Valentine's Day Trivia
https://cf.ltkcdn.net/printable/files/3483-Valentines-Day-Trivia.pdf
- What were the first mass-produced valentine cards decorated with?
A) Original photographs
B) Ink
C) Lace and ribbon
D) Charcoal - Which candy company produced the first heart-shaped box of chocolates?
A) Hershey’s
B) Cadbury
C) Mars
D) Haribo - What percentage of people will dine out on Valentine’s Day?
A) 70%
B) 10%
C) 35%
D) 55% - What is the most popular Valentine’s Day gift in the U.S.?
A) Candy
B) Jewelry
C) Flowers
D) Card - Approximately how many Valentine’s cards are swapped each year?
A) 1 million
B) 25 million
C) 50 million
D) 150 million
- Kaylee Thrul '25
New year's trivia!
- Which famous leader established January 1st as the first day of the year?
a. Cleopatra
b. Julius Caesar
c. Augustus
d. Saint Peter - The New Year’s Eve ball was born out of a 1907 ban on what?
a. Alcohol
b. Fireworks
c. Books
d. Child labor - Eggs given as gifts or eaten on New Year’s are a symbol of what?
a. Prosperity
b. Love
c. Productivity
d. Luck - Which type of calendar marks January 1st as New Year’s Day?
a. Gregorian
b. Egyptian
c. Ptolemaic
d. Chinese - What year was the earliest known New Year’s Day celebration?
a. 1550
b. 1890
c. 2,000 BC
d. 100 BC
Answers:
1. B
2. B
3. C
4. A
5. C
-Kaylee Thrul '25
Thanksgiving → Prechristmas
Halloween is over, and for most, the “Christmas season” is upon us. Personally, I feel that over the years, Thanksgiving has become more and more Christmas-alized. Decorations and Christmas memorabilia has seemingly been put out much earlier than years past it seems. Snowmen and sleighbells? All over the place throughout stores that I’ve been in. Turkeys and pilgrims? Not a single one. Even Mariah Carey’s rankings on song charts have begun rising for her legendary single “All I Want For Christmas.” Thanksgiving is slowly becoming a thing of the past, living in Christmas’s shadow more each year. I feel that for the most part, it’s due to commerciaalization. Big name brands want to get their deals out sooner in order to generate more sales, so they simply start the Christmas commercial season early to get the jump on competitors. The only Thanksgiving sale I have ever heard has been a planet fitness radio commercial stating “ten dollars down, ten bucks a month, don’t you be a turkey!”
For me personally, Thanksgiving is a top tier holiday, no matter how much it has been getting pushed out of the spotlight by Christmas. How can’t you like it?
Family
For starters, you have a reason to gather with your whole family and catch up! You get to socialze with members of you family who you might not see that often, and that can be a very important connection! Many meaningful conversations can happy at the Thanksgiving table, and if not, atleast you can drown the noise out by stuffing your face (sometimes with actual stuffing).
Food
Free food. A LOT of free food. All you need to do (if you aren’t one of the adults who has to cook), is simply show up, and everything there is for the taking. Free turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, applepie, and anything else that is on the table!
Break
Thanksgiving, to me at least, is a legendary holiday for bringing about such a long break from school. We get a whole week off for just one Thursday. That has got to be a top three best part of Thanksgiving. It’s really just a time to relax and enjoy what you are so lucky to have in your life, be it people you are surrounded by, necessities that are easily available to you like food and water, or things you enjoy, such as sports, movies, music, and many others. Well, it is relaxing, atleast until…
BLACK FRIDAY
With Thanksgiving officially over, the true Christmas spirit is set into motion. Be that sharing a warm cup of hot coco with a friend or trampling over people to get the last PS5, that is up to you. The deals, decore, and possibility of death really sets the Christmas atmosphere up, and allows for a smooth transition into the season of giving. That, I believe, is when Christmas can truly begin.
