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Festivals and Holidays Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Festivals and Holidays Quizzes, Trivia

Festivals and Holidays Trivia

Festivals and Holidays Trivia Quizzes

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A Jewish mother once told me that Jewish holidays all had the same theme: They tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat! Find out more about the special days for the Jews that usually unfold with fantastic meals and traditions spanning thousands of years.
23 quizzes and 322 trivia questions.
Sub-Categories:
Chanukah Chanukah (6 quizzes)
Passover Passover (5)
Purim Purim (1)
1.
  Jewish Holidays Throughout The Year    
Ordering Quiz
 10 Qns
Arrange ten important Jewish holidays. Start with the Jewish New Year and follow in the order in which they occur throughout the year.
Average, 10 Qns, wellenbrecher, Oct 23 24
Average
wellenbrecher gold member
Oct 23 24
131 plays
2.
  Name that Jewish Holiday... By the Symbols! editor best quiz   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Oh no! I just got to synagogue, and I completely forgot which holiday it is! Can you help me? Each Jewish holiday has its own symbols and rituals. How well do you know them? NOTE: This quiz refers to Ashkenazic observance and customs.
Average, 10 Qns, Smurphie, Aug 24 17
Average
Smurphie
4808 plays
3.
  What Jewish Holiday Is It?   top quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
There are many holidays in the Jewish faith. Some are sad and somber and some are joyous. Listed here are some of the more prominent holidays. If you're Jewish, you'll know. If you're not, you'll learn. Enjoy.
Easier, 10 Qns, fredsixties, Aug 26 24
Easier
fredsixties
Aug 26 24
1742 plays
4.
  Jewish Holidays   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Judaism is a religion and culture with many holidays throughout the year. This quiz is about ten of the more well known ones.
Easier, 10 Qns, andymuenz, Aug 26 24
Easier
andymuenz gold member
Aug 26 24
636 plays
5.
  Match the Jewish Holiday   top quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Match the Jewish holiday with its description. Holidays are a mixture of holy and secular observances, but all are associated with Judaism. L'chayim!
Average, 10 Qns, LeoDaVinci, Apr 16 20
Average
LeoDaVinci editor
Apr 16 20
285 plays
6.
  Ten Jewish Festivals   top quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Judaism is a religion with many festivals and holy days, and all of these have certain symbols - foods, clothing, stories etc. - related to them. I give you three clues and you try and guess which festival they're associated with.
Average, 10 Qns, Kankurette, Dec 16 19
Average
Kankurette gold member
Dec 16 19
303 plays
7.
  The Seventh Day   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is about the Jewish Sabbath. It is the fourth in my series on basic Judaism. The information provided refers to mainstream Orthodox practice.
Average, 10 Qns, janetgool, Jul 11 20
Average
janetgool
Jul 11 20
2381 plays
8.
  Sukkot for Dummies   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Much like those nice yellow books, this quiz is an introduction to the pilgrimage festival of Sukkot.
Average, 10 Qns, Smurphie, Oct 28 23
Average
Smurphie
Oct 28 23
1130 plays
9.
  Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
For many Jews, Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the calendar, and one of the most important festivals. However, it's not a celebration as such, but a day spent in reflection and a chance to atone for one's sins.
Average, 10 Qns, Kankurette, May 23 23
Average
Kankurette gold member
May 23 23
234 plays
10.
  A Bit of Shavuot   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Let's learn about the exciting Jewish pilgrimage festival! A Note: The questions regarding observance of the Shavuot holiday pertain to Ashkenazic Jewish communities (those of Eastern European descent).
Average, 10 Qns, Smurphie, Aug 26 24
Average
Smurphie
Aug 26 24
851 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Throughout the service, a prayer meaning 'Our Father, Our King' is recited several times. What is its name in Hebrew?

From Quiz "Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement"




11.
  Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Quiz on two very important Jewish holidays.
Average, 15 Qns, avromf, Aug 26 24
Average
avromf
Aug 26 24
2628 plays

Festivals and Holidays Trivia Questions

1. On the night of Yom Kippur - as Jewish festivals start at sundown - we start with the recitation of a text called Kol Nidre. What does 'Kol Nidre' mean?

