SSC
Songkran, the traditional New Year water festival of Thailand, is celebrated in which month?
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Answer: Option C — April
Detailed Solution
Songkran is the traditional New Year festival of Thailand. It is celebrated every year from 13 to 15 April, at the hottest time of the year, and it is famous around the world as a water festival.
The word "Songkran" comes from the Sanskrit word "sankranti", which means the passage of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to another. Songkran marks the sun's entry into Aries (Mesha), which was traditionally regarded as the beginning of the new year in the solar calendar. This is the same astronomical event that marks the New Year in several parts of India and South Asia around 13-15 April, such as Baisakhi in Punjab, Vishu in Kerala, Puthandu in Tamil Nadu, Pohela Boishakh in Bengal, Bohag Bihu in Assam and Pana Sankranti in Odisha, and the Sinhala and Tamil New Year in Sri Lanka.
Songkran is a time for family reunions, religious merit-making and fun. On the first day, people clean their homes, and many visit Buddhist temples to give food to monks, make offerings and pour scented water on images of the Buddha. Young people pour water gently on the hands of their elders and parents as a mark of respect and to seek their blessings. The custom of pouring water, which symbolises washing away bad luck and the sins of the old year, has turned into huge public water fights, in which people throw water at each other with buckets, hoses and water guns in the streets. Songkran was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2023.
Similar water festivals are celebrated in neighbouring countries at the same time, such as Thingyan in Myanmar, Pi Mai in Laos and Choul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia. In Arunachal Pradesh, the Khamti and Singpho communities celebrate Sangken, a Buddhist water festival, in April.
Why not the other options?
- ✗January is the month of Makar Sankranti and Pongal.
- ✗July is not the month of Songkran.
- ✗October is the month of festivals such as Diwali and Dussehra.
Quick tip
Remember: Songkran = Thailand, 13-15 April, water throwing and the sun's entry into Aries. Sangken = the Khamtis of Arunachal Pradesh.
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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.