-Nick Rave '23
Halloween is over, and for most, the “Christmas season” is upon us. Personally, I feel that over the years, Thanksgiving has become more and more Christmas-alized. Decorations and Christmas memorabilia has seemingly been put out much earlier than years past it seems. Snowmen and sleighbells? All over the place throughout stores that I’ve been in. Turkeys and pilgrims? Not a single one. Even Mariah Carey’s rankings on song charts have begun rising for her legendary single “All I Want For Christmas.” Thanksgiving is slowly becoming a thing of the past, living in Christmas’s shadow more each year. I feel that for the most part, it’s due to commerciaalization. Big name brands want to get their deals out sooner in order to generate more sales, so they simply start the Christmas commercial season early to get the jump on competitors. The only Thanksgiving sale I have ever heard has been a planet fitness radio commercial stating “ten dollars down, ten bucks a month, don’t you be a turkey!”
For me personally, Thanksgiving is a top tier holiday, no matter how much it has been getting pushed out of the spotlight by Christmas. How can’t you like it?
Family
For starters, you have a reason to gather with your whole family and catch up! You get to socialze with members of you family who you might not see that often, and that can be a very important connection! Many meaningful conversations can happy at the Thanksgiving table, and if not, atleast you can drown the noise out by stuffing your face (sometimes with actual stuffing).
Food
Free food. A LOT of free food. All you need to do (if you aren’t one of the adults who has to cook), is simply show up, and everything there is for the taking. Free turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, applepie, and anything else that is on the table!
Break
Thanksgiving, to me at least, is a legendary holiday for bringing about such a long break from school. We get a whole week off for just one Thursday. That has got to be a top three best part of Thanksgiving. It’s really just a time to relax and enjoy what you are so lucky to have in your life, be it people you are surrounded by, necessities that are easily available to you like food and water, or things you enjoy, such as sports, movies, music, and many others. Well, it is relaxing, atleast until…
BLACK FRIDAY
With Thanksgiving officially over, the true Christmas spirit is set into motion. Be that sharing a warm cup of hot coco with a friend or trampling over people to get the last PS5, that is up to you. The deals, decore, and possibility of death really sets the Christmas atmosphere up, and allows for a smooth transition into the season of giving. That, I believe, is when Christmas can truly begin.
-Nick Rave '23
Book Review: Howl’s Moving Castle by Dianna Whyne Jones (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
“I give up. I see no point in living if I can’t be beautiful.” While seemingly beautiful, albeit dramatic, this quote from the Wizard Howl in “Howl’s Moving Castle,” the movie, is said after Howl’s hair turns a bright orange. It is also one of the many quotes that cannot be found in the original book by Dianna Whyne Jones.
The general plot of the movie remains the same in the original book, with Sophie being turned into an old woman and going to work for Howl, making a deal with his fire demon, Calcifer, to break the spell placed on the both of them. Except for one central plot point: Sophie has magic powers in this book, and that is the reason the evil Witch of the Waste transforms her into an elderly crone. In addition, Sophie’s two sisters, Lettie and Martha, are important characters in the story because they play a role in revealing Howl’s curse.
The book is filled with vibrant wit and humor to lighten the dark mood that can often be felt if inspected closely enough. As the book is seen through the lens of Sophia the old woman, she has a much more carefree view of the world, and nothing seems to be taken too seriously, adding to the curiosity of the story.
“Howl’s Moving Castle” is an easy, relaxing read that is great for anyone. The story is fun and nonserious, taking you away from your problems for just a few hours.
-Anna Cartier '23
“I give up. I see no point in living if I can’t be beautiful.” While seemingly beautiful, albeit dramatic, this quote from the Wizard Howl in “Howl’s Moving Castle,” the movie, is said after Howl’s hair turns a bright orange. It is also one of the many quotes that cannot be found in the original book by Dianna Whyne Jones.
The general plot of the movie remains the same in the original book, with Sophie being turned into an old woman and going to work for Howl, making a deal with his fire demon, Calcifer, to break the spell placed on the both of them. Except for one central plot point: Sophie has magic powers in this book, and that is the reason the evil Witch of the Waste transforms her into an elderly crone. In addition, Sophie’s two sisters, Lettie and Martha, are important characters in the story because they play a role in revealing Howl’s curse.