From Quiz
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Answer: All vows

Kol Nidre is in Aramaic, and is not technically a prayer - it's more of a legal declaration that refers to the cancellation of all vows that a person has made, nullifying them between this Yom Kippur and the next. Vows imposed by other people or authorities do not count. It is traditional to recite it three times; depending on the type of synagogue, it is either sung by the chazan (cantor) or by the synagogue choir.

2. Complete the following phrase. "More than the Jews have kept the Sabbath..."

From Quiz The Seventh Day

Answer: The Sabbath has kept the Jews.

This quotation comes from Ahad Ha'am, the Jewish philosopher. He made the remark in an article in a Berlin newspaper in 1898, in reaction to a movement by Reform Judaism to move the Sabbath to Sunday. Needless to say, that idea failed and all streams of Judaism- Reform, Conservative and Orthodox- observe the Sabbath on Saturday, although the way they observe it differs greatly.

3. What is the literal meaning of the word "Sukkot"?

From Quiz Sukkot for Dummies

Answer: Booths

Sukkot commemorates the time when the Jews wandered in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. It also celebrates the harvest time when people built temporary structures in the fields for shelter.

4. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are celebrated in the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar. What is the name of this month?

From Quiz Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

Answer: Tishrai

5. Orthodox Jewish men traditionally wear a white robe called a kittel on top of their usual outfits during the Yom Kippur service. For what other purpose is a kittel traditionally used?

From Quiz Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Answer: A shroud

The kittel is a simple white robe with no pockets, symbolising the idea that in death, all are equal and do not take material possessions with them. Its white colour represents purity, and many Jewish bridegrooms also wear one at their wedding. The rabbi wears one during the service, and sometimes the chazan does as well.

6. The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. One of the traditions is the blowing of the shofar. The shofar is traditionally made out of the horn of what animal?

From Quiz Jewish Holidays

Answer: Ram

The shofar is traditionally made from a ram's horn although other animal horns are allowed. According to the biblical story of Abraham, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a test of faith. At the last minute God told Abraham to stay his hand and provided a ram nearby for Abraham to use as a sacrifice. Growing up I attended services with my grandparents and the highlight was when they blew an instrument known as the shofar. As a young child it was a fun change from hearing people chanting in a language (Hebrew) that I didn't understand.

7. The holiest day of the year for most Jews occurs ten days after Rosh Hashanah, and is marked by a complete attention to prayer asking for forgiveness from God for the sins of the past year. What holiday is this?

From Quiz What Jewish Holiday Is It?

Answer: Yom Kippur

The only day considered by some Jews to be as holy as Yom Kippur is the Sabbath which is given the status of a holiday under Jewish law. Yom Kippur is indeed the holiest day of the year for most Jews around the world. It is a day of complete devotion to prayer, so much so that things such as food and drink, bathing, use of cologne, sexual relations, and a number of other things are prohibited on this day. It is said the reason for this is a person's full attention should be focused on prayer and atonement for sins before God. Fasting begins at sundown the night before and continues through the end of the holiday which concludes with the blowing of the Shofar (ram's horn) at the conclusion of the day of prayer.

8. What is the time frame of the Sabbath?

From Quiz The Seventh Day

Answer: From sundown Friday until sundown on Saturday.

In the story of Creation, which appears in the book of Genesis, we are told, "it was evening, it was morning, the first day", etc. This is the reason the Jewish day, including the Sabbath day, extend from sunset to sunset. In order to avoid accidentally desecrating the Sabbath, it is ushered in shortly before sunset on Friday.

9. Sukkot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals in the Jewish holiday cycle. What are the other two?

From Quiz Sukkot for Dummies

Answer: Passover and Shavuot

During the Temple Period, the festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot marked the three times each year when Israelites had to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to bring an offering to the Temple.

