Celebrating Thailand Trivia Quiz

Answer: April 13 to 16

The Songkran Festival is the Lunar New Year celebration, which officially recognizes the vernal equinox, but the date for Songkran has been fixed as April 13, rather than the current date for the spring equinox in the northern hemisphere, which occurs in late March. Until 1940, Songkran was New Year's Day; in that year January 1 was declared the start of the new year, but Songkran remains a national holiday.

If you can be there for this festival, you will need to be prepared for the water-throwing which is a feature of the celebrations. You will see people roaming the streets with buckets of water, water pistols, garden hoses, anything available to drench those they encounter. This tradition probably originated in using the water that had been used to cleanse the public images of Buddha to share the blessedness of the water with others and endow good fortune for the coming year. During the three days of celebrations there are dragon dancers parading through the streets, and plenty of firecrackers.

On a more serious note, Songkran is a time for making a new start (traditionally houses are cleaned meticulously on April 12, and refuse burned), for prayers in remembrance of family members who have died, and for activities designed to ensure good luck in the coming year. One such activity is the tradition in many towns of building sand pagodas in the courtyard of the local wat (temple), in which families build conical shapes out of damp sand. A coin and a fig leaf are buried in the depths of the pagoda, which is sprinkled with scented water and decorated with flags and other ornaments. A piece of yellow or red cloth is arranged at the base, then lighted candles, incense sticks and flowers are stuck in the sand all around the base while appropriate prayers are recited.

Answer: Coronation Day

The anniversary of the monarch's coronation has been a Thai feast since the middle of the 19th century. The date, of course, varies. His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej was invested as the ninth member of the Chakri dynasty on 5 May 1950, so May 5 was celebrated as Coronation Day for the duration of his reign, which extended into the twenty-first century.

As of the start of the twenty-first century, the first day of preparation involved a Buddhist ceremony in honor of the Chakri ancestral line, held in the Amarindra Vinichai Hall on the Grand Palace. This magnificent room, whose name means 'Divine Decision', was the site of the original coronation, and was also the venue from which the king announced the honors to be conferred to various people for their services to the country on Coronation Day, after the great feast.

Answer: Ploughing Ceremony

The Ploughing Ceremony has been conducted in the springtime since the time of the Ayutthaya Kingdom (1351-1757) as a religious ceremony to ensure good crops, and marks the beginning of the rice growing season. It involves a colorful and complex series of rituals, culminating in a ceremonial ploughing and the presentation of platters containing various ingredients to the sacred bulls. Their choice of bowl from which to eat is considered to offer a prediction as to what the year is to bring: which crops will fare best, what animal food sources will be plentiful, whether trade with other countries will be prosperous, etc. The exact date of the Ploughing Ceremony is determined by the traditional astrological system known as Hora.

The rice used in the ceremony is grown on the grounds of the king's Bangkok residence, Chitralada Palace. After the ceremony, onlookers dig up the rice that has been ploughed to either keep as a token of good luck or mix with their own grain before sowing, to help ensure a good crop.

Answer: Ghost Festival

The date of this festival is selected by the town's mediums, and can be anytime between May and July. The first day features the parade of participants wearing giant masks carved from the trunks of coconut trees, with a wicker basket shaped like a large rice steamer on the top, all painted in bright colours with striking patterns. Of course, there is lots of singing, dancing and music. The origins of this procession are unclear, but are commonly attributed to a story of a time when Buddha went on a long journey and was thought dead, then returned and was greeted with wild celebrations.

The second day of 'Boon Luang' is a rocket festival, with bamboo rockets being set off in front of the local wat (temple) to induce plentiful rains (the celebration being held near the start of the rainy season). There are also prizes awarded for best mask, best costume, and best dancer in each of several age groups.

Day three is a more serious day of prayer, including a reading of thirteen of Buddha's sermons.

Answer: Theravada Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism is Thailand's national religion, and about 95% of the Thai people profess it as their faith. 'Theravada' means 'Ancient Teaching', and this school of Buddhism is very conservative, considered to be the closest of all schools of Buddhism to the original teachings of the Buddha. Islam is the second largest religion, comprising almost all of the balance. Christians make up less than 0.5% of the population, and the Jewish community is even smaller.

