Trivia Tuesday: All rise

This coming Friday and Saturday, Olivet’s Department of Music will give their 74th annual presentation of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah. You won’t want to miss this musical masterpiece that celebrates the birth, life, death and resurrection of our Savior.

As is customary, the audience is sure to stand during the performance of the “Hallelulah Chorus.” Legend has it that this tradition goes all the back to March 23, 1743, when the monarch in attendance spontaneously rose to his feet, and the rest of the audience quickly followed suit.

No one really knows why (and some would argue IF) he really stood. Most believe it was an emotional response out of respect to the Holy Risen King. Other explanations include he was stretching his legs due to his battle with gout, that he was partially deaf and mistook the opening notes for the national anthem, or even that he was late to the performance and so the audience rose when he arrived.

Regardless, his legendary stance has sparked an enduring tradition.

What was the name of the British king who stood during the original performance of the Hallelujah Chorus, thereby inspiring audiences everywhere to rise when it is sung?

Take a guess in the comments section and we’ll post the correct answer next week.

Answer to last week’s question: In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt first suggested that Thanksgiving would be the next to last Thursday of November, rather than the last. With the country still in the midst of The Great Depression, he thought this would give merchants a longer period to sell goods before Christmas. In 1941, the U.S. Congress established that Thanksgiving would occur annually on the fourth Thursday of November, which was sometimes the last Thursday and sometimes the next to last. Roosevelt signed this bill into U.S. law November 26 that year.