Rituals

God may be dead, as far as the Williams religion department is concerned, but every well-rounded Trivia team should know a little something about rituals.

So, Challenger Teams! Show us your ritual knowledge!

SOCIAL RITUALS

1. In the ritual of gift acknowledgement, what must be mentioned in writing?

2. What teenage ritual is reversed in the event of a Sadie Hawkins Dance?

3. What annual festival in Nevada eerily echoes the symbolism of the Celtic festival of Lughnasadh?

4. What food do American Southerners ritually eat on New Year's Day?

5. Describe the ritual of dealing cards in a game of bridge.

6. When do carpenters ritually affix a tree to a building?

7. It's a ritualized catch-phrase after anybody sneezes -- but what does "Gesundheit" mean?

8. In order to get candy and trinkets during Mardi Gras parades, what must revelers do?

THEATER RITUALS

9. THE SCOTTISH PLAY. Most actors know that mentioning the actual name of the Scottish Play inside a theatre is bad luck. What's the exception: when is it okay to say "Macbeth"? What must an actor ritually do if s/he accidentally says "Macbeth"?

10. Complete this tongue-twister, commonly used in theatrical warmups:

     
        "To sit in solemn silence/_____________ 
         In a pestilential prison/______________ 
         Awaiting the sensation/______________ 
         From a cheap and chippy chopper/______________." 
    

11. What is a "ghost light?" What practical and ritual purposes does it have?

WEDDING RITUALS

12. With what are Jewish brides and grooms pelted during an Aufruf pre-wedding ritual?

13. Describe the cultural origin of a broom-jumping ceremony.

14. What is the ritual significance behind the custom of throwing rice at a bride and groom?

15. Briefly describe the principal way in which Latter-Day Saint weddings differ from the American Protestant norm.

16. Many brides still dress for their wedding day according to this rhyme that originated in Victorian times. Fill in the blanks:

    Something _________, Something ______,  
    Something ________, Something _______ , 
    and a _________________ in her Shoe. 
    

17. With what spice are traditional Hindu bride and groom rubbed in the ritual of Halad?

18. What's the final ritual in most Jewish weddings, and what does it signify?

19. During a full Roman Catholic wedding mass, the bride is taken aside for a time, and special prayers are said. For what purpose?

RELIGIOUS RITUALS

20. What is the name of the ritual welcoming a boy into the Jewish tradition, and when does it take place?

21. What word, common to all versions of the Nicene Creed, was inadvertently omitted in the Episcopal "Book of Common Prayer" until the revision of 1979?

22. When reciting the Rosary, which prayer do you say for a decade of beads? For a single bead by itself?

23. In traditional "non-programmed" Quakerism, who presides over weddings and funerals?

24. You're a Witch in the Reclaiming tradition. Call the quarters.

25. What are the five holy deeds required of every Muslim?

26. What's the name of the ritual performed to redeem a Jewish firstborn son from the priesthood? What's the going rate for a firstborn son in this ritual?

27. What do Swedish girls wear in their hair for St. Lucia's Day?

28. In Hawaiian shamanism, what is 'kahi'?

29. What's the central ritual in Western Christian church services? What are the central two elements in this (be careful)?

30. From what ritual has caroling evolved?

31. What is the significance of the Threefold Refuge, or tisarana gamana?

32. What is done at the Japanese festival of O-Bon, in mid-August?

33. What is havdalah? What items are used?

34. What does the wearing of the orange on St. Patrick's day symbolize in Ireland?

35. What is the advent wreath? Describe what it looks like and how it is used.

36. Bread, candle, feather, wooden spoon: what Jewish ritual involves these items?

37. What are the seven sacraments of the Catholic church?

38. Why must there be two loaves of bread in a traditional Jewish Sabbath ritual? Why are they salted?

39. Name the principal tools of the four quarters on a neo-pagan witch's altar.

40. To whom is a rope tied, in a traditional Dagadi funeral, and why?

41. When would a Korean Buddhist perform a Youngsan ritual?

SPORTS RITUALS

42. With what ritual are public figures honored at baseball games?

43. What ritual do Green Bay Packers enact after every touchdown at Lambeau Field?

44. What ritual takes place late in every baseball game? What is recited?

45. How many black goats does George Steinbrenner sacrifice before each World Series in order to keep the Yankees winning?

46. What ritual does the Notre Dame football team enact the night before every game?

47. What ritual act do Brigham Young ROTC members perform each time the BYU football team scores?

48. 'Chief Osceola'-- a student dressed in authentic Native American clothing -- rides an appaloosa horse named Renegade to midfield and hurls a 28-pound flaming spear into the ground at the 50-yard line in the opening football ritual for which school?

49. What ritual did Tom Gordon, former pitcher for the Red Sox, perform after each strikeout, and why?

50. What sea animal do NHL fans in Detroit throw on the ice, and what is the meaning of this ritual?