The book is filled with vibrant wit and humor to lighten the dark mood that can often be felt if inspected closely enough. As the book is seen through the lens of Sophia the old woman, she has a much more carefree view of the world, and nothing seems to be taken too seriously, adding to the curiosity of the story.
“Howl’s Moving Castle” is an easy, relaxing read that is great for anyone. The story is fun and nonserious, taking you away from your problems for just a few hours.
-Anna Cartier '23
Friendsgiving
Thanksgiving time comes every year and is worth the celebration. It's a great time to reunite with family, especially after 2 years of Covid. Getting together with the family can be very difficult for some of us. This could depend on living situations, or if relatives live very far away and cannot get a plane ticket to visit. For many, this can be devastating. However, I may have a solution for you. A tradition my friends and I like to participate in around Thanksgiving time is a special holiday called Friendsgiving.
What is Friendsgiving?
Friendsgiving is a time to get together with your friends just like family. Each of my friends brings their own entree, which we all made ourselves. Whether it be an appetizer, dessert, the main course, or some small snacks, we all pitch in. We all gather at the table and eat the meals that we brought and share in our friendship. We all have a great time together and usually end it with a movie and a sleepover party. It’s a time we all look forward too.
Sadly, because of Covid, my friends and I have not had a proper Friendsgiving since I was a freshman back in 2019. However, our last one caused us all to become closer and make new friends at the beginning of freshman year. We were just one big group enjoying each other’s company in the season of giving. Personally, I think this tradition should be recognized more. I believe it is a great way to become closer to your friends and even welcome new friends. My friends and I are very excited about our Friendsgiving this year, and hope it will be as much fun as it was in 2019.
-Lexi Vercauteren '23
Thanksgiving time comes every year and is worth the celebration. It's a great time to reunite with family, especially after 2 years of Covid. Getting together with the family can be very difficult for some of us. This could depend on living situations, or if relatives live very far away and cannot get a plane ticket to visit. For many, this can be devastating. However, I may have a solution for you. A tradition my friends and I like to participate in around Thanksgiving time is a special holiday called Friendsgiving.
What is Friendsgiving?
Friendsgiving is a time to get together with your friends just like family. Each of my friends brings their own entree, which we all made ourselves. Whether it be an appetizer, dessert, the main course, or some small snacks, we all pitch in. We all gather at the table and eat the meals that we brought and share in our friendship. We all have a great time together and usually end it with a movie and a sleepover party. It’s a time we all look forward too.
Sadly, because of Covid, my friends and I have not had a proper Friendsgiving since I was a freshman back in 2019. However, our last one caused us all to become closer and make new friends at the beginning of freshman year. We were just one big group enjoying each other’s company in the season of giving. Personally, I think this tradition should be recognized more. I believe it is a great way to become closer to your friends and even welcome new friends. My friends and I are very excited about our Friendsgiving this year, and hope it will be as much fun as it was in 2019.
-Lexi Vercauteren '23
Homecoming
October was an interesting month, full of fun activities but also stressful things that made it such a good idea for a dance to end it all. If you remember, we had Walk-A-Thon, a pretty famous event in the Mount community that had everyone fundraising and bringing in money in preparation for the day to come. In the same week was PSATs for a good portion of the school which was certainly an anxious moment for everyone, trying to work through what felt like days of testing to get to the final question on the exam. Meanwhile, our seniors were busy visiting, researching, and even applying to colleges. Being a junior, I can’t even be someone to understand that stressful experience. All of that happened with addition to everyday activities such as homework, tests, projects, and fall sports that made every minute of everyday packed. But, only a few days before Halloween was the first dance of the year: Homecoming.