It is believed that the origin of this extended retreat lies in the very beginnings of the religion - to keep monks from traveling during the rainy season and inadvertently harming crops or small animals as they traveled, they were required to spend that season indoors in spiritual meditation. Some lay people choose to use this time to practice their own spiritual or fleshly disciplines, such as giving up meat or alcohol, and attending extended prayer services.

The end of Vassa is marked by Kathina, a day when lay people bring donations (especially new robes, called kathin) to the temples to welcome the monks back into the outside world.

Answer: Water buffaloes

Originally the races were held using farm animals, but now they are bred specially for racing. This does not necessarily make them cooperative, and a part of the fun of the races is watching the riders try to stay on and get their mounts to move in the right direction. Racing buffaloes are much smaller than farming buffaloes, who are still exhibited in the Buffalo Pageant, which includes awards for the best male and female buffaloes, as well as prizes for successful trainers, breeders and jockeys.

The festival has something to offer those who are not so keen on buffaloes: lots of food and souvenir stalls, local sports teams competing against each other, oil post climbing, Thai boxing, quizzes, games, concerts and more are located in the field adjacent to the one used for the races.

Answer: Abolition of slavery

Chulalongkorn Day, also called Piyamaharaj Day, celebrates the life of a king who made significant contributions to the development of Thailand into a modern state. Born in 1853, he ascended the throne as Rama V in 1868, at the age of 15, beginning a reign of 42 years.

As one of the first monarchs to travel widely, he returned from his travels with many innovative ideas. In 1905 he abolished slavery and the slave trade in Thailand. He also made vast improvements in the country's railways, and established postal and telegraph services along with reforming the health and education systems.

His good relationships with foreign powers helped him keep Thailand from coming under colonial rule, the only country of southeast Asia to do so. His father, Mongkut, was the king featured in "Anna and the King of Siam".

Answer: Llamas

With the rainy season over, and the rice growing but not yet ready to harvest, November (or, technically, the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar) provides a breathing space in which there is time to prepare for this celebration which combines Brahmin rituals with traditional Thai animism. The krathong can be made or purchased; commercially-produced versions may be made from bread or ecologically-unsound Styrofoam instead of the traditional wood, and will come complete with a candle to light in the centre, incense sticks to place around it, and flowers to strew around. Many people also add a coin before launching their krathong. The ceremony was originally intended both as a means of ridding the water of any evil luck, and as an act of worship of the goddess of the water, Phra Mae Khongkha. Or Buddha, depending on how you choose to interpret it.

As well as the private krathong launchings, many companies organize large rafts, and towns often have beauty competitions and (of course) fireworks.

In northern Thailand, Loy Krathong coincides with the celebration of Yi Peng, a festival marked by the launching of sky lanterns (paper lanterns with a burning candle that heats the air inside the lantern, causing it to float through the air) and the hanging of stationary lanterns on public buildings. Chiang Mai is the place to be if you want to be surrounded by floating, hanging and flying candles!

Answer: Patent an invention

The king, whose name can be translated as 'Strength of the land, incomparable power', designed a water aerator, which is described in the patent as 'an apparatus for water treatment', and which is widely used in the treatment of polluted waterways. Other patents have been awarded for several rainmaking techniques. He is also an accomplished musician, playing alto saxophone, and sailor.

King Rama IX (the title showing that he is the ninth member of the Chakri dynasty) acceded to the throne on 9 June 1946 (and waited nearly four years for his coronation). This makes him the longest-reigning monarch in the history of Thailand, and the longest-serving current head of state at the time of his death on 13 October 2016. Since his death, his son Maha Vajiralongkorn, whose birthday is on 28 July, became King Rama X. Bhumibol Adulyadej will remain, however, the first member of the royal family to patent an invention.

Answer: 1932

The King of Thailand is still officially styled as 'Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, Upholder of the Buddhist Religion and Defender of all Faiths'. But since the bloodless revolution of June 24, 1932 he has no longer been an absolute monarch. Then-king Rama VII agreed to the establishment of an appointed legislature, but this was changed to a legislature composed of 78 appointed (by the People's Party who had led the revolution) and 78 directly-elected members before the signing of the new constitution on December 10, 1932.

Thai constitutions have been numerous - 16 different constitutions or charters were enacted during the 20th century. This is a reflection of Thailand's political instability, as many of these were temporary arrangements following military coups.

The celebration of Constitution Day involves lots of flags, bunting, parades (military and civilian), and (you guessed it) candles and fireworks. Nowadays electric lights are added to the mix, providing even more illumination than was traditionally available.