10. The seven-week period between Passover and Shavuot, which we count one day at a time, is called the Counting of the ________.

From Quiz A Bit of Shavuot

Answer: Omer

On the Counting of the Omer (in Hebrew, S'firat haOmer): literally, an "Omer" is a unit of measure. During the Temple period, each day beginning with the second night of Pesach and ending with Shavuot, an omer, or sheaf of barley, would be taken to the Temple as a harvest offering.

11. On what day of the seventh month is the first day of Rosh Hashana?

From Quiz Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

Answer: 1st

Rosh Hashana being the first day of the new year, it would figure that it would be on the first day of the month as well.

12. Which foods are traditionally eaten on Yom Kippur?

From Quiz Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Answer: None - it is a fast day

On Yom Kippur, Jews are not allowed to eat, drink, wash, have sex, or wear make-up or leather. The idea is that we become like the angels, who do not need food or water. Apples and honey are traditionally eaten on Rosh Hashana, cheesecake on Shavuot and different kinds of fruit on Tu B'Shvat (the New Year for Trees).

13. The most important holiday in Judaism is Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. What do Jews give up for a day to atone for their sins?

From Quiz Jewish Holidays

Answer: Food

Yom Kippur is a day of fasting. It actually starts at sundown one day and ends at sundown the next. Thus by eating just before sundown before it starts and then again just after it ends, only two meals (breakfast and lunch) are actually missed. The way the Jewish calendar works, Yom Kippur can never start on a Monday, Thursday, or Saturday night. I'm not sure why it doesn't start on Monday, but avoiding the other two days makes sense in accordance with the rules of Sabbath. If it started on Thursday, it would end on Friday night which would mean that the big meal to end the fast would have to be prepared before Thursday in order to avoid cooking on either Yom Kippur or the Sabbath. Likewise, if it started on Saturday night, it would be difficult to cook a sizable meal to prepare for the fast due to it starting at the end of the Sabbath.

14. On this holiday, Jews will build a small temporary hut with an arboreal roof, and will spend most of their time there. It follows shortly after the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. What holiday is this?

From Quiz What Jewish Holiday Is It?

Answer: Sukkot

Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths, is the correct holiday here. Jews around the world are entrusted to build small temporary houses with an open roof, to commemorate the types of dwellings the Israelites had to live in during their exodus from Egypt. During this seven-day holy period, this hut becomes a primary living quarter, with all meals being eaten there, and many will sleep there as well.

15. What ceremony marks the beginning of the Sabbath?

From Quiz The Seventh Day

Answer: Lighting of the candles.

Traditionally, the woman of the house lights the candles and makes the blessing over them, though a man may light candles if he is on his own. The minimum number of candles is two, though some women light more. For instance, some women light an additional candle for each child. Candle-lighting time is an excellent time for a woman to add her own, private prayer.

16. Shavuot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals in the Jewish holiday cycle. What are the other two?

From Quiz A Bit of Shavuot

Answer: Passover and Sukkot

During the Temple period, the festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot marked the three times of year that all Israelites would have to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to bring offerings to the Temple.

17. On what day of the seventh month is Yom Kippur?

From Quiz Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

Answer: 10th

18. The Yom Kippur service is longer than your average synagogue service. Generally speaking, how many parts does it have?

From Quiz Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Answer: 5

The five parts are as follows: Ma'Ariv (evening), Shacharit (morning), Mussaf (additional service), Minchah (morning), and Ne'ilah (the closing service).

19. Less than a week after Yom Kippur, another holiday begins, the week long festival of Sukkot. What annual event does Sukkot celebrate?

From Quiz Jewish Holidays

Answer: Harvest

Sukkot, which is celebrated at the end of summer or early in the fall, commemorates the harvest season. It is also known as the feast of booths and is celebrated by building small wooden buildings with a roof made of plant leaves or other vegetation. Meals are eaten inside these booths and it corresponds with the end of the annual reading of the Torah when the Jews were about to leave the desert after forty years of wandering.

