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Quiz: Festivals Through the Year

Test your understanding of Chapter 7. Choose the best answer, then click Show Answer to check.

Question 1

About how long is a year in the Islamic Lunar Calendar?

  1. 365 or 366 days
  2. 354 or 355 days
  3. 384 or 385 days
  4. 330 days
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. The Islamic calendar has 12 lunar months of about 29.5 days each, which adds up to 354 or 355 days. 365 or 366 days is the length of the solar Gregorian year, and about 384 days is the length of a lunisolar year that includes a leap month.

Concept Tested: Islamic Lunar Calendar Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 2

For Sikhs, the day of Diwali is also celebrated as Bandi Chhor Divas. What does it remember?

  1. The founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh
  2. The birth of Guru Nanak
  3. The nirvana of Mahavira
  4. The release of Guru Hargobind from Gwalior Fort
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. In Sikh tradition, Bandi Chhor Divas marks Guru Hargobind's release from imprisonment in Gwalior Fort, along with 52 imprisoned kings. The founding of the Khalsa is remembered on Vaisakhi, and Mahavira's nirvana is what Jains remember on Diwali.

Concept Tested: Diwali Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 3

Which festival does UNESCO list as "Durga Puja in Kolkata," inscribed in 2021?

  1. The autumn worship of the goddess Durga, ending with immersion of clay images
  2. The spring festival of colors held on the full moon of Phalguna
  3. The new year procession held on 14 April in Dhaka
  4. The five-day festival of lights in Nepal that honors crows, dogs and cows
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Durga Puja is the autumn festival, part of the Navaratri season, in which communities worship Durga and then immerse the clay images. The spring festival of colors is Holi, the Dhaka procession is part of Pohela Boishakh, and the five-day festival in Nepal is Tihar.

Concept Tested: Navaratri and Durga Puja Bloom's Level: Remember

Question 4

Why does Diwali stay in October or November every year, even though it follows the moon?

  1. Because the Indian government fixes the date by law each year
  2. Because it is set by the sun entering Capricorn
  3. Because a lunisolar calendar adds a leap month every two to three years to keep in step with the sun
  4. Because the moon's cycle is exactly one-twelfth of a solar year
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Diwali follows a lunisolar calendar, which adds an extra month about every 32.5 months so the lunar months don't drift away from the seasons. The government publishes holiday lists but doesn't decide the festival's date, and the sun entering Capricorn is the moment for Makar Sankranti and Pongal, not Diwali.

Concept Tested: Lunisolar Calendar Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 5

Why do Shia Muslims and many Sunni Muslims observe Ashura differently?

  1. Shia Muslims celebrate it as a new year party, while Sunnis ignore it
  2. For Shia Muslims it is a day of mourning for Husayn, killed at Karbala, while many Sunnis observe it mainly by fasting
  3. Sunnis mourn Husayn, while Shia Muslims fast to remember Moses
  4. It falls on different months for the two groups
Show Answer

The correct answer is B. Ashura, the 10th of Muharram, is the most solemn day of the year for Shia Muslims, who mourn Husayn and his companions killed at Karbala in 680 CE. Many Sunnis also regard his death as a tragedy but mark the day mainly by fasting. Ashura is not a celebration for either group, and both observe it on the same date, the 10th of Muharram.

Concept Tested: Ashura Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 6

Why is Pohela Boishakh fixed on 14 April in Bangladesh?

  1. Bangladesh officially adopted a revised Bengali calendar (adopted in 1987, based on a 1966 proposal) that fixes the new year on that date
  2. The date is set by the first sighting of the new moon in April
  3. It is the day the Mughal emperor Akbar was born
  4. It always falls on the full moon of Boishakh
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. A committee led by Muhammad Shahidullah proposed a revised calendar in 1966, and Bangladesh officially adopted it in 1987, fixing the new year on 14 April. West Bengal still uses the traditional calendar, so there it falls on 14 or 15 April. The date isn't based on the moon at all, because the Bengali calendar follows the sun.

Concept Tested: Pohela Boishakh Bloom's Level: Understand

Question 7

Eid al-Fitr fell on 21 March 2026 in India. About when would you expect it to fall in 2027?

  1. About 21 March 2027, the same date
  2. About 1 April 2027, 11 days later
  3. About 21 February 2027, one month earlier
  4. About 10 March 2027, 11 days earlier
Show Answer

The correct answer is D. The Islamic year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year, so Islamic festivals arrive about 11 days earlier each Gregorian year. Staying on the same date is what a solar festival does, and the Islamic calendar never adds a leap month that could push Eid later.

Concept Tested: Eid al-Fitr Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 8

Your club is planning an event for the week of 13 to 15 April. Which group of festivals could you feature, all from that week?

  1. Diwali, Tihar and Kali Puja
  2. Pongal, Lohri and Makar Sankranti
  3. Vaisakhi, Pohela Boishakh and the Sinhala and Tamil New Year
  4. Holi, Losar and Onam
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. Vaisakhi, Pohela Boishakh and the Sinhala and Tamil New Year are all solar new years that mark the sun entering Mesha (Aries) in mid-April. Pongal, Lohri and Makar Sankranti are in mid-January, and Diwali, Tihar and Kali Puja fall in October or November.

Concept Tested: Vaisakhi Bloom's Level: Apply

Question 9

Ben notices that Diwali moved from 20 October 2025 to 8 November 2026, while Eid al-Fitr moved from 31 March 2025 to 21 March 2026. What best explains the difference?

  1. Both follow the moon, but the Hindu calendar added a leap month in 2026, pushing Diwali later, while the Islamic calendar never adds one
  2. Diwali follows the sun and Eid follows the moon
  3. The Indian government moved Diwali to a weekend
  4. Eid is decided by moon sighting, but Diwali is chosen by a vote each year
Show Answer

The correct answer is A. Both festivals follow lunar months. The Hindu lunisolar calendar inserted an extra month (Adhik Jyeshtha) in May and June 2026, so Diwali jumped about 19 days later. The purely lunar Islamic calendar never adds a month, so Eid kept sliding about 10 to 11 days earlier. Option B is wrong because Diwali does not follow the sun.

Concept Tested: Lunisolar Calendar Bloom's Level: Analyze

Question 10

A friend from Kathmandu talks about Dashain, a friend from Kolkata about Durga Puja, and a friend from Ahmedabad about Navaratri and Garba. What is the best conclusion?

  1. These are three unrelated festivals held in different seasons
  2. Only one of them is a "real" Hindu festival
  3. They fall in the same autumn season and honor the goddess, but local customs differ a lot
  4. They are identical in every way, just with different names
Show Answer

The correct answer is C. All three belong to the autumn Navaratri season tied to the goddess and the tenth day, Vijayadashami. But the customs differ: jamara and tika from elders in Nepal, clay images and pandals in Bengal, and Garba dancing in Gujarat. No version is more "real" than the others, and they are not identical.

Concept Tested: Dashain and Tihar Bloom's Level: Analyze