Starting with the decorations, it was such a beautiful venue. What was thought to be a gymnasium was transformed into more of a dreamlike state with balloons and backdrops and everything in between to disguise this seemingly recognizable room. It was so cool to see it get put together as it really felt like it happened over night! When you were in the lobby, there was a beautiful set up with a “Homecoming 2022” sign that you could take pictures of and a photobooth to save the memories! I thought that was definitely one of the best parts and I have my strip hanging on my wall in my room with all the other ones from past events like Winter Ball and Mount Day. Then, walking in the gym, of course there were the traditional pillars and curtains that made a select space for dancing. Also, there were tables decorated with festive tablecloths and centerpieces that made everything connected. By the bleachers was a long table with food and teachers monitoring and pouring drinks. Such delicious food and having a refreshing drink to catch my breath was awesome as well. Looking at everything and taking it all in was amazing, and it really felt special.
The music was awesome. A mix of older rap and newer songs helped to put a variety of tastes all together. There were people dancing and singing no matter what played. It took a while to get everyone together but by the end of the first hour, heels were off and everyone was crammed onto the dance floor and jumping to the music. The night went by super quickly, so much happened, yet so little, it was a great event. I love dances like this because it allows everyone to rest for a minute and have fun with the people they love. As I mentioned before, it was a crazy month, and because of that it was nice just to put down the text books and computers and curl hair or put on a tie and just smile and enjoy the night.
I would just like to thank Ms. Breault, and all the SLA members and others who helped put this together on behalf of everyone at Mount. Your work doesn't go unnoticed and we are truly appreciative of everything that goes on behind the scenes. Thank you for such a great night, and we can’t wait to experience the wonderful Winter Ball.
- Mia Norris '24
October was an interesting month, full of fun activities but also stressful things that made it such a good idea for a dance to end it all. If you remember, we had Walk-A-Thon, a pretty famous event in the Mount community that had everyone fundraising and bringing in money in preparation for the day to come. In the same week was PSATs for a good portion of the school which was certainly an anxious moment for everyone, trying to work through what felt like days of testing to get to the final question on the exam. Meanwhile, our seniors were busy visiting, researching, and even applying to colleges. Being a junior, I can’t even be someone to understand that stressful experience. All of that happened with addition to everyday activities such as homework, tests, projects, and fall sports that made every minute of everyday packed. But, only a few days before Halloween was the first dance of the year: Homecoming.
Starting with the decorations, it was such a beautiful venue. What was thought to be a gymnasium was transformed into more of a dreamlike state with balloons and backdrops and everything in between to disguise this seemingly recognizable room. It was so cool to see it get put together as it really felt like it happened over night! When you were in the lobby, there was a beautiful set up with a “Homecoming 2022” sign that you could take pictures of and a photobooth to save the memories! I thought that was definitely one of the best parts and I have my strip hanging on my wall in my room with all the other ones from past events like Winter Ball and Mount Day. Then, walking in the gym, of course there were the traditional pillars and curtains that made a select space for dancing. Also, there were tables decorated with festive tablecloths and centerpieces that made everything connected. By the bleachers was a long table with food and teachers monitoring and pouring drinks. Such delicious food and having a refreshing drink to catch my breath was awesome as well. Looking at everything and taking it all in was amazing, and it really felt special.
The music was awesome. A mix of older rap and newer songs helped to put a variety of tastes all together. There were people dancing and singing no matter what played. It took a while to get everyone together but by the end of the first hour, heels were off and everyone was crammed onto the dance floor and jumping to the music. The night went by super quickly, so much happened, yet so little, it was a great event. I love dances like this because it allows everyone to rest for a minute and have fun with the people they love. As I mentioned before, it was a crazy month, and because of that it was nice just to put down the text books and computers and curl hair or put on a tie and just smile and enjoy the night.
I would just like to thank Ms. Breault, and all the SLA members and others who helped put this together on behalf of everyone at Mount. Your work doesn't go unnoticed and we are truly appreciative of everything that goes on behind the scenes. Thank you for such a great night, and we can’t wait to experience the wonderful Winter Ball.
- Mia Norris '24