20. What song does the husband chant to honor his wife?

From Quiz The Seventh Day

Answer: A Woman of Valor.

A Woman of Valor, which comes from Proverbs: 31, describes the ideal Jewish wife- industrious, intelligent, and generous. The song ends with "Charm is deceit and beauty is vanity, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised". "A Woman of Valor" is actually an alphabetic acrostic in the original Hebrew. The husband sings "A Woman of Valor" at the Sabbath table in order to thank his wife for her efforts in preparing the Sabbath.

21. There are two main symbols of Sukkot. One is the etrog (citron), what is the other?

From Quiz Sukkot for Dummies

Answer: Lulav

One of the mitzvot (commandments) performed in the Sukkah is shaking the lulav and etrog.

22. The days of and between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are called the Days of....?

From Quiz Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

Answer: Repentance

Called the 'Aseres Yemai Teshuvah', or ten days of repentance.

23. What is the Hebrew word for 'repentance'?

From Quiz Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

Answer: Teshuvah

To do teshuvah means to repent. 'Tehillah' is prayer, 'tzedakah' means 'charity' or 'justice', and 'teruah' is one of the series of notes played on the shofar on Rosh Hashana.

24. The holiday of Simchat Torah celebrates the beginning of the new cycle of reading from the Torah, the part of the bible that Jews consider most important. How many books are in the Torah?

From Quiz Jewish Holidays

Answer: 5

The Torah consists of the first five books of the bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). These are considered especially holy in the Jewish religion as they start at the creation of the world and end with the death of Moses just before the Jews enter the promised land. A portion of the Torah is read each week during the Sabbath in such portions that it takes a full year to go through all five books. The rabbi's sermon usually provides an interpretation of what was read that week.

25. This holiday on the Jewish calendar often coincides with Christmas and is marked by lighting a specially named candelabra. Children like this holiday. Which holiday is it?

From Quiz What Jewish Holiday Is It?

Answer: Channukah

Hanukkah, or The Festival of Lights, marks a time in Jewish history when The Holy Temple was rededicated following a series of lootings during the Maccabean revolt in the 2nd century BCE, forcing Jewish worship to be stopped. The holiday is signified by the lighting of the special Menorah called a "Chanukkiyah" or Channukah Menorah, an eight branch candle holder with an additional candle called a "Shamash". The candles signify the lighting of the temple Menorah during that time, with enough oil for one day, yet the candle miraculously burned for eight days. Special sweet foods and potato pancakes are traditional during this holiday along with gift giving and "Hanukkah Gelt" (small sums of money, usually coins) to children.

26. What is the name of the fourth prayer service added on the Sabbath?

From Quiz The Seventh Day

Answer: Musaf.

Shacharit, mincha and ma'ariv are the three prayer services held daily. Musaf, which means "addition", is added on the Sabbath and holidays, and follows the morning prayer, or shacharit. The Torah is taken out of the Holy Ark and chanted during the Musaf service.

27. The lulav is made from the branches of three different types of trees bound together. Which trees?

From Quiz Sukkot for Dummies

Answer: Palm, Willow, Myrtle

Each branch represents a different attribute that we bring into the Sukkah, based on the shape of their leaves. The term lulav is used to refer to the group of three, as well as to one of the constituents, the palm, which represents the strength of the backbone. The myrtle (hadas) represents our eyes, and the willow (aravah) represents our mouth. The non-joined symbol, the citron (etrog) represents the heart. In order to fulfill the mitzvot (commandments) surrounding these symbols, one must have the right kavanah (intention). It is best to enter the Sukkah with all the different parts of your body in tune like the Lulav!

28. What does Shavuot commemorate?

From Quiz A Bit of Shavuot

Answer: Receiving the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai

Israel receiving the Ten Commandments is also the Torah portion that is read on Shavuot.

29. The day of fasting that occurs immediately after Rosh Hashana is called?

From Quiz Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur

Answer: Tzom Gedalia

There is a minor fast day observed on the third of Tishrai.

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