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Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Purim, Passover and Shavuot are the main festivals of which religion?
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Answer: Option A — Judaism
Detailed Solution
Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Purim, Passover (Pesach) and Shavuot are the main festivals of Judaism, the religion of the Jewish people. The dates of Jewish festivals follow the Hebrew calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar.
The main Jewish festivals are:
- Rosh Hashanah: the Jewish New Year, celebrated in September-October, when the shofar (a ram's horn) is blown in synagogues.
- Yom Kippur: the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the year, observed ten days after Rosh Hashanah with a 25-hour fast and prayers for forgiveness.
- Sukkot: the Feast of Tabernacles, a harvest festival, when families build and eat in temporary huts (sukkahs), recalling the shelters used by the Israelites in the desert.
- Hanukkah: the festival of lights, celebrated for eight days in December, recalling the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem.
- Purim: a joyful festival in February-March, celebrating the rescue of the Jews of Persia from a plot to destroy them, as told in the Book of Esther.
Passover (Pesach): celebrated in spring, recalling the Exodus, the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Families hold a special meal called the Seder and eat unleavened bread (matzah).
Shavuot: celebrated seven weeks after Passover, recalling the giving of the Torah (the law) to Moses at Mount Sinai.
The weekly Sabbath (Shabbat), from Friday evening to Saturday evening, is also a holy day of rest.
Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. Its holy book is the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), especially the Torah. India has small but historic Jewish communities, such as the Cochin Jews of Kerala, the Bene Israel of Maharashtra, the Baghdadi Jews of Mumbai and Kolkata, and the Bnei Menashe of Manipur and Mizoram.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Zoroastrianism celebrates Navroz and Khordad Sal.
- ✗Christianity celebrates Christmas and Easter.
- ✗Bahá'í Faith celebrates Naw-Rúz and Ridván.
Quick tip
Remember: The Jewish festivals and Judaism: Rosh Hashanah (New Year), Yom Kippur (Atonement), Hanukkah (lights) and Passover (Exodus).
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.