still worn for weddings, holidays and first-birthday celebrations.
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Which Portuguese city is most associated with traditional fado?
Lisbon
Fado developed as an urban musical tradition especially associated with Lisbon.
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What is Malaysian wayang kulit?
Shadow puppetry
Malaysia's National Heritage Department identifies Wayang Kulit Kelantan as a Malaysian Malay shadow-puppet theatre tradition.
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What colorful object is traditionally broken at many Mexican celebrations?
Piñata
A piñata is a decorated container broken during celebrations, especially in Mexican traditions.
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What plant is traditionally hung at Christmas for a kiss?
mistletoe
Mistletoe is traditionally hung during Christmas celebrations as a kissing custom.
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What is commonly placed inside red envelopes at Chinese New Year?
money
Red envelopes traditionally contain money during Chinese New Year.
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What is a Mongolian ger?
A portable round dwelling
A ger is a portable circular dwelling with a lattice frame and felt covering, suited to mobile pastoral life.
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What beverage is a familiar part of Moroccan hospitality?
Mint tea
Mint tea is a traditional and welcoming part of Moroccan hospitality. It is often prepared with green tea, fresh mint, and sugar, then poured from a height to create a light froth.
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Where did jazz originate?
New Orleans
Jazz originated in New Orleans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emerging from a blend of African rhythms, blues, ragtime, and other musical traditions. The city’s vibrant cultural mix helped shape jazz into a uniquely improvisational style.
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Maori kapa haka brings together which three things?
Song, dance and chant
Kapa haka is Maori performing art: kapa means rank or row, and groups stand in lines to perform haka, action songs, poi and chant together, the words carrying whakapapa and history. It is taught in schools throughout New Zealand and competed at national festivals.
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On what date is Halloween celebrated?
October 31
Halloween is observed annually on October 31.
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What are the huge ground drawings in Peru's Nazca desert called?
Geoglyphs
The Nazca Lines are geoglyphs, which are large designs made on the desert surface by removing or rearranging stones.
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Before pumpkins, what vegetable was hollowed out and carved into faces in Ireland and Scotland?
Turnip
Pumpkins are the modern standard, but the custom began in Ireland and Scotland with hollowed turnips carved into faces and set out at Halloween. Irish emigrants found the larger, softer American squash easier to carve, and the pumpkin stuck.
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Which platform popularized the “Ask Me Anything” format?
Reddit
Reddit popularized the Ask Me Anything interview format.
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What is the common name for Russian nesting dolls?
Matryoshka
Russian nesting dolls are called matryoshka dolls. Each wooden doll contains a smaller doll inside, and the name comes from the traditional Russian women’s name Matryona.
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Which app first launched 24-hour disappearing posts?
Snapchat
The format launched as 'Stories' in 2013, letting users compile posts into a montage that stays visible for 24 hours before vanishing. That differs from the app's original individual snaps, which disappeared within seconds of being opened.
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Which country is most associated with flamenco?
Spain
Flamenco developed in Andalusia and is strongly associated with Spain.
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What vocal style uses rapid changes between chest and head voice?
Yodeling
Yodeling uses rapid changes in vocal register and is associated with Alpine traditions.
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What is Songkran?
A Thai New Year festival
UNESCO describes Songkran as Thailand's traditional New Year festival, including family observances and water pouring.
All 153 world cultures trivia questions · Trivia for kids in every category